Our membership platform called Society is bursting with inspiration and knowledge that we share with polymer clay people from all over the world. The online class scheduled on Saturday, May 13 is going to be amazing! This time Sandy Pflug will teach the step-by-step process of sculpting a beautiful toadstool portal.
In recent years Sandy’s polymer clay production has been focused on custom work, mainly creating fantasy portals.
Her projects usually start with a request for a specific theme. The next step is to look to the natural environment to find a way to best portray this. “Although the portal is an object of fantasy,” she says, “my work is heavily influenced by reality and is represented in its design and style. I am fascinated by the careful study of natural forms and drawing upon the features that I find most compelling within them to recreate in polymer.”
Sandy’s work is heavily influenced by her other interests like gardening, hiking, and foraging for mushrooms and wild berries. “I’m fortunate to have easy access to wild places much of the year at a beautiful Ontario lake where there is endless inspiration in the surrounding forest,” says the artist.
The toadstool Sandy created for her class began with the simple idea of a mushroom and tree frog and it is similar to a piece she completed in 2021. Both are containers utilizing small glass jars around which the toadstools were sculpted. This time the artist chose the blewit mushroom and spring peeper for inspiration as together they provided a pleasing color scheme in contrasting hues and both are her favorites. “I like to create a sense of playfulness and tension, or perceived motion, in the design of the piece as this directly reflects my own experience of nature which I find simultaneously calming and energizing,” says Sandy about her project. “So, the tree frog is perched overlooking the edge of the mushroom cap, perhaps curious about the insect frozen in the amber window below and getting ready to leap.”
For the upcoming class, Sandy has pre-recorded video parts to illustrate her sculpting process and how she develops details through the use of colored clay and pastels. She will share her creative techniques and insights with our members, from constructing the cap using foil and Ultralight clay to designing the base structure around a glass jar. During the class, we will also discuss how she handles the inevitable challenges that arise in sculpting such a project. Join us this Saturday and get the opportunity to watch Sandy's artistic skills in action.
