Q: Can you tell a bit about the work involved in making beads.
A: The lovely thing about Polymer Clay is that there are so many different techniques you can use. Millefiori is a technique that glass makers have been using for hundreds of years, where you make a rod of glass with a design running through it, like a stick of rock. This technique transfers to Polymer wonderfully. I used to use it a lot, but my work has changed recently and I now tend to use texture and paint or ink to colour my beads.
I will first form the bead, adding texture, both front and back if possible. The forms are then baked in an oven. Once they have cooled, they are sanded and refined. Then I paint them, by hand, each coat of paint or ink must be dried and then heated to make sure that it sets properly. Sometimes this can be a very long process, especially if there is a lot of detail and several different colours. I usually have beads all over my desk in various stages of being painted or being dried. Next is to seal them, very important with beads, as they will take a fair amount of wear and tear. I use Renaissance Wax mainly but also use an acrylic sealer, depending on the finish that I am looking for. Then the beads are buffed to a lovely shine.
Here you can find a movie made by Pippa: painting tiny toadstools
I use a dremel tool with a special buffing wheel for this. It took me forever and a lot of experimenting to find the right sort of buffing wheel. It had to be adapted to fit my tool and was intended for something completely different originally, but I couldn't do without it now.
Q: There are a lot of bead and jewelry artists. Is there a particular artist you admire or who you consider a role model?
A: Kathleen Dunstin is my number one Polymer Clay Artist. Her work is extraordinary. I still cannot believe the work she produces and the finish she obtains. Her ideas are so original and incredibly beautiful.
Ford and Forlano are pioneers with Polymer Clay. They developed so many techniques with Polymer that paved the way for the rest of us to
follow. The beads and jewellery they produce today are cutting edge.
Dan Cormier is one artist that I would dearly love to take a course with. I have been a long time admirer of his work. He and Tracy, his wife, run incredible courses all over the world, but I would want to go to Canada, to one of his retreats there for a week course. I would be in heaven!