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

By: ornamento.blog
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.

ArtSci Designs

By: ornamento.blog
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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.

Clayathon Online 2022

By: ornamento.blog
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.