“Polymer Clay Artists Are So Helpful And Friendly” ~Tracey-L
Everyday I do some web surfing to look for new polymer clay and jewelry making inspiration. Each time I seem to find some wonderful surprises along the way. Like the other day when I came across a blog post by Tracey at Livvy Lu Design that was titled, “Polymer Clay Artists Are So Helpful And Friendly…” Naturally it caught my attention so I clicked through to read [2010-02-12 Update: The original page for the Livvy Lu article is no longer available on the Interent].
What I found was some very sweet words along with a link to my blog. Thank you Tracey! That was so nice of you to reference me.
In Tracey’s article, she included a photo of her mixed media Valentines heart. I re-posted it above to give it some more exposure. It’s a beautiful little pendant piece… or possibly a charm.
Now I noticed that Tracey claims to be a newbie… which got me to thinking… what exactly is a newbie anyway?
Since Tracey probably hasn’t worked very long with polymer clay, that technically makes her a beginner. But if she is skilled in other crafting mediums as well as in design, is she truly a Newbie? Should she be feeling like one?
I’m not so sure. Now let’s talk a little about why this distinction is important.
Sometimes I see people either selling themselves short because they think they aren’t as good an artist as someone else… or thinking they are better than others because they are more skilled.
The problem I see with that is, the Newbie and the Expert tend to distance themselves from each other. Therefore losing the opportunity to learn from each other.
Even a polymer clay “Expert” can’t possibly know everything there is to know about polymer clay and jewelry making. Just as a “Newbie” rarely comes to the table with no skills whatsoever.
One thing I noticed a few years ago, was that there was actually not a lot of online places where Newbies could go to get support… someplace where you could feel comfortable asking real basic questions without being made to feel second rate.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are lots of sweethearts in the polymer clay industry like Tracey said. But in general my early observations were that the experts hung out with the experts and the newbies had to figure things out for themselves.
However, with the popularity of blogging these days, this segregation is changing. People of all levels can ‘pop in’ and communicate with each other at quite a few places now. And this is a very encouraging trend.
One of my goals for having this blog in the first place, was to give the new person to polymer clay, a place to hang out and learn and be part of a helpful community. A place where they didn’t necessarily have to feel like a ‘Newbie’. A place where other experts could drop by and share their skills and maybe even pick up some new ideas for themselves.
I love it that Tracey feels comfortable here. I love her beautiful heart pendant and I love it that she drools over mine. By the way, here is my heart shaped polymer clay pendant if you haven’t already seen it yet.
Keep up the great work Tracey. You have a lot to contribute!
Cindy,
Thank you for this post. I consider myself a Newbie, because I have only worked in polymer clay for a month or so. But I have been crafting, drawing, painting for all of my adult life…(30 yrs or so, you do the math ;-) I find that I am bringing all sorts of skills to my new found interest, a knowledge of color, design, other techniques that have worked in other media. But I don’t know the ins and outs of working with polymer clay. This is why I find your site so helpful. I don’t have a lot of patience learning through mistakes and it really helps to “see” through videos how to do something. And, although I feel I have a lot of knowledge in other areas, I feel intimidated by asking simple questions of experts. So I guess this is a long way of saying how I feel you hit the nail on the head!
Sue
You are so welcome Sue! I am really glad you understood what I meant with this post. It is my goal that everyone who comes to this blog feels valued and supported in their artistic journey. It is a pleasure having you here. Thank you so much for your comments!
Hi Cindy, the link to Livvy Lu Designs does not work anymore — I wonder if she is doing something else these days? Anyway…
I just wanted to say that I love what your article says here. It is so true that although someone may be new to PC, they can have a lifetime of other craft info under their belt. That makes it easier for them to pickup the art of PC, and helps them create new ways to play with the clay. Because their approach is coming from a different direction, I’ll bet these are the people who come up with new things that “shake up” the PC world. I’m still half-asleep (need coffee!,) so I’m not thinking straight (I had the perfect example of this… I’ll come back later when I think of it.)
Anyway, your site here is the perfect place for “newbies” & “experts” to exchange ideas. You’ve created such a wonderful community. It’s really something to be proud of. Congrats to you and Doug!
@Phaedrakat: Thanks so much for pointing out that broken link. And I’m glad to hear you could relate to the message I was trying to get across in this article.
Here is what Tracey at Livvy Lu Design said in her original article….
Monday, January 19, 2009
Polymer clay artists are so helpful and friendly…
I’ve been a member of many different art guilds and organizations and by far the polymer clay folks are the nicest! I am always amazed at how helpful and patient the artist’s are with newbies (like me). I think it so nice that they are always willing to actually show other’s how they go about making their designs. I found an absolutely wonderful site while I was surfing the net for polymer clay tutorials beadsandbeading.com/ . She shows you step by step how to make absolutely stunning beads and pendants. I was drooling at her beautiful creations. I also happened into Hobby Lobby today and low and behold they were having a major sale. I had no idea. I went in there to buy more colors of p/c and all the brands were 50% off….what a bargain. I’m going back again before the sale ends to stock up! I’ve been busy playing with my clay treasures today. I made some marbled pieces for a few simple designs. Nothing to fancy yet but I’m getting there…. The photo above is one of my mixed media polymer clay hearts for Valentine’s Day.
And my Jan 22, 2009 comment at her blog was…
PolymerClayTutor said… Livvy Lu what a sweetheart you are! I think it is important to be kind and helpful to all levels of learning because there wasn’t one expert that didn’t start as a beginner. Besides there are always new things to learn from each other, and I’ve learned tons from the readers like you at my blog. I sure love your mixed media heart! Its stunning. You sure don’t look like a newbie to me! Take care, ~Cindy Lietz
hola cindy vivo en santa marta (colombia) hasta el año pasado conoci la arcilla polimerica y me encanto, aca no la puedo conseguir,me contacte con una señora en medellin y ella me mando un pedido pequeño, hice unas cuentas irregulares con arcilla negra y pan de plata y me quedaron muy bonitas yo hago collares, pero la verdad me gustaria trabajar con mis propios diseños de cuentas y colgantes, ya que eso le da exclusividad a la creacion. Me gustaria obtener tus videos, como puedo hacer ?
saludos
emilia.
GOOGLE TRANSLATION:
hi cindy I live in Santa Marta (Colombia) until last year known polymer clay and I loved it, I can not get here, I contacted a lady in medellin and she sent me a small order, I made black clay beads and irregular silver leaf and I were very beautiful necklaces I make but I really like working with my own designs of beads and pendants, as this gives exclusivity to the creation. I would like to get your videos, like I can do?
Greetings
emilia.
@Emilia C: Hola Emilia, greetings to you, too! Try emailing Cindy directly. She will help you get the videos you want. Her email address is at the top of the page…where it says “Contact Cindy.” Good luck! ~Kat
Google translate:
@Emilia C: Saludos a usted, también! Usted debe tratar de enviar un correo electrónico directo a Cindy. Ella le ayudará a conseguir los videos que desee. Su dirección de correo electrónico es en la parte superior de la página … donde dice “Contact Cindy”. ¡Buena suerte!