May 2004 Polymer Clay Polyzine Reader's Comments

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	Your Comments: E-mails from You, the Reader


The e-mails really roll in around here. Everyday, we receive comments, suggestions, and questions from you, our readers. As often as practicable, I try to personally answer each of your e-mails. I'd like to share some of your messages and hope it will inspire others to write to us. Send e-mails to: Publisher@pcPolyzine.com. I enjoy your site and the many helpful hints. I am a full time crafter with a desire to find good, "crafter" shows. So many times, the show is juried and I arrive to find cell phone covers and resell merchandise. How does one find a show that truly caters to hand crafted items? I would appreciate any tips you may have. Thank you. --Kathy Rushford Dear Kathy - My suggestion is to get a copy of The Crafts Report. That magazine carries a comprehensive listing of shows, and also galleries that are looking for polymer clay work. There are announcements in every issue about organizations who are accepting works for both juried and non-juried events. looking for a supplier for the empty water globes like your toilet globe.......any ideas...? thanks so much....Dave R Hi Dave - Those water globes are very popular with our readers. I've received a ton of letters requesting the information. Here it is again, and I hope this helps: Eberhard Faber Toy Globes available at http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/ Thanks so much for using my BOH pictures in this months PCpolyzine. I can't remember when I have done anything that has given me so much pleasure.I am so happy that the cancer survivors like them. I have been told some really inspiring stories by some of them, however, I think I probably get as much, if not more, pleasure from making them than they get receiving them. My miniature club likes making them so much they have already asked me to help them make them again this year.So our next two mini meetings will be dedicated to making BOH. Thanks for PCPolyzine. Flo Jaster Dear Flo - I'm happy we can help promote this very important, worthwhile program. I wish I had known about it when my Mom was sick. She would have really enjoyed a bottle. Keep up your great work. We're here to help however we can. Jeannie, I just have to say I LOVE Polyzine! I teach polymer clay classes for evening adult ed, and I always suggest they check out this site, among others.Thanks for all the effort you put forth! Debbie Goodrow / Twinkle the Clown scpcg.org Dear Debbie or Twinkle or Ms. Clown, whichever you prefer - I just have to say I LOVE letters like yours! Thanks for being so nice. Was looking at the Dec 01 issue on tools we use. I use thin wood skewers stuck in an air dry clay base to put my little beads on then spray them lightly with acrylic sealant. I turn them over and spray them lightly again. I repeat until the beads are shiny or matte (depending on the spray). I get a nice even coating and I don't get fingerprints on them (unless I don't wait long enough for them to dry). The wood doesn't stick to the sealant (unless it's sprayed too thick) but a little twist and the bead comes right off. They are very inexpensive and work really well. I make tiny beads so they are hard to handle with other methods. --DPickles Dear D - Thanks for the neat suggestion. I know our readers will appreciate this tip. Hi: I'm taking a break at work & trying to check out the April issue. Unfortunately the pictures in the tutorials are not coming through -- they all have the "red X" in the upper left corner as though they couldn't load. In the Glazed Heart Pendant tutorial, I also see some HTML code (at least that's what it looks like to me) in the text. Would you take a look and let me know if things are OK at your end? I don't have picture-loading problems with other sites, but you never know. THANKS! And thanks for a really cool ezine! Mary H Thanks, Mary, for your very nice letter. We finally got all those pesky glitches worked out last month. I really appreciate your writing to point them out to me -- seriously, it helps to have extra proofreaders. Now get back to work! Hello, and thanks for being available for questions. I have played around a bit with polymer clay, and love its capabilities. I am getting ready to tackle a project and would like some info. I would like to make drawer pulls and knobs to resemble either granite or stone for my new kitchen that we are in the process of remodeling. The colors are gray, navy blue and white. What technique should I use to get the effect that I want? Thank you so much. Karla Dear Karla - I should probably pass this letter on to Deb Hayes who answers questions just like yours in her monthly "Just Ask" column, but I want an opportunity to plug, I mean recommend, Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay" written by my polymer pal Irene Semanchuk Dean. This beautiful book has a variety of surface "recipes" that I'll bet will be just what you're looking for. If you can't find the book at your local bookstore, you can order it online at: http://www.good-night-irene.com. Hello, I saw the article on Dottie McMillan and it would appear that she lives in Orange County, CA. I live in Rancho Santa Margarita and would like very much to find someone who teaches machine knitting. Do you know of anyone in this area that does this? I would appreciate hearing from you. Thank you, Connie G Hi Connie - Maybe our readers can help with this one. If anyone has a good machine knitting contact, please let me know. Write to: Publisher@pcPolyzine.com. I always fret when I know I'm getting down to the wire trying to get the newest issue of pcPolyzine online by the first of each month. Here are some nice emails that carry me through those stressful times and let me know it's all worth while: Jeannie, my main suggestion would be that you not send out the email announcing the new issue until AFTER the new page is in place. That would save you a little bit of grief and give you a few extra hours to get pictures, etc. on line. Thanks for giving us the Polyzine. We appreciate your labor of love. (Ernie) Jeannie - don't worry about being late! I am in charge of the newsletter for our large support group, and after installing Windows XP, have discovered some alarming things about my programs, most of which do not convert readily to .pdf format - in one case, printing everything upside down and backwards! Carry on! hugs, (JJ) Jeannie, We appreciate all the work that you do. Please don't worry about the time it is finished. (Kathy) OH, don't worry your pretty little head about the lateness of the poly zine. We aren't the least bit worried. We just marked it down on the wall, 'tis all! We took the information to the recent board meeting that no one came to. And we totally forgot all about making things polymer for an entire 15 minutes this past week. So you see, you have nothing to worry about. We're not on top of anything either. (Laura G) I'm laughing here-thank you for the link. It means I go look right away instead of saving your post "for later, when I have time." How silly I am. I also want to remind you that a free ezine is a gift, not a requirement. Does that make sense? If we haven't paid you subscription fees, don't sweat it. Sweat something else instead. I've only looked deeply at the SkyGrazer site--what a great artist! Thanks for sharing, and blessings on you and your staff--(Margie D, New Mexico) Jeannie, take your time. This is a huge undertaking!! Thanks so much for the time , effort and care that you put into the issues!! Thanks. (Monique) Jeannie, Take your time - we're lucky to have you! (Joan) Dear Jeannie, I just want to let you know how much I appreciate all of the work you do on this wonderful e-zine. I was so grateful when you announced that you had taken over the responsibility so that we claying fools would continue to have this awesome resource. Don't fret about the glitches. Just hang in there and know that there are lots of us out here who owe you a debt of gratitude for taking on this project. Sincerely, (Raine P) Hi, I am a great fan of your website and recommend it to anyone interested in polymer clay. You may be across the ocean away but the beauty of internet is that everyone is only a couple of clicks away really. Thank you so much for your site!I have a question. I am about to embark on teaching the basics of polymer clay out here in the wild west of Oz, it might as well be the wild west cos it feels very much like I'm a pioneer here, hardly a soul has heard about polymer clay and our demos at my first art market last week drew MUCH interest. And so, I have many names now of people wanting to learn and I am half way thru drafting a tips and techniques page for my students. I was wondering whether I would be allowed to print up a couple of your polyzine pages, cane theory by byrd more specifically, maybe a couple of other things too. I will only print as many as you say I can. I could write up my own given time so if you'd rather I didn't that would be perfectly ok and I would respect that. But if you're happy to have your name spread thru to Oz via some of your printable pages, that would be most gracious of you and very much appreciated.Looking forward to hearing from you. (Melanie Dilday) Oh, Melanie, thank you so much for saying such nice things about the ezine and for actually asking permission to use parts of it. You go right ahead and use what you need. Jeannie, I just peeked at pcPolyzine and am so pleased with the article. Thank you so much for contacting me. Sincerely, Dottie Erdmann Dottie Erdmann, Sculptor/Author Hands On Sculpting http://www.dottieerdmann.com Email: dottie@dottieerdmann.com Thanks for writing, Dottie. I really enjoyed working with you and hope we can do more together in the future. Hi, I tried to participate in the poll, but was unable to open the link. I love your magazine, I would gladly pay a fee to have it delivered to my e-mail box monthly. It's timely, well-written, and improving . This is more than I can say for several of my paper art magazines. I really have been impressed with the additions . Keep it up, please. Jann M Dear Jann - Take a look at the results of our Reader's Survey. There were very few of you who were willing to actually pay for pcPolyzine. It looks as if we are going to go the route of paid advertising, that is, unless you are willing to pay, say, one million dollars an issue! Just kidding, thanks for writing. Hi Jeannie, I am so happy that you sent this message [the link address for pcPolyzine]. My computer crashed and we lost all our addresses. Now the address is back in my favorites and on a back up zip disk. I learned my lesson. -- Kathy Here it is again, Kathy, write it on your wall or your arm or a co-worker: http://www.pcPolyzine.com. Hey, all you at galactic headquarters: Just a note to explain my vote in the poll: I voted (apparently with mostly everyone else) for the paid-advertising thing. Isn't this lazy? Or cheap? Or something negative? While I'm having this angst, I know the reason--for us, dollars are hard to come by for a season (I hope a short season) and I so thoroughly enjoy your monthly gift. Oh, I know, it's selfish! I should think it is a trifle hard on you: this is evidently a huge body of work and here I am, a sucker fish, just riding along and enjoying the benefits without contributing. I am a polymer dabbler, not working day in and day out in the medium. I did, however, receive an Atlas pasta machine for Christmas--and have yet to put clay through it! There were things I wanted to finish first, yadda yadda yadda. I'm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is a guild--and I have yet to make a meeting, although they are very generous about notifying me every month. The piece I'm proudest of, I made for a good friend who married, later in life, her fairy-tale prince. She is wild about the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos, so I fashioned a black heart (using an entire package of clay), with glow-clay spine and ribs reaching around it, and then put a red-glitter smaller heart that showed between the ribs. After cooking it, I added a mondo red organdy ribbon bow on the hanger. She tells me this hangs in whatever kitchen they're baking in--just recently they've bought their own bakery and it now hangs there, blessing their love and their bread (I hope). So, this turns out to be an affectionate and grateful note from a low-down moocher. How about that? Gratefully--Margie D Hi Margie - I loved your letter. It made me smile out loud. Can you come over and play with clay with me? Can you fly me out to Albuquerque to visit you? If you're not gonna use that pasta machine, can I have it? Are we there yet? Ooops, got carried away with my whining. Seriously, your letter was really fun and that hanging heart sounds way cool -- got any pictures of it? Thanks again. Jeannie Thanks for such a wonderful mag. I have computer gremlins that shift around things I know I entered right, delete documents at the eleventh hour, and delight in goofing with my work ( not to mention my mind). As the saying goes, "The best laid plans of mice and men are fauled up by Murphy's Law" Good luck, Take care, Mariruth Dear Mariruth - I know all about those computer gremlins and mice and men and that Murphy guy. You are so right about all of it. You take care, too. Jeannie Hello, I found you on yahoo, I am teaching a little class tomorrow night and I need some of those little blades....I live in midtown manhattan--where can I buy them No time left to order...thought I had plenty put away. Sheila Karr Thanks so much!!! Oh Sheila, I wish I could have helped you out on this one. Next time, if there is an art supply store near you, see if they have metal potter's ribs. They work great and are usually easier to find on short notice. Hello, I can't wait to read this month's issue... unfortunately it isn't attached to this email or any other. Is the issue to follow? Thanks for the time, and I agree with everyone -- don't rush yourself for the sake of a deadline, if it diminishes the end result. I would really rather have a great issue in the middle of the month than a lesser issue earlier on. Please, take your time and get used to the workings of all of it. In the mean time, I hope you have a great evening and look forward to hearing from you soon. Goodnight. Sincerely, Ann Thompson Thanks Ann. I took advantage of everyone's good nature this month. I am thankful to have the issue completed. Hopefully I'm getting the hang of it slowly but surely. I just had a blast opening this door and then that door ... generally wandering around in the newest PC Polyzine. thanks for all your hard work everybody. I always look forward to each issue. -- Babette, Dallas, TX Dear Babette - Those titles on the first page do look like little doors, don't they? I hadn't really thought of that, but now that you mention it, that's exactly how I feel about it, too. Each little mystery unfolds. Thanks for writing. Jeannie, Thanks for e-mailing the March issue. I know how much work goes into these kinds of publications, and your hard work is so greatly appreciated. I live her in West Virginia- don't have any clay buddies here, so I really depend on the magazine to stay informed on the latest stuff. Again, thanks, Sherry Palmer Oh Sherry, no clay buddies at all? Maybe we have some readers who live close to you. If anyone does, they can write to me here at the 'zine and I will put you together with them. In the meantime, read the article in this month's issue about online discussion and chat groups. You are sure to find plenty of clay buddies. Let me know how it turns out, OK? Another quick note to all the soon-to-be brides and grooms looking for those Custom Wedding Cake Toppers we featured in the January 2004 issue -- we do not make the cake toppers here at pcPolyzine. The artist who does is Lisa Calhoon and you can contact her directly at: http://www.RightBrainCreations.com.