Alice....thru the looking glass!

This post got lost in the shuffle of our move, but I still wanted to put it up. This piece will have a happy home in the revamped collection in Milton.

We are over the moon about a new piece for the collection by our friend, Alice Stroppel. We traded out some of her old work for a nice collection of new work, now for sale in the gallery. In the box with her new work was this exquisite 'polymer painting' that we watched on facebook as it developed.

You need to make a trip in, just to admire this extraordinary work. It will blow your mind. Alice has been with us from the very beginning....even pre-Creative Journey! She even scrubbed toilets before we opened our business. Now, that's a good friend.
We are delighted that her shop in Sebring is spreading the joys of polymer clay. Her classes on cane mapping look amazing and she continues to develop new ideas to share.

Work in Progress...

If you follow us on Facebook, you have a leg up on the news! We are in the midst of moving to a new location closer to home. Crabapple Market in Milton will be our new roost! Milton is a newly incorporated area of Fulton County, just north of Alpharetta.....which is north of Atlanta. I know it seems like the suburbs of Atlanta encompass half the state of Georgia. That's just because they do. We will be about the same distance from downtown Atlanta but it may be a little easier to get here. MARTA comes up this corridor from the airport and there is public transportation in this direction.

We had hoped to be settled in time for Bettina Welker's class in April. We created a makeshift classroom in one of the center's open spaces....the old Mugs coffee shop. It actually worked out pretty well. The light was good and there was plenty of space to work. Bettina flew from Germany to share a new class on connections using polymer clay. Everyone marveled at her ingenuity and were delighted with what they learned. It really got us thinking of lots of 'what ifs'.

One of the things we are looking forward to in the new space is a wall of floor to ceiling windows. Ellen and Randy, with the help of Elizabeth Hamilton, our lighting expert, have also sourced light fixtures that will bounce light off the ceiling to eliminate harsh shadows in the work space. We have also found some wonderful chandeliers for the gallery portion of the space.

The retrospective collection, "Polymer From the Beginning", is expanding from fifteen to eighteen cases. A whole bunch of treasures have been unearthed from Ellen's office in preparation for the move, so plan on setting aside a good block of time to enjoy the work on display.

In between packing boxes and organizing clay, Ellen has been busy lining up an amazing array of teachers all the way into 2020. We remain dedicated to being a center of your polymer world and serving your needs as best we can.

Bon Voyage to Ponsawan and Ada

We are eagerly watching for news of our friend Ponsawan Sila and her daughter Ada as they make a new life in Thailand. We have watched the preparations for travel and witnessed the many months of planning and anticipation. Finally we held our collective breaths as they flew half way around the world in a leap of faith that family will prevail and life will be good.
Hard to imagine fitting all your belongings into six suitcases. In the culling of treasures, Ponsawan decided to share one of her amazing mosaics with us for the retrospective collection here at Creative Journey Studios. It joins an already incredible collection of necklaces, pins, bracelets and vessels made by Ponsawan thru our years of friendship.

Isn't it an amazing piece of art? It's aptly named "Hugs From My Friends"! Thank you, Ponsawan, for sharing it with us and the visitors to the collection. Every time we walk past it we will think about you and your incredible talent.

A fresh new year...full of fresh new Ideas

Happy New Year!  It's a new year full of wonderful possibilities. We hope you will spend time with us this year, learning about polymer clay, having fun and discovering all sorts of happy inspiration!

New Classes! New Products!

              New Help!

   (Welcome to the GNOME!)
Gallery Needs & Office Minion Employee: Randy Prophater

It's going to be a banner year!



Ellen has been planning classes for 2018, and I think you are going to like the lineup so far. In January, she is teaching two weekends which we have already filled. If you are interested in taking a class from Ellen in the future, let us put you on a waiting list.

In February (9th to the 11th) we are excited to welcome Claire Maunsell to Creative Journey Studios for a jam-packed three days of Hollow Forms and Surface Explorations. We have been admiring her veneers for a long time and the idea of applying them to hollow beads that we learn to make in the class sounds great. You should check out her flicker account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stillpointworks) to see some of the possibilities. There are only a couple spaces in the class, so if you are interested, don't dawdle. Call me with a card at 404-314-5767 and join us!

On a side note, we are delighted to have added some work from Keven Carlton to the gallery. Keven is a dental hygienist by day and a polymer sculptor by night. I think you will be able to tell this if you look closely at her wonderful Santas!

Moving right along...

We've had a good spring and early summer. Jeff Dever was in for two sessions of hollow pod making, followed by amulets and talismans with Sarah Shriver. Talk about two dynamite classes! We are delighted to have their work in the gallery now (Jeff, for the first time, and lots of new work from Sarah!)
Next on our class agenda is Doreen Kassel. I hope you have been following her facebook posts along with Donna Greenberg, as they get ready for Synergy in August. It is definitely whetting my appetite for Doreen's class making flowers, pods and butterflies.....and her whimsical figures! We have some wonderful examples at the studio so you can be tempted.

We will be on the road again (in mid August) for the IPCA's Synergy4 conference up in the Philadelphia area. Ellen has the honor of speaking at this important international polymer conference. Hope you will be attending to get her take on mokume gane. She is already busy gathering photos and fine tuning her talk.
Be sure to check the upcoming classes page.  We've updated the rest of the year's classes. Classes fill up fast so if you are interested, you need to hop on it quickly. We are trying to have a second session of Lindly's color class. There is a spot in Laura Tabakman's class on wire and translucent clay.

We'll be winding down the year with Leslie Blackford, November 10-12, right after we get back from Ron Lehocky's Dam Retreat at the end of October. She has a fun class on tap, as she helps you clean out Auntie's old jewelry box!

Hope we'll see you for a class. Plan a visit to see what's new in the gallery. We have lots of new products (that you know you need!) in the supply store. Come check out Ellen's new long and double design silk screens before we run out again.

February 2017......Really?!

How did it get to be February already? Guess I better catch everyone up on the goings on at Creative Journey. We had a nice holiday season and now we are busy fielding the aftermath of Ellen's two classes on texture. We are spending a few hours restocking the clay and rotating the packages.We have undecorated from Christmas---oops! Now we have to clean up the leftover glitter and pack up the decorations. We have a nice batch of new valentine hearts from Ron Lehocky. Soon it will be time for Easter hearts! And Mother's Day is coming! There is always an appropriate heart for any occasion.
We have new work from Nikolina Otrazan. In advance of her class (which, sadly, we had to cancel due to fears of the travel ban) she sent work for the gallery and some wonderful pieces for the collection. Her work is really interesting and you should definitely plan a visit. While you are at the studio, you can check out all the new products we've gotten since your last visit! Primary Elements arte-pigments, Silks acrylic glazes and Mica Minerals are new lines from Colourarte. We have loaded up on Moiko silk screens. I'm going to try to get some pictures up on line so at the very least you will be able to call and place an order.
Pictures and descriptions are slowly coming in for the year's lineup of classes. It's quite telling that despite no class descriptions on the "upcoming classes" page, most of the classes are already full. We are starting waiting lists and/or trying to line up second classes.
We are very excited to host Jeff Dever in April. His first class is Sunday to Tuesday, the 2nd to the 4th. We are trying to fill a second class from Wednesday to Friday, the 5th to the 7th. He will be teaching all about 'miniature polymer holloware' whict he is known for. Jeff is a frequent lecturer at Synergy and has work in many museums. He was a major presence at Racine Art Museum's groundbreaking polymer exhibit, filling a wall with hollow pods. (google 'Jeff Dever Racine pods' for a great picture) Check the classes page for a more detailed description of the class. We have several great examples of Jeff's work in the Collection. Another great excuse for a visit!

Gearing up for the Holidays and beyond!

We hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. We have been busy with shoppers looking for a unique gift. They have come to right spot! Whether it is a piece of jewelry, a sculptural piece or a bowl, a scarf or an ornament from one of our seventy-two artists, a wonderful woodfired piece of pottery (from my talented son, Rob Sutherland) or some new gadgets from Filigree & More, our supply store, we are here to help you choose. We could probably even do a gift certificate for a class for next year.

We have a dynamite lineup for 2017. Many of the classes have already almost filled, even before I have posted a description. Where we can, we will have a second class. I guess my point is: if you see something you want in on, don’t procrastinate on signing up. The classes are limited to ten people and they do fill up!

Watch the classes page, and as pictures and description become available, I will post the fun! What I post below is subject to minor changes when we get text and pictures from the instructors.

First up is Nikolina Otrzan, coming all the way from Croatia. She will be teaching from March 24^th to the 26^th (two spots left) and perhaps March 27^th to the 29^th, if there is demand. We first met Nik at the Atlanta Synergy and have watched her techniques develop. You can probably find her work on Facebook to see her tempting veneers and construction techniques.(Sadly, due to fears of issues with visas and entering/exiting the country, Nikolina has cancelled her class. We will reschedule, hopefully later in the year. We'll be in touch with the people who expressed an interest.)

Jeff Dever is coming from Maryland April 2^nd to 4^th. We are already reserving spots in a second class from April 5^th to the 7^th. We have some of Jeff’s work in the collection for you to admire and get a feel for what you will learn. Jeff is an amazing teacher and we are very excited to share this opportunity with you. This will not be a beginner class. You will need some skills to take advantage of all he has to share.

Sarah Shriver is coming back June 2^nd to the 4^th to teach “Hinged Pendants”. We have started a waiting list for this class, as her class is already full.

Doreen Kassel will be here July 14^th to the 16^th to teach Translucent Flowers and Pods. We have some of her work in the studio for you to see. It’s very appealing. Once you see it, you will want to try your hand at it.

Lindly Haunani will be back at the end of August (August 25-27) for her annual color class. This is your knowledge fix for the year and it is always fun. It’s more than a project. It boosts your skill and makes all your work improve.

Laura Tabakman will be here Sept. 29^th to October 1^st to teach combining wire and translucent clay.

Leslie Blackford is coming “round the mountain” (from Kentucky!) in November (10-12) to show us how to use ‘vintage’ costume jewelry to enhance your polymer piece. We will be haunting all the antique shops between now and then to find discarded treasures from ‘auntie’s’ jewelry box that will be perfect with polymer.

As you can see, we have an exciting lineup for 2017. We hope you can join us or at least come in to visit. We have lots of new products(Moiko screens and Primary Elements) and a steady supply of Premo, Fimo and Pardo for your claying needs!