In my last post I mentioned having gone away for a weekend polymer clay retreat. The first weekend in August, I had the opportunity to meet (in person) some of the members of my online polymer clay guild, The Polymer Clay Artist's Guild of Etsy (a.k.a. PCAGOE). Member Cindy Matthews of Arrowdale Art Studio graciously offered the use of her home as a meeting point. Cindy lives in Williamsport, PA. Williamsport was once a favorite haunt of mine and my husband's, before the natural gas companies moved in to exploit the area for hydro-fracking; (but that's another subject for another time...) Considering the retreat would be so close to home (about a 3 hour drive) and in a familiar locale, I couldn't resist being a part of the event. Not only was it a great opportunity to be with like-minded creative spirits and to be inspired by each other, but it was a chance to meet in person some of the people with whom I'd been conversing on the internet for years!
We met at Cindy's place Friday afternoon, and had an afternoon and evening of sharing food, chatting and show-n-tell. The show-n-tell part was especially fantastic; having the chance to examine items in hand that I had ogled in online photos.
Saturday morning was a gorgeous day, perfect for working on Cindy's large wrap-around-porch.
Saturday we had a full day of claying together, complete with demonstrations generously offered by Susan of 11BoldStreet, Marie of Marie Young Creative, Lisa of Hi Girls! Designs and Line of Play Sculpt Live. Each demonstration was a signature technique of each artist. As a group we all created a version of Marie Young's bird eggs. Below is a photo of all of our birds together.
Most of us took a shot at face sculpting in the method that Line of Play Sculpt Live demonstrated. Sadly, I don't have a group photo of our faces, but here's my attempt at Line's face technique.
Saturday evening was spent sharing more food and conversation, and an exchange of twinchies (2" pieces of artwork) which we had each prepared ahead of time to swap. The group had decided to make the twinchies representative of ourselves or of our hometown.
Here's what my 2 sided inchies looked like; Side A representative of me (silk dyed polymer technique background):
Side B; representative of where I live (Lancaster, PA), with an Amish quilt pattern that originated in Lancaster PA:
Sunday we gathered in the morning to autograph, for each other, magazines in which our work has been published, plus additional technique and business chats before breaking up to head back home. This retreat was such a wonderful opportunity for me... one that I'll not forget! I hope to be able to attend more East coast polymer retreats in the future!
Once I got home and unpacked. I finished my bird egg sculpt. I was really pleased with how he turned out! Here's a few photos of my finished birdie:
You can view more photos of my weekend get-away on my flickr photostream.
We met at Cindy's place Friday afternoon, and had an afternoon and evening of sharing food, chatting and show-n-tell. The show-n-tell part was especially fantastic; having the chance to examine items in hand that I had ogled in online photos.
Saturday morning was a gorgeous day, perfect for working on Cindy's large wrap-around-porch.
Saturday we had a full day of claying together, complete with demonstrations generously offered by Susan of 11BoldStreet, Marie of Marie Young Creative, Lisa of Hi Girls! Designs and Line of Play Sculpt Live. Each demonstration was a signature technique of each artist. As a group we all created a version of Marie Young's bird eggs. Below is a photo of all of our birds together.
Most of us took a shot at face sculpting in the method that Line of Play Sculpt Live demonstrated. Sadly, I don't have a group photo of our faces, but here's my attempt at Line's face technique.
Saturday evening was spent sharing more food and conversation, and an exchange of twinchies (2" pieces of artwork) which we had each prepared ahead of time to swap. The group had decided to make the twinchies representative of ourselves or of our hometown.
Here's what my 2 sided inchies looked like; Side A representative of me (silk dyed polymer technique background):
Side B; representative of where I live (Lancaster, PA), with an Amish quilt pattern that originated in Lancaster PA:
Sunday we gathered in the morning to autograph, for each other, magazines in which our work has been published, plus additional technique and business chats before breaking up to head back home. This retreat was such a wonderful opportunity for me... one that I'll not forget! I hope to be able to attend more East coast polymer retreats in the future!
Once I got home and unpacked. I finished my bird egg sculpt. I was really pleased with how he turned out! Here's a few photos of my finished birdie:
You can view more photos of my weekend get-away on my flickr photostream.
Fun! I can't tell you how I envy that you all were able to get together! One of these days I'll be able to join in, too, I'm sure. :)
ReplyDeleteAh Jackie, I wish you could have been there too! I certainly hope sometime in the future we'll be able to attend a retreat together! :)
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