So what exactly is an Inchie? I caught up with Alenka Obid of Pepita Handmade to
ask her a bit about them. She told me that they are small pieces of art, one inch x
one inch. She said “they can be made of paper, fabric, embroidery, metal, and in my
case polymer clay.” Alenka said “in fact you can use any technique you like. The only
e.”
tarted popping up around the blog world in the form of “Inchie Swaps” organized by
r clay groups on Facebook, which is where Alenka discovered them. She said that “it is
growing trend in the world of mixed media art.” She told me that she’s been joining in
e swaps and that “it’s a really nice opportunity to receive little pieces of art from artthe world.”
makes jewelry and said that “you can use inchies to create jewelry, art journal covers,
else you want.” She says that they are “a great inspiration, and that you can just colWhen I asked her if the technique was more involved than some of the other pieces
she said, “I do have to say that creating a small piece is often more difficult than creatr object. You have such a limited space where you need to express yourself, and what
communicate.”
y wouldn’t know it, but Alenka is relatively new to polymer clay. She started only two
nd said that she was “immediately hooked by its versatility and immense possibilities
th.” She said that that she first started working with polymer clay to create pieces to
wn jewelry pieces, but after participating in
Blog Party she started sharing her compoother artists. She told me “I discovered that I
g what other artists create with my compos much. They always come up with designs I
r have thought of and it’s a great inspiration
new techniques that Alenka has been workrning to beadweave. She says “It’s such a
chnique than polymer clay, but I like combeads in a piece of jewelry. Stitching one
me is like yoga for me, it’s so relaxing. And
ore suitable to carry around than polymer
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