With a Little Help From My Friends

See this lovely, one-of-a-kind necklace I am wearing?  Gorgeous, no?  Well, it beautifully

illustrates only ONE of the many reasons I love spending one day a week with

fellow artists.

This piece is made from polymer clay and until Kathy Garvey convinced us

we could combine our talents for a special piece of jewelry I had never worked with the stuff.

Little did Kath know the challenge she faced in getting 7 other women to sit down

and learn a new skill.

We were all thumbs!  But with her patience and our perserverence

we each succeeded in making a unique "charm" in black and white.

For clay artists these are known as canes, a long roll (like cookie dough) that is

then sliced very thinly and pierced and baked.

Each of us then had one "charm" made by everyone else...and Kathy managed to take our scraps (of which there was a huge pile) and piece together some additional little jewels.  Above is the work table on the day we gathered to create the masterpiece necklace. 

Oh my, it took hours to do what pros do in a heartbeat...but it was educational and

entertaining as we each created something totally different from anyone else.

Eye-catching no?  Truely fun to wear and a

real conversation piece.  Whew...new respect for those artists that work with

clay of any kind as well as those who spend their day with the tiny parts and pieces that

jewelry demands.

I'll love wearing my work of art not only because it is beautiful but because it

reminds me that like so much else in life, I would not have it without

a little help from my friends.