Clayathon, 2023 and Beyond

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Clayathon, polymer clay, Polymer Clay conferences, Polymer Clay gatherings, , 2 Comments on Clayathon, 2023 and Beyond

Clayathon, an annual three-day get together for polymer clay artists and hobbyists, started because Arlene Groch, who had retired from the practice of law, brazenly decided to turn her conference room into polymer art studio. Polymer enthusiasts from the South Jersey area started to gather for all-day creativity sessions. They began to talk about about how wonderful it would be if they didn’t have to go home at night, but could continue to play with clay in their pajamas fortified by wine and snacks. Arlene took these sentiments to heart, found some hotel space and the first Clayathon gathering took place in 2006.

The event grew over the years, first from the addition of guest artists such as Donna Kato, Kathleen Dustin and Jeff Dever, and then by the addition of pre and post Clayathon workshops with an impressive roster of teachers. Clayathon convened yearly at various hotels in the South Jersey area through February, 2020, which was the last in person Clayathon, just before the lockdown went into effect.

We took Clayathon online in 2021 with guest artist Carol Blackburn and in 2022 with guest artist Loretta Lam. We scheduled an in person Clayathon for February, 2023 after conducting an online survey to see how we would fare but registration was down, and late cancellations due to concerns about Covid-19 forced us to cancel it.

Things have changed since the pandemic. A lot of instruction has moved online, which is good and bad. It’s good because people can attend classes anywhere in the world and teachers have a wider audience. But online classes often lack the warmth and collegiality of in person classes. Plus traveling to take a class can be a wonderful experience for those who can afford it.

I can’t say I missed the frenzy of mounting two online Clayathons in 2021 and 2022. Even with all the support and great volunteers, I missed the in person interaction. So I was really looking forward to Clayathon 2023, even though we would be attempting for the first time to combine an in-person Clayathon with a virtual component. Looking back, that was probably too much to take on, although it didn’t matter in the end because we had to cancel.

I hope there will be a Clayathon 2024. I will be stepping down from the Clayathon board because I think it is time for fresh blood. We are looking into possibilities for a transition and are always looking for new ideas and volunteers. If you have any thoughts, you can contact us at hello@clayathon.org. In the meantime, if you want to learn about Clayathon, what it’s all about, and see pictures and videos from past Clayathons, press here for all the links.

Polymer at PMA Craft Show 2022

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Art, Clayathon, Philadelphia Craft Show, polymer clay, Leave a Comment on Polymer at PMA Craft Show 2022

I got my first real look at polymer back in the stone age at the Philadelphia Craft Show at the 23rd Street Armory in Philadelphia. That’s where I first saw the the work of City Zen Cane. I bought two pairs of earrings at their booth: a pair for me which I still have, and a pair for my mother-in-law. She later confessed that she lost one earring and was so upset, she threw away the other one. That’s alright. I got her son.

I joined my friend Patty for the 46th annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show at the Philadelphia Convention Center recently. The show was less crowded than I remember it, probably because of the pandemic, and it was easy to take pictures of work with your cell phone. But there’s a danger in doing that. If you want to remember something, you’re much better off going to the artists’ websites, and everyone has one nowadays. They pay a lot of money to have their work professionally photographed in the best possible light. Still, I could not resist taking some pictures of the venue itself

City Zen Cane, now known as Ford and Forlano, were at the craft show this year with their distinctive work that has evolved greatly from their early days.

But this year’s show will be their last one. Now, we’ve all heard things like this before. How many farewell tours has Cher and The Who had? Don’t even mention Tom Brady. Still, there’s a lot more money to be made from stadium rock concerts and professional football than polymer clay, no matter how innovative and visionary it is. I am sure their work will still be available on their web site.

I had never met Wiwat Kamolpornwijit, but he proved to be a friendly and affable guy who loved to talk about his work. He looked like he was having a good show. Go to his website to take a look at his jewelry.

I have admired Genevieve Williamson‘s work for years. I love her muted and understated palate and her commitment to recycling clay and materials. Great earring cards!

Follow Genevieve on Instagram here.

Last but not least is Bonnie Bishoff, who was showing work with her husband and collaborator J.M. Syron. Bonnie will be this year’s guest artist at Clayathon.

Check out their website here and Instagram feed here. Drop me a message in the comments section if you want to learn more about Clayathon.

More Earring History

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Art, Clayathon, Earrings, , , Leave a Comment on More Earring History

I have fried my brains this week helping to plan Clayathon 2023 at the Seaview Hotel in Galloway, NJ next February. It was easier to plan my wedding. We are all hoping that people will feel safe enough to attend and that COVID will not take a major surge, although winter is not the best time for indoor conferences. Our last two conferences were virtual. We will have a virtual component this year, but Clayathon started as a live event and is going back to its roots.

I have a bunch of polymer projects on my work table right now in various stages of completion. I continue to make earrings. The pictures below are of earring I’ve made through the years and the techniques I’ve tried include lampworking, ceramics, metal etching, resin, wirework and enameling. It’s been fun.

More earring history here.

ArtSci Designs

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I made my way to the home of ArtSci Designs this weekend for an open house and to see the beautiful polymer jewelry that my friend Terri makes in her Conshohocken studio.

Terri is a scientist who spends most of her days looking at the microverse through a scanning electron microscope. She translates the microverse into art you can wear. Here are just a few of her creations: bracelets in a color for everyone. She makes other kinds of jewelry, too-earrings, pendants, and necklaces mixing in sterling chains and findings, semi precious gems and handmade glass beads.

Terri has a lot of shows scheduled in the Northeast in the coming months. Follow ArtSci Designs on Instagram here, or Facebook here, to see where she’ll land next.

Some New Polymer Clay Products to Try

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Art, Clayathon, Donna Kato, Kato Polyclay, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay tutorials, , , Leave a Comment on Some New Polymer Clay Products to Try

People are always asking me what’s the best polymer clay to try, where can I get ideas for polymer clay projects, where can I buy polymer clay, and what are the best polymer clay tutorials?

The best polymer clay for you depends on what you’re using it for. Everyone knows that Sculpey III is soft and not very durable when cured. But it comes in a rainbow of colors. It’s best suited for children’s projects.

Cernit is becoming more popular in the United States and for a good reason. The array of colors are stunning, and it is sturdy and beautiful when cured properly.

Kato Polyclay is known for its strength and ability to hold its shape making it ideal for caning. I’ve used Kato clay in the past with great success. It can be a little challenging to condition, but the results are worth it.

I generally use Premo Sculpey which is durable, flexible, and very strong when properly cured. I blend my own colors, although they do have a large number of colors for people who don’t care to mix their own.

You end up with scrap when you work with polymer. There’s really no such thing as “waste clay” because everything can be used. But sometimes I forget to separate my colors (here’s a video showing how that’s done) and I end up with a lot of mud.

So I was thrilled when Donna Kato announced a new product, Kato Blackout Clay, at Clayathon. (Here’s the video.) Blackout clay turns any color of polymer clay to black. I’m always using black. I was excited!

But was there a problem? Like I said, I use mostly Premo which cures at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Kato clay cures at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. How would the blended clay hold up if I mixed them together? My friend Patty came over the other week and mixed up a bunch of clay and we tested. Here are the results.

We mixed Kato Blackout clay with Premo. The Kato was 12.5% by size. (I trust Patty on this. She can recite Avogadro’s Law from memory. And it’s been a long time since high school.) She cut out 1 1/2 ” circles of thicknesses ranging from #1 on my Atlas pasta machine (about 1/8″) to #9 (thinnest setting). We baked them on a tile at 275 F for an hour, let them cool, and then I tried to destroy them. I could not.

As you can see, I was able to bend each circle almost in half. I don’t have a picture of the thinnest disc, but believe me, it didn’t break. I don’t recommend you do this with all of your clay, but I wanted to see how well the Premo and Kato Blackout clay worked together. The answer is, “just fine.”

I also tried a little of the Kato Liquid Gold clay. I smeared some on some previously-cured Premo clay and liked the effect.

You can buy Kato Blackout Clay and Kato Liquid Gold here.

Clayathon Online 2022

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Art, Clayathon, Donna Kato, Kato Polyclay, polymer clay, Polymer Clay gatherings, Polymer Clay Retreats, , , , , , Leave a Comment on Clayathon Online 2022

A lot of planning went into Clayathon 2022. We had an incredible team of volunteers who worked together seamlessly, who supported one another, and made it happen. With registrants exceeding 450 this year, I was concerned about how we would handle them all on a Zoom meeting. But there were no problems. Everything and everyone came together.

The sense of community was palpable. Although most Clayathon registrants came from the United States and Canada, a number of registrants from Russia, who came to us via polymer artists Juliya Laukhina and Olga Guseva, joined us. It seems surreal in light of recent events that less than two weeks ago we were together online sharing tips, techniques, and talking about our personal histories and sources of inspiration.

From Juliya’s presentation
From Olga’s presentation

Donna Kato and Anna Ko of the Van Aken Clay Company dropped by to show off some exciting new products. Their video just went live on YouTube and here’s the link.

Wendy Moore joined us live from Australia where, aided by Kathleen Dustin and Cynthia Tinapple, she educated us on the history of Samunnat in Nepal, which is an organization dedicated to empowering Nepalese women who have experienced violence or abuse to become financially independent. One of the programs Samunnat sponsors is teaching women to make and sell polymer jewelry. You can support this wonderful program by buying some of this jewelry for yourself. More information here.

The Gathering grew out of an interview of polymer artist Debbie Jackson by Cynthia Tinapple after the murder of George Floyd. Debbie issued a call to action and assembled a group of 14 polymer artists, 7 white and 7 black. They met weekly on Zoom to have hard, unflinching conversations about race, society, and the impact it had on their lives and art. In October, 2021, they opened a group show, Truth Be Told, at the Two Villages Art Society Gallery in Contoocook, NH. For the exhibit, each artist chose a word that she felt related to the topics discussed in the conversations and created a piece of polymer art around it.

Several of the Gathering artists joined us online at Clayathon to discuss the exhibit and their contributions to it. It was a moving, challenging presentation.

Syndee’s New Tips and Tricks

We ended Clayathon on a lighter note with an entertaining presentation by Syndee Holt on what’s new on the polymer horizon and what’s trending in general.

I wrote about Loretta Lam’s incredible presentations in last week’s post. If you are interested in purchasing her jewelry or her book on jewelry design (which I heartily recommend,) press here.

Clayathon Goes Virtual

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Clayathon, On Line Video, Polymer Clay conferences, , Leave a Comment on Clayathon Goes Virtual
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Normally, the articles I’ve posted after the annual Clayathon conference are heavy on photographs.   But this year, we took Clayathon online because the pandemic made gathering at the Stockton Seaview an impossibility.  None of us had ever hosted an online conference before.  There was a lot to learn!  In the end, we went for three days and had more than 300 people in attendance via Zoom from all over the globe.  That’s 300 people at one time watching our guest artist Carol Blackburn in two live streams from London each day and our end of the day presenter Syndee Holt, live each day from San Diego, California.  That’s an 8 hour difference for those of you who are wondering. Carol shared a screen in Zoom with her work surface.  Everyone got a clear view. People could ask questions in the chat box.  After Carol’s demos, there were pdf handouts for paid registrants

Pit Crew including
Meeting of the pit crew

In the middle, we had presenters from the Eastern Standard time zone:  A panel discussion with Lindly Haunani, Laura Tabakman and Kathleen Dustin on the impact the pandemic has had on their art,  a live tour of Kathleen Dustin’s studio in the woods of New Hampshire and a presentation by Loretta Lam on her book (which I highly recommend) Mastering Contemporary Jewelry Design.  In the afternoon, we had breakout rooms in Zoom where people could mingle, socialize and trade ideas. 

My work station

None of this happened by accident.  We’ve been planning virtual Clayathon 2021 for months.  We had great people on the crew.  For more information, go to our web site where you can read all about Clayathon.  Be sure to visit the shop where you can buy art from many of the teachers who taught workshops in the days before and after Clayathon.

Clayathon in full swing with screens and screens of participants
Valentine’s Day morning.

Pottery in Progress

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Clayathon starts this Friday, so I haven’t had much time to go to the studio lately. Today, I decided to decorate a set of nesting bowls with underglaze.

I think I’ll be better able to concentrate when Clayathon is over, although it should be lots of fun. If you’re curious about the polymer side of clay, check us out at Clayathon.org.

Transitions: Mary Federici

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Clayathon, , 11 Comments on Transitions: Mary Federici

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.

Hamming it up at the first Clayathon. Arlene Groch is in the front, Emily Squires Levine is left. Mary is at the rear.
Mary at Clayathon 2019

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.

Coming Together at Clayathon

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Polymer artist Lindly Haunani is currently in the hospital with multiple severe injuries she suffered in a car accident last week. She is going to have a very long, painful, expensive recovery.

Lindly was scheduled to teach a class at Clayathon which started yesterday.  Her friend and collaborator Maggie Maggio is flying in to teach Lindly’s class for her.

The Clayathon participants have planned some extra conference activities in support of Lindly.

Watch the Creative Journey Studios website here   for exciting news about Sue and Ellen’s ambitious long term project, “52 Weeks for Lindly”.

Most importantly, Cynthia Tinapple has created a Go Fund Me page for Lindly here. Please support Lindly’s Page on your social media and email it to your contacts, and make a donation if you can.