Conversations with Contemporary Clayers: Dani Rapinett

Today's Profile: Dani Rapinet

1)Why are you an artist and what drew you to clay?

For as long as I can remember I have loved to ‘create’.

My Mum was always the artistic one in the family and whilst I used to nag her endlessly as a child to try everything she was doing, nothing ever stuck.

2)How long have you been an artist?

I never really found my ‘true calling’ until I discovered polymer clay about 6 or 7 years ago.

I think I was born an artist - I need that creative outlet to survive.  I feel strangely ‘at ease’ when I’m working in my studio – the outside world seems a million miles away. It is a wonderful feeling.

3)What is your favourite clay?

Without a doubt, Polymer Clay - more specifically Premo clay.

It is a magical medium unlike anything else I’ve worked with. There is an air of mystery surrounding it – what can be created with it? How far can it be pushed? I love its versatility.

Polymer clay never ceases to amaze me - there is always something new to learn and boundaries to break.

I also dabble in metal clay - usually silver or bronze - which I like to incorporate into my polymer pieces.

4)What other materials do you like to incorporate in your work and why?

I’m a little boring as I really do love working with polymer in its purest form and don’t use many inclusions.

5)What are you currently working on?

I have just finished working on a sterling silver and polymer bracelet for a friend. Each charm represents a little piece of her personality.

She loved it which was great.

I’m now working on organising my workspace/studio. I have a lot of unfinished projects on the go, a heap of half used MG stacks and a load of canes that need sorting.

I feel like I need to get all that into some sort of order and then I’ll move onto my next major project…..there are bound to be lots of little projects I’ll start in between  - I call it ‘creative procrastination’!!

6)What inspires your work?

My inspiration comes from the world around me. I am heavily influenced by colour and texture.

The majority of my pieces combine my love of colour and texture.

I also love mokume gane. Many of my designs are centred around different variations of mokume gane.

I never tire of it. The patterns and colours just suck me in – nothing is ever the same thing twice.

7)Is there a purpose to your artwork?

Not usually. I create when the urge strikes and most of my pieces are spontaneous and not planned.

If they are planned in any way, they usually end up being nothing like the original plan!!

8)Which of your artwork pieces is your favourite and why?

My favourite piece is a necklace I called  ‘Envy’.

It was the piece that pulled me out of a creative rut last year. It was a lot of work to create the individual components as each contains two polymer clay bails on the back and has been hand sanded and buffed. I enjoyed working on a big piece again. ‘Envy’ also won me 2^nd place in the 2011 Bead Society of Victoria’s Elly Feldman Award.

It’s not every year that polymer clay pieces get recognized within the Bead Society so I was quite proud of this achievement - it was very unexpected.

9)What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Create what you love, not what you think everyone expects of you. Stay true to who you are as an artist and enjoy the journey.

10) Why do you like to teach?

I love to pass on my knowledge of polymer clay and I feel very lucky that people want to learn from me.

There is nothing like empowering someone with knowledge and watching that knowledge grow as their enthusiasm does.

Many of my students are amazed by what they have been able to achieve in class and leave with such a huge smile on their face and an eagerness to keep creating.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that I’ve helped create that happiness and enthusiasm.

 Dani's website and Facebook page:

www.thewhimsicalbead.com.au

www.facebook.com.au/TheWhimsicalBead

Conversations with Contemporary Clayers: Wilma Simmons

Today's Profile: Wilma Simmons

 

1)Why are you an artist and what drew you to clay?

I am an artist because it makes me happy and gives me an appreciation of feeling free.

“ …. art reminds you that you have a soul.” Stella Adler

Clay is a versatile medium to express oneself.

2)How long have you been an artist?

I think we are all born artists. It just takes some of us time to develop the confidence to share with others. I have been sharing my art since 2005.

3)What is your favourite clay?

I  really enjoy the limitless possibilities of polymer clay, but my favourite is really whatever I am currently working with. 

4)What other materials do you like to incorporate in your work and why?

Textiles -  so fibres and fabric are usually there in my work.

5)What are you currently working on?

I like working with a mix of materials, especially naturally found objects so new works evolving from my message stick art dolls and tree sculptures currently monopolise my time. However, in a recent exhibition, I presented some of my photographic textile art although I am still experimenting with printing photos onto organza and silk and incorporating them and other mixed media elements on canvas.    

6)What inspires your work?

People, places, cultures, literature , art and my heritage.   

7)Is there a purpose to your artwork?

I hope that my work celebrates diversity, with a harmonious mixture of techniques, materials and ideas.

8)Which of your artwork pieces is your favourite?

I think a previous response answers this – whatever I am currently working on …

but I am fond of  “Three Wise Women” and “ White Knight”  and some of this year’s tree sculptures.

9)What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Do whatever makes you happy – that will show in your work.

10)Why do you like to teach?

I love teaching because it is truly a great privilege to empower another person with new ideas and  new skills  and  to help him/her to rediscover creative freedom.  

11)What would you like people to know about the upcoming Contemporary Craft Retreat in Canberra?

This is a wonderful opportunity to interact with other creative and talented people and to be inspired. It truly is a retreat – you can forget the world of realities and be immersed in and  transformed  by the collective creative energy. Regardless of what you create in the various workshops, the experience will be a catalyst for and confirmation of your creativity.

Artist’s statement : Wilma Simmons

I call my art works “handmade treasures” which are inspired by people, places, heritage and literature, and are influenced by an eclectic range of media and approaches. I can’t boast of a childhood interest in creating art, unless designing paper clothes for paper cut out dolls counts! After University when I married and lived in small isolated country towns, I joined spinning, weaving, macramé and pottery craft groups and sewed, knitted and crocheted clothes for myself and our children. My interest in textiles remained a hobby while I followed a career in English and Drama teaching. Cloth doll making, embroidery and beading alleviated the everyday work stress of being a high school principal, a job which also gave me great joy and satisfaction. Not being a “retiring” type, when I finished work in 2005, I began to teach beading and art doll making, gave birth to Empress Wu Designs, volunteered with a village project in Papua New Guinea and became an accredited Contemporary Clay Instructor (polymer clay and precious metal clay – silver). My current work is a coalescence of both past and newly acquired skills, techniques and ideas.

Wilma Simmons details:

http://empresswu.blogspot.com.au/

http://www.facebook.com/Empress.Wu.Designs



Conversations with Contemporary Clayers: Lara LeReveur

Today's Profile: Lara LeReveur

Why are you an artist and what drew you to clay?

Why am I an artist?  When I was a child there was always something interesting happening.  My mother had her finger in just about any creative pie you can think of. My father was a journalist who loved his jazz, he played the saxophone and the clarinet and wrote stories.  One of my earliest memories is spending hours sitting in the hall cupboard nestled in the clean towels and linen to dampen the noise of dooby-dooing reed instruments while carving bars of soap into curls with a the blade of a pencil sharpener that I had disassembled.  I was always fascinated by how things were constructed and would deconstruct things in an effort to learn their secrets. I rode my bike around for months with wobbly wheels until my elder brother took pity on me and put them back on straight and tightened them up. In hindsight this explains a lot about me. I grew up in a house from a golden age, full of photo developing equipment, kilns, inappropriately shaped freestyle macramé, furry cats and a chubby aged Labrador, fabulous metallic wallpaper from the early 70's and a huge picture of Reg Livermore in drag on the back of the down stairs loo.

Clay sort of chose me.  To my surprise it actually did what I wanted it to.  

How long have you been an artist?

I'm not sure how long I've been an artist.  I hated art school. Most of the time I'm just a housewife with a taste for the absurd who draws funny faces on the kids' sandwich wrappers and wears paint and plaster spotted clothing.

What is your favorite clay?

Definitely porcelain.  It smells divine; it feels cool and soft; it's familiar.  I craved for it when I was pregnant. After that COPPRclay is my favourite metal clay to work with, but also PMC Pro is my favorite metal clay for it's strength and obtaining a beautiful finish. Polymer clay affords you a fantastic array of colours, but Lex Sorrentino's new Makin's Air Dry polymer draping technique is really exciting me at the moment.  

  

What other materials do you like to incorporate in your work and why?

I can't honestly say that I work in any one medium, or on any one thing so usually it is whatever comes to hand.  I did make a pact with myself once to only use what I had in my stash and found some fantastic fabrics that I had forgotten all about.

What are you currently working on?

I've just finished some COPPRclay pieces for our gallery collectives' annual fashion parade.  I've been converting serving ware into various things and animals using polymer clay and I'm attempting to publicly identify all the unfinished objects floating around the place to guilt myself into completing them.  I must confess the thought of having everything finished and nothing waiting for me to do fills me with horror. We have to do major renovations on the house and sensibly I'm aiming to have a clean slate before we start.  It's a theory... 

What inspires your work?

I find inspiration in people I meet; everyone has a story that makes the world a little bigger for the telling.  I find inspiration in my environment; we live in the Macedon Ranges, a beautiful area full of rolling fields and soaring mountains.  I find inspiration in my fellow artists at The Gallery, and in any artwork that is well-executed. It sorts of switches on an urge to practice until you are able to do something well.

Is there a purpose to your artwork?

There has been purpose in some of my work which had surprising and hilarious results, but which painted me in a completely different light to who I am.  Being given a commission is great as all the hard work of explaining it is done for you.  Occasionally I give a response and I have to take time to process what the question was, which most certainly gives my Uni educated friends the heebejeebies, but which readers of Douglas Adams will appreciate.

Which of your artwork pieces is your favorite?

I painted this around ten years ago in the couple of years after moving to Caulfield.  I was home in a strange town with small kids and lots of nappies, the Canberra fires had just gone through my home town, I was immersing myself in a lot of surrealist art and we were rowing wooden lifeboats.

What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Don't focus on the artist bit. Match your study time with hands-on practical work. Do something that relates to your creativity every day, no matter how small the effort it all adds up and is valuable.

Why do you like to teach?

It is always a buzz to see something materialize from concept to finished piece, the process is complicated for some people and straight forward for others.  I also like having a class because it requires structure.  There is a definite beginning, middle and end. I've spent a lot of time being self-indulgent because I was lucky enough that I could be, and by gosh I got sick of myself after a few years! 

What would you like people to know about the upcoming Contemporary Craft Retreat in Canberra?

Um, it’s much too short and we don't sleep much over the weekend...

It’s always a blast to catch up with friends and meet new ones.  The show and tell sessions are always interesting as well - I love seeing what other people get up to when the mood takes them, there is always something new!

For more on Lara....

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/CCIPVictoria

Website: http://contemporarycrafts.weebly.com/

Photo album: http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m292/LaraLeReveur/

Contact: laralereveur@gmail.com

 

Conversations with Contemporary Clayers: Hector Vera

Today's Profile: Hector Vera 

Why are you an artist and what drew you to clay?

I have always been involved in something creative from when I was a little boy. Loved making Native American Indian scenes with glue, board and ocher sands.  Later I sewed little fashion outfits for my cousin’s Barbie doll. Watched my Grandma and Aunt’s sewing quilts in the living room when I was six and thinking this is really nice how they can sit there doing something that makes them happy with lots of cheer.  Making things was always a part of my life. My earliest memory with a sewing machine is when my mother was mending something… don’t remember what it was but there was something on the material that grabs my attention and I had to touch it.  Bad idea, as my finger got trapped in the needle as it continued to sew and mother yelling loudly and in a panic for someone to grab my father’s tool box for the pliers. In Dallas I used to watch Carol Duvall’s Craft Show in the mornings before work and was always fascinated with the polymer clay figures that Maureen Carlson would make in 30 minutes. Fast forward to recent years… I took a week long PMC course at Camp Creative Bellingen and on the fifth and final day the ‘polymer clay’ come out and I was overwhelmed with all the colours. At that time I was making dresses for my partner’s, three-year old, grand-daughter and though… “Wow, now I can make my own buttons!”  I stayed up way past midnight for the first couple of years learning and making this and that with all the techniques that I could find in books and the internet. When I was introduced to Melanie Dilday, my whole world changed… she taught me so much when she lived in Byron Bay.  I would book in 1-on-1 classes when I could, with her, and that’s when my stuff really started looking like art and not so home-made.

How long have you been an artist?

I think that I began saying that I am an artist when I started exhibiting my work at the Bellingen Community Arts Gallery (the Nexus) about five or six years ago.  It was when my art jewellery started to sell that I felt comfortable saying that “I am an Artist”.

What is your favorite clay?

Precious Metal Clay!

What other materials do you like to incorporate in your work and why?

I like to incorporate copper sheet, rivets, beads, gemstones and glass into my work because it gives it so much interest. I’m very keen on making things that are a bit different and unique.

What are you currently working on?

Right now I’m working on a cylinder bead in PMC Silver after being inspired by something that I was on the “Spartacus Blood and Sands” showtime series worn by a Roman slave. I feel that there isn’t enough jewellery for men and I want to cater to that demographic.  And I believe that I can do that more so with Silver & Metal Jewellery.

What inspires your work?

I get inspiration everywhere I look.  Just walking down the street I sometimes see things that sparks an idea and later realized on my worktable. Sometimes it’s a colour or a texture and a feeling.

Is there a purpose to your artwork?  

The purpose is to creative something that I would like to wear or just for the pleasure of seeing it. 

Which of your artwork pieces is your favorite? 

My favorite piece is a pendant that I made from copper sheet, and faux bone that I riveted onto PMC.  It’s one of my tribal jewellery mens wear pieces.  I enjoy working with traditional metal smithing as well.

What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

When you find a medium that really excites you and keeps you awake nights thinking about it, keep going with it. Take classes to help you develop new skills and techniques. There will be mistakes along the way but that’s part of the learning process.  Don’t be discouraged… persevere. Join an online forum on the art that interest you because there are lots of people there that will freely give information and inspiration.

Why do you like to teach?

I enjoy passing on the information and techniques to people so that they too can experience the magic of making something real and lovely.

What would you like people to know about the upcoming Contemporary Craft Retreat in   Canberra?

I would like them to know that it’s held at a splendidly beautiful and serene location away from the town center so there are no distractions from the outside. It’s like going to summer camp and waking up to a day that you know is going to be filled with lots of creativity, laughs, learning and good people. It’s the sort of place where you will make new friends with common interests.  Plus you get to go home with heaps of lovely things that you did not know you could make before you came.

Hectors contact details:

Website: www.veradesigns.com.au

Facebook: www.facebook.com/veradesigns

 

 

 

Conversations with Contemporary Clayers: Pam Annesley

Todays Profile: Pam Annesley

I have been painting and sketching from my early childhood and became a high school teacher in the UK. Later, I became involved with textiles and wearable art. I discovered polymer clay and found I could make beads and features in polymer to add to my garments. In 2001 at a polymer clay retreat I was introduced to precious metal clay and was excited that I could make jewellery in silver without all the silversmithing tools and equipment.

I have worked with silver, bronze and copper clays and attended the 2008 Precious Metal Clay Conference near Chicago, US. While in US I took many workshops with artist, Hadar Jacobson. This copper clay pendant that I made is based on a technique I learnt from Hadar where broken egg shells (I used Emu egg shell) are glued to card and used as a texture to press into the copper clay.

However, my favourite clay to work with is polymer. I love how I can mix my own colours just like artists paint to get exactly the shade of clay I want. Polymer is so versatile a medium, it can imitate just about anything from wood or bone to jade or turquoise. It is also very much cheaper than the metal clays, so I can afford to use it every day.

One of my favourite pieces, is a bag combining polymer and textiles. I made it many years ago but it was quite challenging at the time. I had to roll the polymer thin enough without losing the design and then sewing into the polymer with a sewing machine.

I also use copper with my polymer work, thin copper sheet, plus electroformed and etched copper. I feel the copper adds interest when used with polymer clay and the work takes on a completely different look. I have recently made some polymer and copper cuffs using copper sheet sandwiched between layers polymer.

I am always working on ideas for my jewellery.  I get inspiration from the photographs I take of things in nature like rock formations, landscapes, textures and many organic forms. I doodle and draw and the ideas will flow. I do have a compulsion when it comes to creativity and I always have to be working on something.

I encourage my students and all aspiring artists to keep going with their artistic pursuits – never to give but always try out different ideas and keep asking “what if ?’’

As a teacher, I get enormous satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment when my students learn techniques in my classes and then go on to produce some amazing work using their own ideas.

Students coming to the forthcoming Contemporary Craft Retreat in October will learn from some of the best teachers in Australia. They will meet other enthusiastic students and form networks and lifelong friends.

I now have a youtube video channel and have uploaded my first video tutorial where I show how to make texture plates & moulds for metal clay jewellery.

For more on Pam...

http://metalclayartstudio.com.au/

http://www.facebook.com/metalclayartstudio

email: poz7@bigpond.com

Metal Clay Art Studio, 17 Wilson Place, Two Rocks, WA 6037

Mobile: 0427957612

Conversations with Contemporary Clayers: Lex Sorrentino

 Today's Profile: Lex Sorrentino

Why are you an artist and what drew you to clay?

I have children & promised I would be there for them while they grew up…...I decided to try & make sculptures (fairies etc) in Polymer clay to sell at the markets.

How long have you been an artist?

16 years

What is your favourite clay?

No favourite, but love working with…..Makin’s clay, Premo Polymer Clay, Paverpol & Apoxie Sculpt

What other materials do you like to incorporate in your work and why? 

Whatever I can find….crystals, pine cones, recycled jewellery….anything goes! Why ? I like to experiment, (go off the beaten track so to speak).

What are you currently working on?

Art deco sculpture to send to Makin’s Clay USA, A wall hanging in Makin’s Clay & also a fairy house for the garden.

What inspires your work?

I love anything Fantasy

Is there a purpose to your artwork?

To keep me off the streets !!!....no, really, I just love creating.

Which of your artwork pieces is your favourite?

 THE DRAGON KEEPER.

What advice do you have for aspiring artists?  

….let it flow & enjoy your creations!!!!

Why do you like to teach?

I like to (hopefully) make people happy.

I heard on the grapvine that you just recently won 1st prize at the Craft and Quilt Fair in Sydney held on the 16-17th June? There were 49 entries weren't there?

Yes. It was a "Decorate a Bra" competition. I made this bra using Paverpol and leather with sculpted faces in Makins air dry clay.

What would you like people to know about the upcoming Contemporary Craft Retreat in Canberra?

Relax in Canberra’s bush setting at Greenhills Conference centre….wine in one hand, clay tools in the other….& learn lots from some of Australia’s best Instructors.

Lex was the first Training Instructor for the Contemporary Clay Instructors Program and was instrumental in getting the CCIP started.

Her enthusiastic support, input and belief in the program has never waned. Lex has a preference for making unusual or "weird and wonderful" things. She has always been creative and her amazing talent began with costume design, wedding dresses and evening wear.
Lex's adventure with clay began 16 years ago when she was a stay at home Mum caring for her gorgeous girls Carly and Serena. Sculpting Dolls in Earthenware Clay progressed to Polymer, Paperclay and Air Dry Clay. Lex is a member of NODAAA and has received their Diamond, Gold Seal Accreditation.
Lex has won numerous awards for her Polymer Clay work including winning the Australian Doll As Art Judges Choice Award - twice. Her projects have featured in mutiple publications including the Australian Doll and Bear News and Dolls Bears and Collectables.
She has been teaching Polymer Clay and Air Dry Sculpting in Canberra for over a decade and has added Paverpol Sculpting into her remarkable repertoire of accomplishments and teaching skills. Lex has been the Polymer Clay Dolls as Art Section judge in both Brisbane and Sydney and is the current Polymer Clay Dolls Section judge at the Royal Canberra Show.

Contact Lex: Email
Phone: 02 62901376 or 0422 596 571
Website: http://www.originalartdollsbylex.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lex.sorrentino
CCIP Retreat Facebook: http://contemporarycraftretreat.com.au/