Artist Of The Month – August 2007

	Sallie Bly Grand Prairie, TX Email: salliannebly@yahoo.com

What do you love about Art Clay? My passion is beading and so many times when I was designing a new piece of jewelry, I could not locate a metal finding that would complete the project. Learning how to make what I wanted made a big difference in my beadwork. I have loved working with clay since I was a teenager and now those same techniques are being used with metal clay to create items that I never dreamed were possible. I love to enamel with Art Clay, I am able to create cloisonnè without soldering and I can create a base for basse–taille without chemicals. Then the best part is that there is no pickling between firings.
What are your favorite Art Clay projects/creations? It is hard to say what my favorite projects are because every month a new door in metal clay opens. Some of my current favorites are mixing metal clay (especially when mixed with veneer solution) with my traditional clay work.
What other media do you work and/or teach in?? Beading, hand building clay, ceramics, fused glass, decals, enameling, and wire wrapping.
Biography: I grew up in Philadelphia during a time when young girls learned sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery and cooking. My parents were both born and raised in Lancaster and my relatives on both sides were German (Pennsylvania Deutsche). I spent a lot of time in Lancaster and I still follow a lot of the ideals from those days, like making my own noodles from scratch and canning. I spent my summers on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. We had no electricity and the iceman delivered ice twice a week. It was paradise. During my early teen years I discovered ceramics which turned out to be a life long passion. Pottery is still something that I do at least once a week. When Art Clay Silver came to the United States in 1999, I immediately jumped onto the bandwagon. I was in the first Level II class. There were only three of us from the Dallas/Fort Worth area in that class so we were called on to teach immediately. All of us are still teaching metal clay. Working with silver clay is a lot like pottery and cake decorating, but on a smaller scale. My first piece after certification was a pin that resembled the top of a decorated cake. It is still one of my personal favorites. My husband (and partner) James and I have five children and nine grandchildren. In 1999, I turned one of the spare rooms into a studio and retail store. Today the studio (formerly known as the living room) is where I teach many of my classes.
Philosophy: I believe that there is an artist inside of everyone. Sometimes it is so close to the surface that it cannot be ignored. However, sometimes it is so well hidden that even when you point it out to someone, they do not believe it. Metal clay is a wonderful medium because I have a lot of students who have never done anything creative before they try their hand at making "just one piece of jewelry". They get so excited that they continue to take more classes and actually start creating their own unique pieces. It takes awhile to help these same students accept that they are artists.
Awards / Degrees: Art Clay Senior Instructor

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