The ethos behind this community
First and foremost, I wanted to be upfront about what I want for, and expect from this lil up and coming community. This could be a wonderfully positive place that leads to great experiences and creative growth for everyone involved… or it could become a negative space that breeds discontentment and wastes your hard earned money!
If you’re here you probably have a bit of an idea of who I am. If not, hi, hello, I’m Erin! I’m a maker from Sydney who’s been using polymer clay for the past 6 years. It became my full time job in late 2019. I’ve grown my lil business from my kitchen table to… well, actually, my studio is my bedroom, but its a much bigger production now! Some things that have helped me get this far are:
Dedication to getting better and better
Sheer enjoyment of this medium
Connecting with other likeminded people
Maintaining my integrity and professionalism
Being respectful and kind
Working damn hard!
This is the basis for our community. At the end of the day this is what I want you to come back to. Due to the very nature of this endeavour there is the potential for hurt feelings and blows to self esteem. I want to keep you motivated and accountable, but in a productive way. If you ask for feedback, be prepared that you might actually receive constructive criticism- with tips for how to improve. I’d love for there to be a culture of seeking improvement (becuase we can all improve and learn!) and having fun. Let’s aim for a nice balance between making for the sheer joy of it, and working on learning new skills.
My intention is to post to the private IG grid with prompts for the activities I host, and share what you all make with each other. We can chat, cheer each other on, and celebrate our individual artistic voices through grid posts. I’ll ask that we leave constructive criticisms and feedback for within the group chats.. By doing this, people can choose whether or not to participate in this aspect of the group while enjoying the interaction of the grid posts. Think of it as a pizza- an overall collaborative chatty atmosphere (the delicious carby base) with optional feedback (extra olives? pineapple? ew, tbh) just when you’re in the headspace for that.
I look forward to sharing in this delicious pizza of a clay community with you all. But now, I’m hungry after all that pizza talk. See you on the next blog!