South Jersey Clayathon started in 2005 as a small weekend get together for a group of people from different walks of life united by their love of polymer clay. It has grown to one of the preeminent polymer events in the US, last year attended by 130 people. I have been going to Clayathon since the beginning and am involved with the plans to take the event to a virtual platform in 2021 because of the pandemic.
You don’t attend an annual event all those years without making friendships. So we were all devastated to learn of the death of Mary Federici on September 20th. She never missed a Clayathon.
Mary was always good for a laugh. A typical story: one year when she was dating a plumber, she brought a length of heavy pipe to Clayathon that she used to whack the hell out of hard bricks of polymer to soften them for conditioning. “My persuader,” she called it.
We will all miss her.
Ornamento 
So sad to learn of Mary’s death. I enjoyed her company at Clayathon. One year she made the most beautiful statue of her little brown and white dog. It was fabulous. She was so talented. I was glad to know her.
Thanks for writing.
Arlene Groch asked me to share this:
“Thank you for writing and sharing these memories about Mary. Her death was such a shock. She was among the younger and strongest of the small group of “Polyaddicts” who met monthly between Clayathon’s at Ilene Demling’s School. When she saw me struggling with canes [the walking kind, not the clay kind] and polymer bags, she never hesitated to jump up and help me.
Mary was very much her own, independent person, willing to try anything and everything, and doing it with such verve and love of life. Mary Federici was loved and will be sorely missed.”
Thanks Arlene.
I had forgotten about “the persuader” 😀
Mary was sweet and funny, and I enjoyed the times we shared a Clayathon table. She will be missed!
Thanks for writing
I love it, that’s my mom!
I am so sorry that your Mom has passed. There are a lot of people who will miss her.
Mary and I were table-mates at the last Clayathon… we had a great time talking and laughing, sharing snacks, and consulting each other about how our respective projects were going. But I don’t think we were connected on social media until shortly before her surgery…. I’m sorry we lose the chance to laugh together again, but somewhere in the ether, I am sure her spirit is dancing…
And snickering.:-)