ABOUT
ABOUT THE ARTIST
My name is Faith and I have been experimenting with polymer clay since 2007, when upon wallowing from a book hangover, I came upon a tutorial that spoke to my inner book geek. Immediately, I saw myself creating miniatures of my favorite books! It took about a year of solid research, experimenting & effort to get it to its current form. And pounds of book bead clay disasters and mistakes.
I come into clay design naturally, having worked with fondant as a Wilton Level 3-certified cake decorator. Polymer clay is a very interesting medium to work with. It is resilient, flexible and forgiving. I knew that I wanted sharp details to show, so I opted for quarter dollar-sized books.
Shaping books from clay was a lot of fun! (It was a great way to relieve stress — as in, "Why has my copy of this author's latest edition not arrived yet?" Punch. Splat. Blob. Punch. Enough said.) I digress.
Getting the image on the clay was another matter. Not a stranger to image transfer techniques, I knew that this was going to be a challenge: getting double-sided images onto a book form. Following suggestions from fellow clay artisans, I tried a number of things, but none were full proof. Sometimes it worked. Most of the time it didn't. Just like Edison, I found 2000+ ways of how NOT to transfer an image onto clay.
In the end, it took a combination of painting, chemistry, physics, baking and lots of patience to pull it off. It was discouraging at times but ultimately, persistence paid off: sharp images permanently baked onto clay. Voila! Book Beads were born.
Once I had them the possibilities were endless! Because it takes SO long to create a book bead (about 3 weeks), I didn't want to slap it on any cheap backdrop (chains, leather cord, jump rings etc.) I love the geometry behind weaving chain mail (the mathematician in me), so I taught myself, located a good supplier for the rings and bam! — found the perfect background for my book beads. Other products came as a result of requests (stitch markers for my sis-in-law the knitter, leather cord necklace for my dude of a brother etc. etc.) Every new item I introduce is a culmination of long hours of research, design, innovation and the search for the best materials - all married into the spirit of the book itself. This is my gift to you...a legacy of fine clay beads.
Another bonus to my craft is the opportunity to give new life to old forgotten books, many of whom live in the public domain (check out Project Gutenberg). Dabbling into designing book covers with the specific goal of making sure they were eye-catching when miniaturized came naturally. Sadly, many of these books do not have decent covers or if they do, they are stock images. Book Beads is helping find ways to "rescue" them from oblivion.
Oddly enough, I was trained as a scientist and somewhere in my not-so-distant past earned degrees in marine science and statistics. Both have served me well as a virtual entrepreneur — in terms of research, experimentation and data analysis. You can say I am an "academic artisan".
I also enjoy creating "something out of nothing" and relish the challenge of visualizing scraps into "art". As a personal touch, you may receive your collectible item in a handmade gift box made of recycled board and paper.
Away from crafting, I enjoy spending time with my family and playing with our English bulldogs, who, despite their sour mugs, are just charming!
