A Clay Conversation with Leigh
Ross
Sarajane: So, Leigh-- what have you been up to this year so
far?
Leigh: Almost nothing, Sarajane, almost nothing, my life has been
turned all around
Sarajane: You've been riding the rough sea changes, eh? Then let's
go back a bit then----what's the LAST piece you recall working on?
Leigh: The last pieces are the ones I was working on with Kathy
Sarajane: What are they?
Leigh: We called them Foiled Fabric
Sarajane: Oh yes---you sent pictures of those, I think
Leigh: Yes, in fact it is the first thing I've been excited with
in quite a while
Sarajane: What about it does that? Excites you, I mean?
Leigh: They are in the book. ("Celebrations
With Polymer Clay") What excites me is that I have turned it into
a two-part article.
Sarajane: Ah! Are you submitting it for print? And where?
Leigh: It's for Polymercafe,
which will discuss first the basic technique
Sarajane: That's great!
Leigh: and then how to "make it your own" hopefully
giving people a leg up on how to keep from exactly copying something. I
got excited when I realized that that was what we were doing to my own
technique.
Sarajane: Right--push forward! That's an important part of using
commonly held techniques. Mess around with things a bit!
Leigh: Exactly!!! This shows it BIG time, and I think it's going
to work into a good article actually.
Sarajane: Creative freedom to explore---which sounds EVERSO much
better than "I have a hard time doing as told". Any projected
publication dates, so I can keep a lookout?
Leigh: The first part is technique and the second is a project
which shows a lot more inventive ideas.
Sarajane: You've been doing these with metallic foils---have you
used the Jones Tones much? Do you have any preferences?
Leigh: We have been working with every metallic you can put your
finger on. I've invested in some very interesting media and found a brand
new way to use Jones Tones
Sarajane: Oooo----do tell...
Leigh: Hahahahahah!!!!!! Mwhwhwhwhwhwh!!!!!
Sarajane: Gonna make me wait to see it in print, eh? No hints here?
Leigh: Can't say a word yet.
Sarajane: ok…. Have you noticed that there are all kinds
of new media and tools to use with polymer clay that weren't available
15 years ago? And its not as though we cant use pretty much anything, anyway!
Leigh: And thats part of the joy
Sarajane: Absolutely. It's also true that sometimes people do things
in ways that I would not---or the other way around too. Polymer clay has
its own Big Little World, and you can play there all by yourself---or with
others!
Leigh: But you have to be careful what you play with when you are
playing with others.
Sarajane: Speaking of "Clays Well With Others"...
Leigh, you and Stephen are known for running Polymer
Clay Central; how long have you been shepherding that site?
Leigh: Over 7 years! PCC has been alive over 10 years. I've been
through more things with PCC than I ever did without it.
Sarajane: So its been a growthful experience? I bet its a lot of
work---its a HUGE site and group. What about doing all that's involved
with it do you like best?
Leigh: Working together! Seeing my name in your book! Making friends
all over the world.
Sarajane: I like that part too...one of the things I like about
interacting is that it sparks new directions for both the work, and the
outlets for work. I like collaboration sometimes though not always---but
when I'm in the mood for it, its great to work on things with or along
with others---swaps are good that way, and challenges. And books!
Leigh: I love swaps and challenges but I'm always on such a terrible
schedule I can't do either and it really makes me mad.
Sarajane: PCC has a lot of challenges and swaps, and if a person
did them all...there'd be not enough time.
Leigh: I can't do the challenges.
Sarajane: Well, no. There are simply too many!
Leigh: No, because we own the site I can't participate!
Sarajane: BUT in hosting a place on the Internet where people who
DO want to be involved can share the experience, you accomplish a Very
Good Thing.
Sarajane: When you first took over the maintenance /nurturance of
PCC, about how many people would come around?
Leigh: A couple hundred, I can get you exact numbers later.
Sarajane: That's close enough. Arlene Thayer ran it first, didn't
she?
Leigh: Arlene started PCC .
Sarajane: How many members now come around?
Leigh: 10,000
Sarajane: Wow! When you Google the words "polymer clay",
the PCC site comes up first--and I suspect its because so many people go
there and also link to there. There's a lot of information to be had, as
well as the camaraderie. In addition to being hostess and den mother of
the group, you also provide content----the Millenium Garden technique is
one you are known for in PC circles. Given the brilliance and depth you
achieve with your layering and finishing, I'm surprised you have any time
...or fingertips...left.
Leigh: The truth of the matter is I've been in a funk and not producing
anything lately so there is no way of knowing what I should be doing. Or
even could be doing!
Sarajane: Ah, well..."should". "Could" is much
more productive in possibilities. What do you WANT to be doing?
Leigh: I'm dying to get my hands on my clay, a couple more days
and I should be ready, I hope.
Sarajane: You said you were cleaning up your work area, getting
ready for New Stuff. Are you feeling a wave of energy coming?
Leigh: Yes, cleaning and putting away and organizing so I can
take out my torch also .The wave came and is gone, now I've got to find
it again!
Sarajane: I didn't know you torched too---lampworking or soldering?
Leigh: Soldering.
Sarajane: yes, actually I do recall seeing that you do fabulous
wirework to go with your PC.
Leigh: I like to fuse metals together and use all kinds of scraps
for texture.
Sarajane: That's one of the thing that appeals to me mightily about
polymer clay.... no waste.
Leigh: I have to confess I actually threw a little clay out this
week while I was cleaning up. There was just too much hair in it to clean
it out and I have SOOOOOO much clay it just wasn't worth it!
Sarajane: There's "hard" clay...and there's 8 year old
rocks…toss the rocks!
Leigh: Slice it thin and add translucent and sit on it.
Sarajane: Most times It Can Be Saved.... but sometimes its not worth
the time and effort.
Leigh: Sometimes I wish I didn't know these things!
Sarajane: when you first started out claying, were you saving every
little scraping of clay? I did...
Leigh: What do you mean when I first started out???? I still do!
Sarajane: "Oh dear!! Only a quarter inch of blue left!!"
I mean every teeny smear, which now I just mix up into something else.
Leigh: Yes, although I mixed it with another smear to make a bigger
smear! Now I do something special with my leftovers. Do you want to hear
about it?
Sarajane: sure!!
Leigh: While I work I have a big fish bowl that gets all the unused
clay
and when the fish bowl gets filled I take a day out and sort the clay in
colors. Then I put them through the pasta machine and make little packet
out of them making all new colors and then I line them up in lunch boxes.
So that is the clay that I work from when I go to make something, so all
my colors are new mixes.
Sarajane: wow--you MUST have a lot of clay!!
Leigh: I have about 10 lunch boxes, one for red, one for yellow,
one for blue etc.... That's one of my talents; mixing colors, I can mix
anything. But when I mix up the colors from the fish bowl, I keep putting
colors in until the packet of color is a good size to work with. Then when
I go to a retreat, I can just grab a few packets from the lunchboxes and
they are all conditioned and ready.
Sarajane: I've tried all the clays I can find...and I like the
Premo colors best for mixing
Leigh: I love Premo!
Sarajane: They don't go muddy--unless I WANT them to!
Leigh: Yes, and mix magenta with turquoise to get purple
Sarajane: oh yes! I love the purples you can get with Premo.
Leigh: No grey purples.
Sarajane: Marie Segal showed me how to use the fluorescents for
mixing. I can't stand the fluorescent colors by themselves BUT----for mixing,
they are incredible.
Leigh: Definitely! I buy more fluorescents than anything else
beside translucent and gold. I get the translucent by the case now and
open them all and put them away to dry up.
Sarajane: Do you have any special tips on how to keep the trans
from darkening so much when by itself?
Leigh: Cover it with aluminum foil. (tent the pan) I made metal
holders for my beads that fit over the edge of my baking pans, so they
don't roll around.
Sarajane: Now, a major difference in the way we work is that I'm
lazy, and YOU---you sand everything within an inch of its life!!
Leigh: But I don't sand that much, my stuff is smooth as silk when
it goes in the oven. And use the right grit for the right purpose. For
sanding, I use my cordless Dremel.
Sarajane: Tell me something--you make canes, and then use them up
as you go, right?
Leigh: Well, I've only used up a couple.
Sarajane: do you make them in particular for projects, or make them
and then do things with them. Are you a Planner, as it were?
Leigh: Not a very good planner, but I listen to the clay, and it
usually has something waiting in the wings that ends up working out really
great. When I was doing the flowers, I just did flowers and wanted to learn
how to make them so that when they reduced very small you can still see
the flower. So some of them can be reduced very small and some can't but
I'm better at *making* them small now.
Sarajane: That's something you really excel at doing. When I look
at the tiles you did, I'm always amazed at how truly teeny some of the
canes are.
Leigh: I had to make a lot of canes to get good at it. That's my
favorite part.
Sarajane: It's a matter of contrast, too--not just scale and shape
Leigh: Yes it is, but the best thing I found was outlining with
gold and filling in with translucent. That allows everything to work together.
Now, both the projects I have waiting in the wings will be able to use
many of the flower canes, not because I planned it that way, but because
it worked out that way.
Sarajane: funny how that works!
Leigh: Boy, the more we talk, the more I want to get my hands in
the clay!
| 
|
|
|  Here are two types of "TrueLeigh Roses" made of polymer
clay ---the red roses on the left are three dimensional wedding bouquet
flowers. The black and white rose is a slice of complex millefiore cane
work. Millefiore roses in red are on the heart pendant as well.
Contact Leigh Ross at www.polymerclaycentral.com |
