Thoughts about creativity, polymer clay, beading and life

Something I feel strongly about:

I think all artists working with polymer clay and all polymer clay guilds should make a donation to the Racine Art Museum Polymer Collection.

In a few short years the Polymer Collection Project spearheaded by Elise Winters has made great strides in elevating the profile of our chosen material.  The Racine Art Museum has agreed to host a major polymer art exhibition along with a hardcover catalog, and to establish a permanent collection of polymer art.  Pieces from the Polymer Collection Project have been acquired by 5 other major museums around the country.   The Racine Art Museum’s collection will ultimately become a center for the study of polymer art.

We are working in a medium with a short history and a very low profile compared to many of the traditional artist’s materials.   Raising the profile of polymer clay as an accepted art medium benefits us all.  As museums acquire and exhibit pieces of polymer clay art, polymer clay can  truly be seen as more than a child’s toy.

Whether or not you aspire to having a piece of your work in a museum collection some day, a donation to the project is a donation to advancing the profile of our medium.  Whether or not you think you will ever go to the Racine Art Museum to view the collection, their collection is a very big step in establishing polymer clay as an accepted art material.  That is a huge benefit to any polymer clay artist or polymer clay guild.

Checks can be made out to RAM/Polymer Collection and sent to:
Racine Art Museum
441 Main St.
Racine, WI 53403

Or click here to make a donation.

Learn more about the Polymer Collection Project at Polymer Art Archive.

Tagged as: polymer art archive, polymer clay, polymer clay collection, Racine Art Museum

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Here is my piece for the Synergy 2 Exhibit.  I am calling it “Keeping It Together”.  The name seemed appropriate because  the theme of this second Synergy Conference is Connections, and the necklace uses many forms of connections:  polymer clay to polymer clay, soldered connections, tabs and links.  All these types of connections serve to secure the elements of the necklace and keep it together.

On a deeper level, “Keeping It Together” represents how the creative spark inside me helps me stay sane and grounded even when it’s banked and quiet.  I think of my artistic side as the pilot light of my soul.  Sometimes it is hard to really know it’s there, but even when it’s really only in the back of my mind, it helps hold me together mentally and emotionally.

Tagged as: metalworking, polymer clay, Synergy

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Wow.  I can’t believe I haven’t posted since October.  I’ve thought about posting, written a lot of posts in my head, but never really managed to write an actual blog post.  It has been a long hard dry spell for me.  I’ve been feeling rather rudderless.  I also had a project hanging over my head.  I was invited to make a piece for the Synergy 2 Exhibit.  When I got the invitation, many months ago, I was really jazzed.  I had a couple of complex and crazy ideas, and even lined up another artist for a collaboration.  Then it got pushed to the back burner.  I kept thinking about it and realized I couldn’t really make my original ideas work.  (Often my design ideas exceed my technical metalworking skills.)  Time passed, my enthusiasm and creativity fled and the project started to scare me.  I pushed myself to work (slowly) on some basic bezel forms.  Deadlines passed and progress was minimal.  Eventually I had to apologize to the other artist and decide to finish the piece alone. More time passed.

I thought about it a lot, but much like my blog writing, thinking did not progress to action.  This weekend when I should have been decorating the house for Christmas or at the very least cleaning some of the vast piles of dog hair and debris, I escaped to the studio and finished the necklace.  My husband always groans and shakes his head as I plunge into projects at the very last minute.

Anyway… I’m pretty happy with the results.  I’m going to write a separate post about the piece itself, but here’s a teaser peek.

It’s amazing how

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I’m still here.  I haven’t had much to say lately as I am practicing my usual autumnal creative sabotage.  That is, I think about projects, things I’d like to try etc., then I find all sorts of excuses not to start them.  I’m laughing at myself as I write this, because really that’s pretty pathetic behavior.  Note to self:  kick self in butt.

My blog got a nice mention in the latest International Polymer Clay Association Newsletter.  The Studio Snapshot feature got a special attention.  I’ll try to post a new one later this week.  I’ve been interested to see a proliferation of special magazines focusing on artists’ studios.  I’ve been wishing for a long time that there were more resources for seeing how other artists set up their creative spaces.  I’d love to see a magazine like Art Jewelry do a regular feature on artists’ studios.

Tagged as: creative inertia, studio

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Artist name: Connie Pelkey

Location: Augusta, Maine

Blog: Constance Pelkey Designs

Other websites: Etsy Shop and  Artfire Shop

Do you have a dedicated studio/artistic space? Yes

Where is it located? The small front room on the second floor of our home is the main studio where I work in PC, PMC, sewing, bead stringing and wire wrapping. My kiln, buffer, tumbler, and convection oven live in a small area of the basement, and a small photo studio is set up in the 3rd floor attic space. I crochet and bead weave in the living room while watching TV in the evening, and in the summer I often bring a small set up of whatever I am working on outside to the back deck.

Is it a large or small space? The main space is small, very small.

What medium(s) do you work in? Polymer Clay, Precious Metal Clay, Beads, Wire, free style sewing and crochet.

Do you have a separate area for each? Yes, I try to

What one word would you use to describe your studio? Small

What do you think is the best feature of your studio? It’s mine! I don’t share this room with any other household function!

What would you change if you could? It’s size and the carpeting on the floor!

Can you share an organizational tip? Everything NEEDS a home and when you are done with it, put it away! (yeah, right! !)

Describe the usual state of your work table? In progress. I ALWAYS have something I’m working on, on it!

Does your work table face out into the room or toward the wall? The main place I sit (PC station) faces out into the room and a window is on my right. The PMC station is on the opposite side of the table and I sit facing the wall with the window on my left. The sewing and stringing stations are on the opposite side of the room.

What’s one drawback of your studio/artistic space? Having a space so small I need to split up the finishing (basement) and photo studio areas. I’d LOVE to have a larger room with space for everything in it. I am happy with what I have for now.

Do you have any studio mascots (pets, mannequin whatever)? Yes, I have a Betta fish and my dog Nero is ever present wherever I am.

Do you have an idea wall or inspiration board? Yeah, there’s a bulletin board above my head as I sit at the sewing station… I see it clearly from my main PC station.

Do you listen to music in your studio? Yep! What kind? Eclectic.

Do you display your own work in your studio? Yeah, there’s pieces around the room.

Other artists’ work? A few.

What’s one quirk or unusual feature of your studio? There’s a door with no actual door on hinges that leads into our bedroom. I’ve placed a cabinet right in the doorway and my wire wrap station is in the cabinet as well as some storage, there’s a small TV on top of the cabinet which can be spun around so we can watch TV in bed if we like… more often than not though the TV is on HGTV as I work. i LOVE that network!

Tagged as: polymer clay artist, Studio Snapshot

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