My roommate’s mom thought that my roommate needed a hobby. I knew that she had a few hobbies but not of the type that she was going to discuss with her mom . . . . Anyway, there came a package in the mail, and it contained a little booklet about polymer clay as well as a 30-block sampler box of Sculpey III. It sat in my roomie's bedroom for over a year, untouched. I was looking for something with which to make some little accessories for the action figures I collect, and the roomie said, “Here, take this stuff.”
So there I was, shanghaied! How was I to know that this was such an insidious plan of the fates? Who could have known that years later I would be actually writing about polymer clay and teaching at conferences? I sure didn’t.
So I took the sampler box and I made a few little things. My prize creation was a barrel of toxic waste made for one of my figures. It was about this time that I thought for sure there would be something on the Internet about polymer clay. Now remember, this was before there were tons of things on the net. There was no Polymer Clay Haven or Glass Attic that I could find at the time. I did a search and found a few things out there. The first name I remember finding was Judi Maddigan. I saw lots of names on the few sites that I found. Let me see if you see the same trend that I noticed: Marie Segal, Tory Hughes, Maureen Carlson, Barbara McGuire, Sue Heaser, Nan Roche, Kathleen Dustin . . . . Did you catch it? Right, they were all females!
I began to feel a bit concerned. What if I was the only one? A trip to the Usenet Newsgroups did nothing to allay my fears. Joining the IRC chat for polymer clay didn’t help either. Now I will admit there are certain benefits to being the only man in the midst of a group of women, but those prospects were not at the forefront of my thoughts.
Well, to bring you up to date and end your suspense, I did find other males who worked with polymer clay. I found Mike Buessler’s work online. I met Dan Cormier, and Will Truchon at Ravensdale. At least I realized I was not alone.
No messy surgery or long trips to Europe!
A few days ago this whole issue was, once again, thrust upon me by two separate incidents. There was a note sent out about something I had written in which I was referred to as "she." In case anyone is wondering, there are pictures of me on my website, as well as in the bio page for Polyzine. I am sure you can also ask anyone who was at Ravensdale 98 or the Polymer Clay Haven Event. I am and will be, in the foreseeable future, a guy.
The second incident had to do with a class proposal that I read. The title of the class was something about “Polymer Addiction and My Husband.” There is nothing wrong with this as the instructor was titling the class from her experience, but could I take the class? I mean, I don’t have a husband.
These were the recent happenings, but they are by no means the only ones. Many times I will look at the mailing lists and messages to the entire group will be addressed “Ladies.” People will enter chat rooms and type, “Hi there gals.” My parents could be to blame for spelling my name with an "ie" instead of a "y", but still!
I have written all of this just to say that we are out here! The next time you send a message to a polymer clay group, or greet a bunch of folks in a polymer clay chat, think twice about assuming that you are only talking to women. Men bring their own unique perspective to the art of polymer clay. Without us, I think, this community of artists and crafters would have missed something vital.
Your assignment this month, should you choose to accept it, is to visit another on-line magazine: Gremlins in the Garage. This on-line magazine showcases the finished pieces of many artists. Most of these artists are male. The majority of the original models for the kits you will find there were sculpted in polymer clay. Go take a look at their gallery. If you pick New Stuff, you may even see a familiar name up there somewhere.
And that will close it out once more from the very rainy and somewhat chilly Puget Sound. Next month look for a somewhat odd tribute.