ClayDates w/Jeanne Rhea

Once in awhile, I get to have a clay date with my good friend Jeanne. Yesterday, was one of those days.


Jeanne's clean and fast work in the first row (note the cheesy, "Look what I did!" smile) and my "I have no idea what I'm doing" mess in the lower panel.

Jeanne's a neat person to get to know, I'd call her an experiventor. Yup, new word. Her extensive knowledge and talent with polymer clay, an incredibly savvy business woman, a wicked sense of humor and an infinite reservoir of patience -specially with me. We could talk hours on politics, business, art, people with no sense of humor, travel and no thoughts of judging the other -how rare is that??

A few months back, she gave me these ATCs that I can't seem to enjoy enough of. They sit on my desk in my studio and once in awhile, I just have to admire them. They embody a spatial like quality that maintain a mystery, much like the Universe.



Each time we get together, we must have our show and tells about projects we're working including issues and successes. Jeanne's fabulous with giving feedback on my work and I love giving her hints and tips for her work -though I don't have to do much of that. During our show and tell yesterday, Jeanne revealed this larger piece. Immediately, I fell in love. In her natural voice she said, "here, you can have it." WOW! I can't wait to frame it.



I always look forward to Jeanne's work-in-progress as there's always an evolution to her work. The most recent piece seems more gritty and perhaps it's the mood I'm in, but you've got to see these pieces in person -photos don't do them justice. The sealant adds depth making the variations of color just pop and is very tough to capture on film. Amaaaaazing.

For more of Jeanne's work, you need to check out:

This fabulous snowflake she made for me 2 years ago.
Fun 3D collage work she whipped up.
Beautiful torsos
Recent work with ink on polymer clay

If you love the inkings that she's done, you can buy them as jewelry pieces on ETSY. So cool!
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Oh, if you're interested in organized and immaculate studios , you'll love Jeanne's studio.

Jeanne's Art for the Heart Blog
Jeanne's Heart of Clay Web Site