Polymer clay workshops at the Lake House Arts Centre

Here is a photo from my Introduction to Polymer Clay workshop, held last weekend at the Lake House Arts Centre.

I had six lovely students, who I believe left at the end of the day with a greater knowledge of this wonderful creative medium and plenty of inspiration. Due to the limited space in my two table top ovens, we concentrated on cutting flat shapes from colour blended, marbled and textured clay. Here is the students work, which I think is great, as four of them had never used polymer clay before.

 

 

Two new workshops are planned for next term - details will be published soon. 

 



Delighted with the Feedback from my Introduction to Polymer Workshop

Introduction to Polymer Clay Workshop on Saturday 22 June 2013

This workshop is running this weekend at the Lake House Arts Centre in Takapuna, Auckland.

Introduction to Polymer Clay Workshops at the Lake House

Contact the Lake House Arts Centre on 09 486 4877 or info@lakehousearts.org.nz
See www.lakehousearts.org.nz for more information on their Arts Programme for January - July 2013.

PRESS RELEASE: Premo sculpture showing at the Lake House

The growing popularity of polymer clay as a fine art medium can be seen at the Members Merit Awards 2012 exhibition, at the Lake House Arts Centre, Takapuna.

 

‘Spring Trio’ is one of two exhibits from local polymer clay artist, Claire Fairweather. It was created with Premo Sculpey, a brand of artists quality polymer clay, now available from Gordon Harris art stores. On the theme of Spring, the three multi-coloured spheres represent different stages of growth.

Claire says: “I had great fun making these pieces and love the tactile nature of polymer clay as an art medium”.

The exhibition opens on 18 September and runs through to 7 October at the Lake House Arts Centre, 37 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna.

If you are tempted to try this oven bake clay for yourself, Claire offers ‘Introduction to Polymer Clay’ workshops, as she is keen to encourage more people to try this incredibly versatile creative medium. For more information about workshops, see her website www.clairefairweather.co.nz

20% off Premo Sculpey polymer clay at Gordon Harris art stores throughout September.

Polymer Clay Workshops for 2012

The weather turned out to be good for this years Auckland Anniversary Art & Craft Market at Mission Bay, bringing lots of visitors to the market.

My display advertising the 'Introduction to Polymer Clay' and the 'Polymer Clay Mosaics' workshops that I will be running through 2012 attracted a lot of interest. I hope this will follow through with some bookings. The fact that I was actually working on making a mosaic picture seemed to draw in by-standers.

Working on 'Coffee Time' mosaic

It was nice to have some 'regular customers' return to buy from the 'clearance' table, where I was selling off trial pieces and the last of my stock of Art-Brooches and HANGAs. I no longer intend to make these, as this year, I will be concentrating on teaching workshops and creating larger scale mosaic artwork.

Coffee Time at Mission Bay

Auckland Anniversary Art & Craft Market

Monday 30 January 2012 from 10am - 4pm

on the Selwyn Reserve, Mission Bay

'Coffee Time' is the title of my latest polymer clay mosaic, which I have sketched out here. I intend to be working on this mosaic at this years Auckland Anniversary Art & Craft Market at Mission Bay. I am hoping that the 'work in progress' will attract some interest in my display and the workshops I will be advertising for 2012.

If there is anyone in Auckland who wants to learn more about polymer clay, my Introduction to Polymer Clay Workshop could be just what you are looking for. If you like mosaics but do not want the expense of buying traditional mosaic tools and materials, learn more about an alternative on my Polymer Clay Mosaics (Introduction) Workshop. More details can be found under the 'WORKSHOPS' tab - or come and see me on the 30th at Mission Bay (I hope to be in my usual spot, Row 1).

My last post of the year

One of my New Year Resolutions for 2011 was to "enjoy and prosper from my creativity". I have certainly “enjoyed” everything I have done with polymer clay – and have learned so much more in this last year. The “prosper” part has been a little more difficult in the current economic climate. Here I will take the opportunity to review my goals for 2011:

To expand my range of HANGAs in both surface decoration and shape, and to find more sales outlets – I have experimented with many different types of surface decoration and did try out some heart and square shaped HANGAs as well as the original circular shape. I have continued to sell my HANGAs through Craftworld (Westgate) but apart from trying Etsy.com on-line, have still only sold them through craft markets. I have not pursued other outlets, as I intend to wind down production next year, to concentrate on teaching workshops/classes.

Open an Etsy shop to sell my HANGAs, and other pieces of polymer clay art/craft work, to a wider audience – My Esty shop was launched on 1 August, however, I feel a lot more study is required to make this method work for selling, when so many others are selling through the same site. Next year, I may try www.trademe.co.nz (New Zealand website similar to Ebay) but I much prefer the physical interaction with customers at the markets/fairs, than waiting for an on-line sale.

To create some polymer clay mosaic artwork. (This was my original reason for trying this medium, which has somehow got lost as the Art-Brooches and HANGAs developed, when I had less time for creative work) – I have created several polymer clay mosaic pieces that I am proud of and have ideas for many more, which will gradually become realised as time permits.

To get some polymer clay art/craft work in a few selected galleries, to establish some credibility here in New Zealand – I have exhibited polymer clay work twice in the gallery at the Mairangi Arts Centre. Next year I will need to look at other galleries, particularly as the New Zealand Art Guild, with its exhibiting opportunities, sadly closed down last week.

Try teaching some polymer clay workshops, initially through the Mairangi Arts Centre, to introduce others to the joy of working with this fantastic medium – I am currently preparing material for two different workshops (Introduction to Polymer Clay and Polymer Clay Mosaics). I accepted a number of dates for Spring 2012, to do Saturday workshops at the Mairangi Arts Centre but for some reason (which they have failed to explain to me) these were not published in their brochure, so I am now working on running these myself and creating my own publicity.

HOPING 2012 IS A PROSPEROUS YEAR FOR EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THE POLYMER CLAYER ARTISTS AROUND THE WORLD

Planning for 2012

Following on from my last post, the discovery that my trial 'beachwear accessories' became too soft when exposed to intense sunshine, has led me to rethink my way forward for the next few months. I have decided to halt the launch of the beachwear accessories, which I was intending to promote over the summer months, until I have done some more trials with different thinknesses of polymer clay in the hottest months.

Instead, I will concentrate on preparing material for teaching workshops, with the view of having these up and running for February/March 2012. Due to the Christmas/January holiday period, I will start promoting the workshops at the next Mission Bay Art & Craft Market on Auckland Anniversary Day (30 January 2012) with a concentrated effort during February.

To begin with I will do half day 'Polymer Clay Mosaics' workshops, using my own custom made mosaic tiles, while I accumulate enough equipment. Then I will also be able to offer a full day 'Introduction to Polymer Clay' workshop, which will cover all the basic aspects of working with polymer clay, plus an insight into the many techniques and uses; hopefully inspiring further interest in this wonderful, versatile creative medium.