Sandra makes jewellery, scarves, hair clips, and bookmarks using polymer clay and/or repurposed t-shirt material. Her interest in polymer clay developed after experimenting with it with her daughter. She happened upon a book at her local library on making food jewellery, then purchased a few supplies. After further research, she discovered the tremendous versatility of polymer clay and was hooked.
"The t-shirt products came about rather unexpectedly about a year later when a friend introduced me to the process of making a simple scarf from repurposed t-shirt strips. I loved the casual simplicity of t-shirt scarf and the idea of repurposing material to create new items fits well with my general approach to living. I enjoy developing new scarf styles, some combining t-shirt material with yarn and/or polymer clay beads. New products, such as bracelets and flower hair clips, are the result of looking for ways to use the growing stash of t-shirt remnants."
"The t-shirt products came about rather unexpectedly about a year later when a friend introduced me to the process of making a simple scarf from repurposed t-shirt strips. I loved the casual simplicity of t-shirt scarf and the idea of repurposing material to create new items fits well with my general approach to living. I enjoy developing new scarf styles, some combining t-shirt material with yarn and/or polymer clay beads. New products, such as bracelets and flower hair clips, are the result of looking for ways to use the growing stash of t-shirt remnants."
What she enjoys most is working on a new concept. It "always involves some level of discovery -- and often includes some frustration -- seeing a concept through to becoming a physical reality. My current obsession is a gypsy/bohemian style cuff bracelet constructed from t-shirt and yarn with polymer clay embellishments with perhaps necklaces and earrings to come on the same theme." Sandra's work is somewhat eclectic, and themes from nature are recurrent. She feels that her work reflects that she is a fairly pragmatic individual who is grounded by the most basic aspects of life. One of her favourite pieces is a necklace and earrings set she made for her aunt. "The beads in this necklace were part of a series created after the mokame gane work of polymer clay artist Julie Picarello. All the beads in both pieces were made from polymer clay. Herein lies on of the best features of working with polymer clay; if you need a particular jewellery component, you can likely make it yourself." Her inspiration comes from many different sources, nature, fashion, other art media, other artists and from custom orders. Custom orders often influence her work to move in new directions.
Sandra is always working on several things at any given time. "I like to have a range of projects on the go. If I have only a little bit of time or don’t have much mental energy, I will pick up simple, repetitive projects to work on and leave the more complex work until I have more time and the right head space." And, as a huge CBC radio fan, while working Sandra is constantly tuned in. Occasionally she turns it off in favour of a documentary program, "something that doesn't require much visual attention." The most difficult aspect for Sandra is "sometimes to resist the temptation to move on to a completely new process before fully working through one that I am currently involved with." She is also working hard to find balance between time spent crafting and other responsibilities. "It is so easy to get caught up in creating and thereby neglecting everything else."
When Sandra began working with polymer clay in 2010, she worked at her dining table which was unsatisfactory as she would have to clean up her work on a daily basis. "Now I am fortunate to have a dedicated workspace for polymer clay, a small spare bedroom in our home which was renovated as my creative space. Although the tools and supplies for my many creative pursuits are stored in this room, I have managed to migrate back to the dining room when I work on t-shirt products as I need a larger space to work in." Her goal is to devote several days out of the week to crafting, however, there are times when other priorities make that impossible like this time of the year when gardening and yard work are never ending. "Unfortunately, sometimes inspiration has to wait!"
Outside of craft shows, Sandra sells her jewellery at A Gift of Art, a gallery in Newcastle, ON, and at a bakery in Alfred, ON. You can meet her on June 28 at Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park in Peterborough.
When Sandra began working with polymer clay in 2010, she worked at her dining table which was unsatisfactory as she would have to clean up her work on a daily basis. "Now I am fortunate to have a dedicated workspace for polymer clay, a small spare bedroom in our home which was renovated as my creative space. Although the tools and supplies for my many creative pursuits are stored in this room, I have managed to migrate back to the dining room when I work on t-shirt products as I need a larger space to work in." Her goal is to devote several days out of the week to crafting, however, there are times when other priorities make that impossible like this time of the year when gardening and yard work are never ending. "Unfortunately, sometimes inspiration has to wait!"
Outside of craft shows, Sandra sells her jewellery at A Gift of Art, a gallery in Newcastle, ON, and at a bakery in Alfred, ON. You can meet her on June 28 at Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park in Peterborough.