When I was about six years old, my mother came
back from a trip to the mid-west—what she was doing there, I don’t remember.
However, while she was there, she visited a local craft store. There she was
introduced to polymer clay in the form of beads. She brought some clay home for
us to experiment. While we sat at the kitchen table, I listened to her talk
about these amazing beads she saw and how they were made from the packs of clay
that sat before me. Keep in mind, this was in the day before we had cell phones
and easy ways to take pictures, so she had to explain them to me from memory.
As she described all the beads she saw, I opened the packages of clay and began
to knead some small pieces in my hands. I had no clue what I was doing and the
only real experience I had with “clay” was Play-Doh at this point in my young
life. Her stories continued to flow as I played with the clay. As the clay got
softer, I would work with another color to the same consistency. By this point,
she was telling me about these beautiful blue and pearl swirled beads that were
separated by small gold spacer beads and were strung into a necklace. As she
finished this part of her story, I remember holding up the clay I had been
working on and said, “You mean like this?” She was astounded! I had been able
to recreate those marbled beads she was memorized by in the store without even
seeing them myself. I think it was probably that moment when her polymer clay
obsession took flight.
Pantone’s 2019 color of the year
is Living Coral. This shade is inspired by many marine invertebrates living
along the bottom of the sea and make up various reefs. Living coral is a
mood-boosting color that is fresh and invigorating.
When we hear the word lace, we get a mental image of a delicate, white fabric. Many times, we find lace as an embellishment on a wedding dress or made into a doily that has been handed down from a distant relative. Traditionally, lace is made from thread or yarn, but has also been made from materials such as silk, gold, and even silver threads throughout history. Now we can add another material to that list – Polymer Clay!
