Troll Tracks

Today's featured artist is a talented polymer clay sculptor. She makes polymer clay sculptures of babies, elves, and forest animals

I was involved with polymer clay way back when there was no internet and not many clay choices.I was a wildlife wood carver, looking for something less dusty and messy. I gave up on polymer clay for many years because it could not trust it not to crack. I carved wood animals for many years, but returned to polymer clay because nothing else will create the realism in human skin tones and because I found the clay I love to work with. I use Fimo brand soft in flesh tone for almost everything I do now.

My favorite thing to make is whatever I'm doing at the moment. I tend to keep coming back to babies, whether human, fantasy or animal. I'm starting to look into reborning also. I'm definitely headed in that direction.



Polymer clay is just the greatest medium for realistic skin tones and ease of use. It is not messy which is a plus and there are very few boundaries with clay. I can make babies or a dragon or a pendant all with a lump of clay.

My advice for anyone starting with clay is to go online and look at what people make. When you find something you really love, that is your inspiration. Take the idea and make your own version. Don't get discouraged because clay takes alot of prictice to learn how to mold and work with it. Plan to make more than one of the same thing. Have fun. I nearly gave up trying to make hands, but I had to learn to do it. What took me two hours now take me ten minutes. I've made hundreds of hands by now.

Check out this great link at http://www.polyclayplay.com/FreeProjects.htm
There are projects and inspiratiion galore over there as well as free tutorials.
And you can check out her etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6377456



Thanks, TrollTracks

Rained OUT

At the show last Saturday, it rained buckets. My canopy had pools in the fabric and my tablecloths were completely soaked. While trying to get some of the water off the top of the canopy, I inadvertently dumped a ton on myself. I packed everything up and left after that. Ugh.

Sundance Children's Festival

I'm excited to participate in Sundance Ski Resort's annual Children's Festival this Saturday. I will have polymer clay jewelry, accessories, and even some toys for sale. I've attached the super-cute poster for the event below.

Feature on Artfire

My shop is being featured on the main page of Artfire this week! Here's a screen shot of part of the article

Check out the whole thing at Artfire.com. You can see my shop at http://aBitofColor.artfire.com

Artist Feature

This week, my local paper featured my work in their arts and entertainment section. Here's an excerpt from the article:


BOUNTIFUL — Loving one art form doesn’t mean that a girl can’t have fun with another.

After the economy caused pottery sales to slow down considerably, local potter Tara Robertson started creating whimsical animal and flower jewelry with polymer clay. Those birds, bugs and flowers have expanded enough to earn Robertson feature artist status June 5-8 at ArtFire.com, and gives her the chance to explore her flights of fancy.

“Polymer clay comes in these bright, beautiful colors,” she said. “I try to use it to its advantage and make things that are bright and colorful.”

Robertson’s introduction to polymer clay came when she started teaching kids’ classes using the material, and found that it was the perfect thing to take along when the family went on vacation.

“It’s a really good way to keep my hands busy,” she said. “It’s not as if you can take a pottery wheel on vacation with you.”

The speed of polymer clay jewelry also appeals to Robertson, allowing her to see a design come to life much faster than with pottery.

“With the polymer clay you can go from start to finish in about a day, where with pottery it takes about a month,” she said. “It’s kind of instant gratification.”

That immediacy also allows Robertson to fold her work into playtime with her young daughter.

“She’ll just say ‘oh, let’s make birds,’” she said. “She’ll sit down and squish her clay, and I’ll work on my stuff.”

So far, Robertson is planning a future that holds both pottery and polymer clay jewelry. She’s planning on going back to school in the fall for ceramics, and this summer she’ll continue teaching mixed media and polymer clay jewelry classes at her home studio in Bountiful (e-mail trpottery@gmail.com for more info.)

Tofu Nut Loaf

Today's featured artist makes great polymer clay robots with actual hardware as body parts. It's a fun and unique design and I'm loving it.

1.What got you involved in Polymer Clay?
My friend Bethany makes beautiful polymer clay pendants, and I wanted to get in on the fun, basically. I made pendants and beads for a while, and then started making robots. The robots pretty much took over at that point.

2.What is your favorite thing to make? Why?
Robots. They have character.



3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?
It's fun stuff, inexpensive, and easy to work with. There are entirely too many color choices, and the pearl clays are perfect for robots.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?
Play and have fun. Try out different techniques. It stinks if you overcook it.

Check out these awesome links:
tofunutloaf.etsy.com
tofunutloaf.com

Random Question Time: What's your "Go Green" crafting tip?

Do you have one tip for people to incorporate being green into their everyday life?


I think that you don’t necessarily need to be a pack-rat to save materials from the landfill. When throwing something away, I like to ask myself if it’s something I can use in a project. I keep fabric, ribbons, cardboard, boxes and packaging (for shipping my ceramic art http://trpottery.etsy.com), and anything else that catches my eye. It's good for the pocketbook and the environment. If I can’t use it or don’t know someone who can, then I see if I can recycle it before just throwing it away.

What's your "Go Green" tip for busy crafters?