The Back Story

I mentioned in an earlier post a few days ago that Jan Montarsi asked me to contribute to an article he was writing for the February issue of The Polymer Arts published by Sage Bray, who is a former guild mate of mine from my PCAGOE days (Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy.)   

I received my digital copy of the magazine last night and was very pleased, other than a typo which was my fault, not theirs.  I do know the difference between "bear" and "bare," believe me!  My apologies for not catching that error before I submitted my part to Jan.   To err is human though, right?   

Many thanks again to Jan and to Sage for allowing me to be a part of this article.  Jan in particular was very patient with me and my nagging questions, and I really appreciate his patience and help. 

Finishing is one of the things I am best known for in the polymer clay world, and also the thing I am most passionate about when creating with polymer clay.  I often get on my high horse, as my Grandmother Nanny would say, about the subject; and I was gratified to see that it is also important to the other artists who contributed.   Finishing a piece nicely adds to the aesthetics of the piece, but also increases its value if you are an artist who sells your work.  It is just the professional thing to do.   Okay, okay, soapbox back in the corner for now, but I hope you'll read the article and decide to try finishing your work on both sides, too.  If you already do, BRAVO for putting your best work out there to be admired and enjoyed for all the time and energy you put into it!  

Sage published a couple of photos, of "before" and "after" pieces, and I thought I would post the other views in my Flickr photo stream so you could see them all.

I have already received several requests for my two mini finishing tutorials, so if you are interested in learning how to sand and buff and modify a Dremel Rotary Hand Tool or shape and refine edges and curves with  my Plexiglas tutorial, which are not listed in my shop separately, let me know and I'll list and reserve copies for you.   Both are included in my faux jade and faux bone/ivory tutorial, too, so many of you may already have the same information.

Jan also created a Flickr photo group for people to post photos of the front and back of their polymer work. You can see many more photos there than space allowed for in the magazine, so I hope you will check it out, too. 

Thanks again, Jan and Sage!  It was an honor to be included in such a fantastic magazine dedicated to polymer clay, the best print magazine out there for polymer people!