Plan? No! I didn't plan anything - Polymer Clay just took over. After being hooked, there naturally was a lot of jewelry sitting around in my office (my studio back then) which I thought I had to get rid of. So the first thing that comes to your mind is of course selling it. I started out like most of us do selling my stuff on craft fairs. Well, I tried - but nobody wanted to have it. People loved the colorful things I created, asked a lot of questions about the process but in the end bought a simple and boring necklace from the girl in the next booth because it was not plastic but had some silver plated beads...*duuuh*. I spent days in my booth outdoors in the cold trying to convince people that my art is worth the price that I ask for it. And not being a sales person didn't make it easier. 

I always had a talent for organizing and being a member of a german polymer clay yahoo-group (founded by germany's most influential clay artist Kerstin Rupprecht) led me to organize the first polymer clay workshop with a foreign teacher hosted in germany. One thing led to another - after organizing 2 workshop weekends by myself 4 more girls joined the fun and we founded the german guild polyclaykunst.de in 2007. Naturally hosting and organizing workhops also led to teaching. People saw my stuff and wanted to know about it and so I had my first teaching gig at our 2007 workshop weekend. And it was fun! Actually it was way more rewarding than standing in a booth trying to convince people why this material is awesome. These people already knew that and had fun working and learning with me. So I put teaching to my roster as well and so far I didn't regret it.

Book writing is another thing that just happened. Being a graphic designer for nearly 20 years, the idea of writing a book was not that far fetched as I came equipped with all the technical knowledge to manage such a print project. I figured that I didn't even need a publisher, I just needed printing money. So I figured out a way to get that and just started creating, taking step-out pictures of everything  did in my studio and by the middle of 2009 there was enough material to put it into a book. It was a big success as most of the literature on the topic was written in english and the german speaking community was grateful to have a new comprehensive book in their language.

 

Oh, teaching is a lot of fun and so rewarding. Once I started I didn't want to stop. It's so amazing having creative people around you that cherish what you do and that are grateful if you share your kowledge, creativity and inspiration with them. I always try to give my students food for more thought. I don't want to just teach a fixed class project with steps set in stone - I rather like to teach them a concept for developing their own design ideas by using that single project as an example. Makes sense? I want my students to think out of the box, put their own twist on things, make their creations personal rather than making copies of my ideas. And when that happens in a classroom it's just as amazing for me as it may be for them. I actually never went out of a class room without having learned something myself.

 

Wow, hard question. As I already said - I don't do plans that much. I am an organizing type, but when it comes to my life I am more the person who is curious what the next day will bring. If an opportunity is thrown my way I consider it and decide. I'm grateful to have a family that supports that unconditionally. Without my great husband, everything I talked about here wouldn't have happened like it did if it were'nt for his support. He just let me take the challenge trying to be an artist and teacher in the polymer clay world even if it meant that I didn't bring home any money for quite some time. 

It starts to work out and now I can say that my work finally can at least cover my cost and a part of my life. I wouldn't feed the family though (this is where the cool husband comes in again;).

I don't know what the future has in store for me - my only goal so far is to stay true to myself and my work and to be able to do this amazing "job" as long as possible.

 

If you - like me - hate to sand, always work as precise as possible when doing the steps in a project. Sanding is soooo not creative and just keeps you from doing the fun parts. So, be precise and thorough along the way - even if the single steps take a bit longer - you still will be faster in the end without having to sand away all the small inaccuracies. This is what I think makes a good piece a great piece in the end.

 

Every error or fail is just an opportunity in disguise. Learn from it - there is no wrong or right when it comes to creativity. Put yourself in there and "just do". Dive in, be creative and enjoy what you're doing. And if - along the way - you want to know more or get a push in a certain direction - take a class, choose a teacher whose work is near and dear to you and benefit from their experience.