For my first few years of experimenting with polymer clay, I didn't even try to make millefiori canes. Then again, I refused to use a pasta machine too, go figure... Once I did start caning, that was all I wanted to do! I soon got to a place where I had created loads of canes and wanted some way to archive my progress. In an earlier blog, "Clay Collecting", I featured a piece by Pier Voulkos which was made up of hundreds of cane slices. I thought it was the perfect way to archive a series of cane slices so I started with that idea.

Over the weekend, my family and I visited the local Sugar Creek Arts Festival held annually in Uptown Normal, IL. My 7 year old mistakenly thought we were going to the "Sugar Free Taco Bell" (not the Sugar Creek Arts Festival) but that's for a whole 'nother blog. My husband splurged on 3 polymer clay light switch covers designed by Layl McDill a.k.a. Silly Millies.

Besides loving all things polymer clay, I am extremely fascinated by fabric. I am very oftenly inspired by the prints and the patterns and the color combinations that tantalize my eyes through fabric. I could go on and on about how much I love fabric and fabric stores and shopping for fabric... But since this is a polymer clay blog, I'll slice quickly to the chase and tell you how fabric influences my polymer clay work.

       I've been cleaning out my cane stash and thinking about ways to inspire myself to use up some of my old canes. I decided to re-work some of them into new canes.

             Now I've done it... I've basically invited the whole polymer clay community into my studio, and you know what they're gonna find out... I'm just not that organized! You'd think with 3 filing drawers, 26 storage drawers and 30 cabinets, I'd have "a place for everything and everything in its place." Well, I do have a place for everything, but rarely is everything in it's place. Are you like this?

    Welcome to my home studio. I am one of the most fortunate artists I know of because my husband is so supportive of my art (habit, addiction, whatever you wanna call it). A couple years ago Tom decided that my studio needed to be remodeled and I'd like to share how awesomely he remodeled it here with you.

2009 found me making Santa's sleigh.

My husband designed the metal cutter that I used to create the sleigh shapes.

Cookies for Santa plates was the theme of the 2010 ornament.