Julie Picarello Workshop

I don't know how longs it's been since the Austin Guild hosted a visiting Artist workshop, but it must have been too long!

This last weekend, some very fortunate members of the guild were able to attend two amazing days of instruction with JuliePicarello of Yellow House designs, and follow her down the lazy river of polymer clay.
Though she had considerable difficulty arriving--after months of drought, wouldn't you know it, an errant thunderstorm over Dallas caused her plane to divert to Oklahoma city, and she didn't get to her hotel in Dallas until 3a.m.--She arrived bright and chipper at the classroom space and went to work.
Now I must confess that I have only taken one polymer clay class in my life, years ago, and really had no idea what to expect; but whatever expectations I had or lacked, she blew them all out of the water. Not only is she an incredibly knowledgeable, organized and lucid teacher, she is also one of the nicest people you'll ever want to meet. Up close and personal, her work is stunning, flawless in execution and finish, and her teaching style is incredibly easy to follow. Even the least experienced of us was able to complete work worthy of boast. (One of the cooler aspects of Julie's take on colors--everyone mixed up their own blends following her basic process--was that almost everyone in the room, consciously or not, ended up making tiles that matched what they were wearing).

The workshop went step by step through her signature technique, "Lazy River Mokume Gane", and all long the way she filled us in with dozens of tips and tricks on how to get perfectly smooth and rounded tiles, how to cut one's clay for absolutely precise joins, how to texture clay with the simplest of materials; on the second day, she focused on finishing the work, and for those of us new to drilling, showed us the niftiest tricks for getting your work drilled clean and straight--which is not nearly as easy as it looks! She also shared some information that many of us didn't know--that for example, no polymer clay is fully cured until it reaches 300 degrees, despite what the manfacturer recommends-- the lower temperatures cited on the package are to protect the colors from changing--who knew?!

Most importantly, however, for two days, as she guided us through all the steps to making beautiful work, she was unfailingly gracious, kind, and encouraging. She made even brand new clayers feel wonderful about their efforts, and all without a hint of insincerity--when she told you your work was lovely, you believed it because it was true. She empowered everyone in that room, gave them the confidence to go forth and try new techniques--and that is what great instruction is all about; striking the sparks that catch into creative fire, long after the teacher has gone her way.

The shy Artist

I have a friend--I'll not mention names, because she's a self-effacing sort. This despite the fact that her work is manifestly brilliant, meticulously crafted and just sings with a unique voice.

She hardly ever publishes her work--for that matter, when she brings it to meetings she simply slides it onto the show and tell table without comment, leaving it for the rest of us to discover and squeal over.

I've noticed that this --for the lack of a better term--reluctance, to promote one's work-- is not unique to this lady; several polymer artists I know, and whose work I greatly respect, share the same trait. For some reason, we feel we have no right to claim that our work is in fact 'real' art; that we should be legitimately proud of it.

And I wonder; do other artists in other fields suffer from the same inability to promote their work? Is it because the field of polymer clay is overwhelmingly women, who tend to be diffident about seeking recognition? Would we feel any different about displaying our work if it were from longer established medium, like sculpture, painting, photography? It's a puzzle to me--because the work is so good, so exciting, and in a new field like polymer clay, all of us have the potential to be the new Picassos, Vermeers, and Monets.

Polymer clay is still the undiscovered country--and everyone of us who work in it the pioneers. There are some upsides to this hiding the light beneath the bushel--as a group, polymer clay artists tend to be the most supportive and sharing people I've ever encountered---if jealousies and rivalries exist, they are handled with the utmost civility--I've not witnessed the kind of turf wars made famous by Renaissance painters, or modern photographers. I've not heard many artists dissing the work of others--even in their most unguarded moments.

These things are all to the good--but maybe we could all allow ourselves the luxury of a bit more pride--a sense that we are in fact legitimate artists doing new and wonderful things--and blazing the trails for those we hope will follow.

Namaste