It's time to reflect on 2014 and look forward to 2015.
In the last half of 2014 I spent more time in my studio than
I had in the last three years due to work commitment and travel. It was good to be home and able to spend time
on creative projects. I was also able to
reconnect with my local guild, the Mile High Polymer Clay Guild, which was
rewarding and nourishing creatively.
Creating tutorials and filming them for YouTube videos was
one of my primary creative outlets.
Sharing techniques and interesting projects with a larger community was
one of my top goals for the year. I had
published one video in 2011 which was to have been the first in a series. I wasn’t able to create the next installments
of the series until October of 2014 – over three years later. Wow.
All in all I published 10 polymer clay videos on a variety of projects
including silk screening, making a pendant, three types of earrings, a bracelet
and a jewelry making tool during the year.
These videos were well received and I grew my channel subscriptions from
66 to over 300 by the end of 2014. Not
huge numbers by any means but a nice trend.
The comments and words of encouragement have kept me going. I appreciate every one.
Social media has never been a focus for me although I recognize
the opportunities offered by using Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and
others. In 2014 I made a concerted
effort to improve my use of social media by posting more regularly. I have seen how social media drives
engagement and community so I’ll work on improving in this area.
My goals for 2015 include developing more tutorials,
publishing an article or two in a polymer clay or mixed media magazine and
better use of social media. To push
myself I’ve signed up for a couple of art related challenges that keep me
creating on a daily basis. These
challenges feel like a lot of pressure right now but I’m hoping that they
motivate me to spend more time in the studio.
Wishing all a creative and prosperous new year. Happy New Year!
I just recently purchased a couple of sets of Pan Pastels to color polymer clay. I love it. In this experiment, I created a leaf shaped pin with purple colored wire buds and applied several green and yellow Pan Pastel colors to raw clay with a soft paint brush and then cured it. The Pan Pastel is very durable as it did not easily scratch off. 
