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Is it possible to create collaborative work, being thousands of kilometers apart? We know for sure now, it is! The world's first competition of polymer art couples called "2 Golovy Luchshe" (Two Heads Are Better than One), organized by three Russian artists, has just finished. Artists from more than 10 countries applied to be part of the main competition about a week prior to the start and then organisers divided them randomly into the couples in the live draw. Each couple had to create, despite a distance between the artists, one artwork together. Sometimes artists were not only from various cities of the same country, but also from different parts of the world! There were artists working not only with polymer clay but also with self hardening clay who took part in the competition. And after the draw, several such couples were created who had to complete an artwork from two different materials. The task was to create a circle divided by a straight line into two halves. Since the competition was an experiment, there was no limitation to the topic. The variety of ideas that artists brought into this competition was incredible. One artist chose characters from famous films and cartoons, some created scenes from fairy tales, and someone made their own characters and even entire fantasy worlds. In total, 174 people applied for the main competition. They were divided into 87 couples and more than 80% of the participants - 72 couples - reached the final, providing their circles. And that's not all... For those who did not make it to the main competition in time or did not want to participate, there was also an additional competition they could join anytime. A half of the circle. But in an additional competition, there was a so-called task: the organizers invited 11 polymer artists, who prepared workshops for their halves. The task was to finish the other half of the circle. And here everyone succeeded 100%. For every half of the circle of invited artists, there were more than 20 different and in its own way beautiful halves. Some artists could not decide so they had to leave the voting to the audience to choose the winners. These are really impressive results that have shown extraordinary interest in the new format of the competition. Here you can see the final work of some of the participating artists.

Andrea Sanchéz is a polymer clay artist from Spain. She discovered polymer clay about eight years ago and decided to go in a different direction than most of the polymer clay artists. Instead of starting to make jewellery she started to make her own little creatures. “I was always a daydreamer as a child, I used to imagine magical creatures around me at all times. I wanted them to become real but I didn’t think it was possible back then. It wasn’t until I discovered the Art doll world and realised I could, actually, bring all those creatures to life. I started researching and found polymer clay, as soon as I tried it, I fell in love with it,” says Andrea. Her first attempts at making dolls were not as good as she would want them to be, however she kept practicing, paying attention to other artist’s techniques and figuring out her own style. That’s how her brand StuffAnClay was born. Most of Andrea’s dolls are made of mixed media. The hard parts such as face, hands, feet and ears are made out of polymer clay and the bodies are made out of faux fur or fabric with a wire or plastic armature inside. “I wanted dolls to be lifelike, which is why I didn’t want a stiff figure, I wanted them to be moveable and poseable.” Recently she decided to take a big step and create a fully polymer clay doll, with no fabric body, but still moveable and poseable. And that’s how she accidentally got into the ball joint world and created the baby dragon-like creature, Aylar. Andrea is also one of 27 artists in the book A New Generation of Polymer Clay. There is much more information about her and her work and tutorial how to make one of her furry creatures.

Sofia Ermilova is a Russian polymer clay artist who has been working with this medium for about 20 years now. She has discovered air dry clay first however the work with it wasnt that satisfying so she started to search the market for something more interesting and easier to work with and found polymer clay. This was a great discovery as it has to be cured to preserve it, but before she has time to remodel and make corrections of anything she needs to. Sofia has always been inspired by animals and nature that is why she chose to make toys that look like animals and fantasy creatures. And why toys? Because as per Sofia’s words there was nothing to like in the toy stores. She found the toys boring and not interesting to buy plus they didn't move, and did look alive. So she came up with her own toys with livelike eyes and moving bodies. The structure of the toy itself is made of inner skeleton, then covered by polymer clay and then she adds artificial fur. It takes about 3 days to create one small animal. If the character is more challenging, it can take even a week or two. At the beginning Sofia sculpted her toys just as a hobby and for her own pleasure but slowly she started to sell her creations on the Russian social networks. Three years later she reached the international market and now sells her toys all over the world. Sofia does mostly commission work but sometimes implements her own ideas and plans. “There are a lot of them so I hope that one day I will be able to bring them all to life. I never think far ahead. My life is changing rapidly and unexpectedly,” says Sofia and we wish her that every unexpected turn of her life will be the lucky one bringing more inspiration and joy into her creation with polymer clay.

Jana Roberts Benzon has a diverse artistic background in various mediums, but polymer clay has captured her creative spirit like nothing else. Its ability to become just about anything is the height of creative freedom. Jana has focused on creating her brand of intricate "millefiori" canework and in perfecting her innovative techniques for building and reducing canes. From those canes, Jana loves creating interesting, dimensional jewelry pieces often evocative of Arabic or old world designs. While she'll never leave the geometric symmetry of caning, these days she's having a great time exploring the world of organic forms and "cutwork". As for inspiration she is of course influenced heavily by nature. We all had ups and downs during the coronavirus outbreak and pandemic in the world and one would think that being an artist it is actually easier to deal with this situation through the expression of art. However artists are mostly very sensitive beings as well and can take some of these world changes more difficult than others. All one can do is to challenge his own soul and choose to enjoy the opportunity of being at home with the family, having time to create and use it as an advantage. Jana is sharing with us her thoughts and moments how she spent the last year: “Throughout the past year with Covid, like most everyone else, my world has shrunk while at the same time I've been very busy. I have not done much claying at all over the past year until about a month or so ago when my time opened up a bit. It's been really interesting because when I began claying again, I noticed my intentions were a bit different. Typically, I am always working on a new technique, but now I find that simply by revisiting old techniques, they come out of my hands in a new form. There are remnants of the "old" technique, but with a new spin. Working this way really takes the pressure off because I begin working on a piece with a familiar technique in mind and then allow myself to be free with it… not follow an old "play book",” says Jana and continues: “Also, my heart has opened up very wide these days since I have a new little soul in my life, my grandson. He is with me quite a bit and we have formed a very strong bond. He teaches me so much everyday, and reminds me of the wonder of life. I think that his influence and the changes in myself over the past year have really opened up my creativity even further, but also have allowed me to relax and create without boundaries. As if there is nothing to be afraid of.”

Amanda Parkinson was born in Australia and her parents were always very supportive of her creative side. Because she was crafty all life she started to make motion films for the school she was attending which was actually the first introduction to sculpting. While making the film, she realised that sculpting the film characters is more interesting for her than the film itself. Due to some health issues Amanda had to finish the school when she was 15 years old and being in bed most of the time she wanted to find something to do, to keep her busy. This is the moment polymer clay entered her life. “I lay on my back on my bed with a tray on my stomach and sculpted a young fairy girl. I was so elated with her that I decided to see if I could sell her. I listed her on the internet and she sold for $80. This was when I realized I had the potential to support my artistic endeavors. So I spent my whole $80 on more art supplies and went from there,“ describes Amanda beginnings with polymer clay. She has dabbled with porcelain and ceramic sculptures, even garnering some training on the subject, but felt they lack the versatility of polymer clay. Over the years she has created all sorts of themes and creatures. She started predominantly in fantasy, as it offered the complete ability to interpret a design how she liked. ”I especially like fairies and mermaids, with an odd pixie or two thrown in. I also love sculpting babies. I have a large extended family and have gotten used to their antics. Most of my baby sculptures have been inspired by my cousin who is all grown up now,” talks Amanda about her art choices. You can also see her video tutorial "Sculpting the White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland” on her YouTube channel. “It feels like sculpting is a part of me and no matter how many times I try to prioritize something else, it always winds up coming back to the forefront. For example, currently I am confined to a wheelchair and I had thought that it would slow me down, but I am sculpting more than ever! My husband even helped me make my studio wheelchair friendly so I could access everything I needed to create. Sculpting is at my core and it is ruthless at drawing me in over and over again,” says Amanda and we wish her to feel this creative passion and joy forever.

Connie Andrews is a 24 years old polymer clay artist from London, UK. She has been working with polymer clay for a little over a year now by watching a few youtube tutorials, but mostly by trial and error, and by getting to know and understand the clay herself. Connie started with creating magical looking mushrooms and small woodland creatures, but her fascination with folklore inspired her to create fae of her own. She saw the potential of what could be done after she made her first fae, Leif. “She inspired me to create a little world of my own using polymer clay, and to much of my surprise many other people fell in love with them too. This is how The Forest Children came to life,” says Connie. “I make each of my fae with the idea that they belong to the forests and are all a part of the earth itself. Much like mother nature, they care for everything from the soil in the ground to the birds in the trees. Each of their characteristics and appearance resemble their roles in nature. For example Roe, who lives harmoniously with the roe deer, has adopted antlers to resemble the deers.” Connie has always struggled with mental health and committing to education or keeping a job has been hard. But since being able to express herself through the art, and with all the support, the interest over such a short period of time and the lovely comments she is receiving, it has made her be able to start her very own business doing something she absolutely loves and now she enjoys every single day. We wish Connie all the best and that her creativity, business and the The Forest Children including their habitants faes grow and bring happiness and joy to her and everybody around her.

Adriana Allen was born in Bulgaria and has lived in the USA since 2007. However if every place, where we live, defines and molds us, then she must resemble an abstract work of art that combines Spanish, English, French, Swiss, Mexican, Bulgarian, and American influences. Adriana stumbled upon polymer clay back in 2009, while she was looking for an outlet for all that creative energy she was trying to find what to do with. For over a decade, Adriana had worked as a writer and editor at several national networks and magazine editorials. After moving to the USA she began a search for something else. She tried sewing, beading, fabric painting, which were ok, but not great for someone who has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis most of her life so polymer clay just made sense and felt good in her hands. “My new passion opened my eyes to details of the world surrounding me that I might have never noticed otherwise; it has filled my existence with new colors and shapes that would normally blend with the background in the past,” shares with us Adriana. From the beginning, her relationship with the medium was of mutual challenge and reward. She would force the clay into new shapes and tools, creating in the process new techniques, opening doors it had never crossed before to achieve – eventually – some rewarding results. On the other hand, the work with clay pushes her physical limitations, rewarding her hard work with some pain, but also with pride in the awareness that “I can do this!”. Sometimes Adriana struggles to self-identify as an artist because of the theory that art is food for the soul and has nothing to do with the materialistic aspects of life. “Yes, art and creativity are superior forms of self-expression, they nurture the soul and incinerate it as a wild fire – any artist knows what the need to create feels like. However the material aspect of it is also very important,” says Adriana and continues: “I do not know what else life has in store for me. There will be ups and downs, and more than one surprises which, I would like to believe, I will never shy from. I do hope, however, that I will continue to create and for the simplest of reasons: it makes me truly happy,” says Adriana and we can only agree that this applies to every single one of us.

Angela Kostina is a mixed media artist from Russia who creates cute and fluffy fantasy creatures under her brand AlvamadeToys. Angela discovered polymer clay a few years ago and realised the possibilities it can give her. She doesn't need to buy claws, toy noses or full-fledged faces, muzzles, paws and other details anymore. She can make all by herself now! “What impressed me most about this material was the possibility of creating details that can be painted, tinted and combined with different materials. I like the ease of use and durability of the products. This allows unlimited creativity,“ says Angela. She mostly mixes white clay with a little bit of pigment and only occasionally uses colored polymer clay. Then she paints the surface with the acrylics. To make these little creatures is Angela’s full time job and also the biggest passion and favorite pastime. “It is very important for me to show my creativity to people and bring them joy, to make their dreams of unusual creatures come true,” shares Angela her thoughts about her work. When it comes to inspiration she likes to watch nature, shapes, textures or photos of birds, noticing the color of their feathers and incorporating all this into the look of her creatures. “Our entire planet is a whole treasure. Life inspires creativity and creativity fills my life,” says Angela and all we can do is to agree with her and wish her lots of luck in her future creation.

Libby Mills lives in South Glastonbury, Connecticut with her husband. She started working with polymer clay in 2001, and hasn’t looked back since. The versatility and color of the material has kept her interest above other art materials. In 2019 she shifted her focus from jewelry making to polymer wall art. She is a member of the Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild and the International Polymer Clay Association. She feels the warm community of fellow polymer clay artists to be one of the material’s great assets. Libby enjoys creating pieces that evoke a textile feel in a new medium. Her work is about juxtaposition. The place where lines, patterns, textures or colors intersect. “I am fascinated by the interplay of shapes and textures. My current work is heavily inspired by fiber art,” says Libby. Libby achieved a very modern and fresh look after playing with some tinted translucent clay and textures where there are patterns in few layers well complemented by the muted lush color pallet and created wall decorations that are represented in groupings of three or more. We can see the strong influence of American tradition - a patchwork. The modern look is in her recent work as well. Patterns on the geometric pieces are nicely combined with colors and textures. Sometimes only polymer clay artists can understand the complexity of the process and that the resulting artwork is not that easy to achieve as one would think.

Anis Faghiri is a graphic designer. Because she always wanted her illustrations to be tangible, she makes dolls as well. While the world is dealing with coronavirus, Anis decided to make and sell dolls that show happy days and memories and create beautiful dreams. "Life is short and we have to live happily for moments with those we love and give a smile to those around us. For me, happy moments mean being with the family, seeing the smile in the eyes of my mother, father and sister. Happiness has faded in my land these days and the smile fades from their eyes,” shares her thoughts Anis. You may be wondering why most of her characters do not have eyes. It is because the eyes show all the moods of joy, sadness or fear. Anis wants their new owners to imagine that they are themselves the dolls and give them their emotions. Her favorite character she has been making for almost three years is clown Talkhak. Talkhak’s life has been bitter and he is tired of it and of false smiles so he tries to put aside his bad feelings and live happily. Anis believes that dolls breathe, have hearts and are there with us with our joys and sorrows.

Ana Calbucci graduated in Architecture and Design at the University of São Paulo in Brazil in 1986. She has always done manual activities in parallel to architecture, such as painting and drawing; however, in 2008 she got involved with jewelry and became interested in learning and improving in this field. Ana started jewelry bench classes in a well-known atelier in São Paulo in 2010, and over time it started to occupy her internal creative space. She worked as an architect but at this point her head was getting further and further away from it. Ana’s craft was very architectural and geometric in the beginning but she soon realized that her hands had a different characteristic. “I was fascinated by the organic forms, so I began to work with the lost wax technique, on which I managed to print movements, textures, and model the wax in a more organic way and later melt the pieces into metal,” says Ana about her starting techniques in making jewelry. In this search for moldable and malleable materials, she came across polymer clay, which she began using about two years ago, learning a lot on her own or with the aid of tutorials. “What delighted me was the possibility of using a domestic oven at low temperatures. I mix the clay with metal because I like the combination with such distinct materials, and I make incrustations with stones on the mass itself; and everything goes together in the oven! The polymer clay’s hardening temperature alters neither the silver nor the stones,” explains Ana her choice of the newly implemented material. Ana’s polymer clay pieces were exhibited at Joya Barcelona 2020, one of the most celebrated contemporary jewelry events in the world, as well as the second edition of the Brazil Jewelry Week in 2020 in São Paulo. Polymer clay is now part of her jewelry language and it opened a huge window of possibilities to work with: “I love the diversity in how each artist finds his or her own language with this material!” says Ana and we can fully agree with her.

Jonathan Hoffman is a sculptor, writer and painter. He lives in Oakland and works at Pixar. He has sculpted since he was very young, and he considers his journey one of very slow, incremental improvement over several decades. When Jonathan was about thirteen, he was introduced to polymer clay. It was a very natural progression from sculptures in oil-based modeling clay to working in polymer clay. However most of Jonathan’s early attempts at figures were disastrous. It wasn’t until he was out of high school that he had figured out how to incorporate an armature into the base of the sculpture. Almost all of his methods and procedures have been self-taught, by simple trial and error. Since that time, Jonathan has expanded that simple formula and gotten more sophisticated in his techniques and understanding of the human figure. Studying illustration and then animation at Brigham Young University (BYU) helped him also to understand character design and composition. He works as a technical principle artist at Pixar. “I’ve always wanted to work for Pixar, and I was fortunate enough to get into the animation program at BYU. I applied for an internship and on my second attempt was accepted. I do shading and texturing for Pixar, which uses both my technical knowledge as well as my artistic abilities. I’m essentially a detail fanatic, so shading is a perfect place for me,“ explains Jonathan. He is credited in six major films, has worked as a game designer and a story developer. He’s received two Visual Effects Society (VES) awards for character shading on Hank from movie Finding Dory and Hector from movie Coco. This attention to surface detail shows up in all of his polymer clay sculptures as well. Many of Jonathan's sculpted characters are taken directly from a series of novels he's written. He considers it a source of pride, that he doesn't use paint on his sculptures, but rather uses colored clay. He even crafts his eyes from polymer clay canes, and uses fabric to texture sheets of clay for his drapery. Jonathan also often collaborates with his engineering brother to add LEDs into his sculptures, adding another layer of complexity to an already laborious process. “After the electronics are in place, I build the clay in layers on top of the wire, adding specialized parts like the eyes, which are made with a combination of clear epoxy resin and polymer clay,” says Jonathan. His sculptures often take hundreds of hours to complete, each their own passion project with months or years in the making. “My last several pieces have been intense on the electronics side, so I’m going to take a break and do some LED-free sculptures,” says Jonathan and we wish him all the best of luck in anything he is going to decide to do.

Meike Lucia Friemel from Germany is an abstract painter, a metalsmith and a graduated jewellery designer. She started working with polymer clay a few years ago. Her inspirations come from architecture and nature. Her new polymer clay work is a synthesis of all her origins. However there is an emphasis on the painterly aspect. We can find inspiration in the winter nature scenes. Each project begins with the analysis of one of her photos in terms of colors, shapes and structure. Simplification and concentration on the essentials lead to the first idea of the design. The next step is the translation into material and jewellery form. After a complex process of color mixing, technique attempts, arrangement of parts and jewellery construction the result is a piece of wearable art. She is focusing lately on making bangles and cuffs using all sorts of textures and abstract patterns like stripes and waves. We love the raw feeling of every piece she makes and the winter theme she is using lately is perfectly matching the reality around us.

Simon from Germany is one of 11 people standing behind a project ClayClaim. He is a presenter of the projects made of polymer clay creating the characters and scenes from the world of games. You can find ClayClaim channel on YouTube with an unbelievable number of subscribers - 2,94 millions. It all started when Simon was still a child and his parents didn’t let him watch kids cartoons on TV. He then started modeling and painting all the childhood heroes so he could have his very own versions of them to play with. His parents supported his creativity and provided him with clay, paint and all kinds of materials he needed. When it comes to inspiration, the ClayClaim Crew is drawing it from their awesome community of fans. They often inspire Simon with their projects and suggestions, other times he just finds games and characters that he likes and then creates them. To make characters takes Simon about 1 - 2 days while map miniatures can take 3 - 6 days. It can be challenging to maintain a steady creative flow while also trying to manage all the different aspects of the ClayClaim Studio, so it varies but always has to be done on Friday. After so many clay videos, there are, logically, a lot of clay creations. They rarely sell any as it is too hard to say goodbye to them. Therefore Simon decided to bring them to life and started to work on a real stop-motion studio, however it is still very much in its early stages. So what is behind the success of so many subscribers you might ask? “There are no secrets, I try to be as authentic as I can and use my platform to show that there is still so much soul left in modern games and that handmade stuff still matters in a digital age. I am on YouTube to inspire and get inspired,” says Simon. We are definitely looking forward to seeing more of ClayClaim videos as they are fun, authentic and very creative.

Noelia Contreras is a Spanish polymer clay artist based in Barcelona. She discovered a polymer clay 15 years ago and fell in love with it straight away. For some time it was only a relaxing hobby while working in a full time job but slowly, step by step, the love for this material took over her life and wanted her to dedicate her soul to it fully, otherwise it seems unsatisfying. We all have been there, right? There was almost nothing available online so Noelia had to study from books and at workshops and as she says of course by the try and error method. When Noelia lost her job, she bravely decided to carry on with her creative hobby as a fulltime occupancy. “For some years it was nice to work with what I love, but the non creative part of the business was so time consuming that I felt I was losing the passion and motivation I had at the beginning,” shares Noelia her experiences. Polymer clay is her hobby yet again these days and she recovered the joy of creating with her hands. Noelia’s design is focusing on simple clean compositions and on working in assemblies. She likes to work in different approaches to assemble the pieces, especially if she is able to get mobile or interchangeable sections. In her last pieces she has been working on sliding mechanisms to build a base in which hold different pieces that she can also make reversible. If you want to see more of Noelia’s work, look at her Instagram and Facebook.

Andrea Victoria Paradiso is a polymer clay artist residing in the USA but came with her family from Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1964 when she was seven years old. She has been doing some sort of craft or artwork since she was five. In 2012, she came across a catalog of Fire Mountain Beads, with fabulous polymer bead necklaces on the cover. Andrea immediately went searching to find out what material it was made of and how to use it. After making some necklaces and accessories she realized that she has a knack for sculpting. Soon enough, jewelry was not big enough territory for her. Andrea won several Fire Mountain Gem and Beads Awards as well as having one of very first sculpts in Marie Segal’s “The Polymer Clay Artist’s Guide” Artists Gallery. “I use any technique that I can get my hands on. I especially enjoy making lighted vessels. I use a great deal of sterling silver and 23kt gold leaf for inclusions in translucent clay and I often use mica powders, embossing powders, and pastels for highlights as well as semi-precious stones, Swarovski crystals and fresh-water pearls. The structures I build on are usually glass or metal and, most times, I envelop them in polymer as well.” Explains Andrea her techniques and the process of work and used materials. Every little bit is sculpted and put together with her own hands and the bigger sculpts take many, many hours to complete and oftentimes weeks go by before completion. Great example of her way of creating is one of the latest pieces, the Purple garlic, which has detachable cloves and skin. It is made of polymer clay, sterling silver leaf inclusions, soft pastels for ocher highlights on skin and stalk. No paints or molds used in this piece. We love the transparent effect and the palette of the colours Andrea used. Andrea retired last year so she has all the time she needs to create the projects she has been yearning to make. She is working on her photography skills and establishing an online presence with the thought of perhaps having an online store in the future. Her greatest desire, however, is to keep on building and expanding her own little polymer clay world which makes her exceedingly happy and we wish her all the best in fulfilling all her dreams!

Miniatures are very popular in many corners of the world. The talent behind creating a highly detailed miniature which resembles the real object or person has to be incredible. Yana Ivanyuk has always loved to create. In the summer of 2011, she discovered one of a kind baby dolls. Creating a tiny, realistic doll from start to finish combines all of her beloved art forms into one. Doll making encompasses design, drawing, painting, sculpting, sewing, photography and much more. Yana is sharing her way of creating these highly detailed miniatures of babies. Most of the creations are quite small ranging in size from 3 cm up to 40 cm. Each of Yana’s OOAK dolls is hand sculpted from a block of polymer clay without using molds. Yana usually begins with an aluminum foil and wire armature. Then she creates a body from polymer clay and for modelling she is using various silicone and sculpting tools. After the sculpt is finished and baked, she carefully scrapes any rough areas with a scalpel. Then the piece is sanded and painted in layers, baking in between each layer to set the paint. This method ensures that the paint will not be too thick and unnatural. Once painted, it is covered with a special varnish and baked again. For poseable dolls, she sews a fabric body and fills it with poly pellets and polyfills. For the hair she uses either viscose, mohair, or lamb’s wool. To find out more about Yana and her creations visit her Instagram and website.

Gabi Bachvarova was born in Bulgaria however she has been living in Düsseldorf, Germany since 2014. She studied engineering and architecture and because she was artistic since her childhood, she decided to start a career as a make-up artist on TV. Gabi is passionate about creation and she is an artist with a broad spectrum of interests. She adores art, geometric shapes, space, texture and extraordinary forms. Gabi started to create from polymer clay after visiting an exhibition where she was impressed by amazing sculptures. The polymer clay was the easiest and most accessible way to express all the shapes and forms that appeared in her head. “My core idea was to transform sculptures into contemporary wearable art and to create small sculptures for the finest parts of the female body. I haven’t ever learned the techniques of working with polymer clay but I discover new depths and ways to create different sculptures every day. I can somehow express myself in every single piece at one single moment,” says Gabi about her polymer clay jewellery. She doesn't use any tools like a machine or cutters, only her hands. “I connect with this material. I discover new opportunities and ways of work in this field of art every day,” says proudly Gabi. She combines basic white and black polymer clay with a copper wire, rose gold sheets and places it on a steel necklace in a rose-gold color. We have to admit that this combination of the soft, fine clay and the strong wire is beautiful and very feminine. “I am still at the beginning of my polymer clay journey,” says Gabi in a humble way and continues: “I have many new ideas. I would like to make polymer clay clothes or some jewelry installations, for example.” We are definitely looking forward to seeing her polymer clay art developed even more in upcoming years.

Mihaela Vengher aka Mia is from Galati, Romania, living in Italy. She has been a polymer clay artist since 2017. Because she studied a mathematical-computer subject at technological high school, she has never had the time to go deeper into creating and discovering the world of art even though she made drawings and paintings in her spare time. She studied the great masters of the past and read books about art but more as a form of relaxation from too difficult subjects at school. Mia experienced her first success when started making snails - funny characters she designed herself. The very first one was a pickle riding a snail. She has never stopped making them since then, even after she learned how to sculpt different subjects. Mia’s skills grow so fast because she loves polymer clay and each piece makes her want to get to create the next one. She says that there is so much magic inside this amazing medium. You can find Mia’s pieces she is currently working on in range from tiny cartoon figures to big sculptures on her Instagram and website. She is very good at what she is doing because of the love to create and thanks to polymer clay there are no boundaries to her imagination.

Patrick Gliem is a Creative Director who recently became a sculpting hobbyist. Although he dabbled in sculpting as a child, his professional career led him towards graphic design and video production. It was only a few months ago, after stumbling on some tutorials on YouTube when he decided to explore this medium after a 20 year pause. Patrick appreciates all things animation. In recent years, animated media has evolved quite a lot so we see people of colour as lead characters, queer folks getting married, and boys crying with their friends through hardship today. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and an advocate for the importance of representation in childhood media, Patrick often finds himself more captivated by the honesty portrayed in animation than what you'd find in your average blockbuster. When it comes to his work in sculpture, Patrick finds himself most interested in celebrating the animated characters that taught him about kindness, humility, and general “badassery”. Patrick strives to create sculptures that capture tender moments through subtle, dynamic movements and super vibrant colour palettes.