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The
Context ….. In the beginning
At the end of 1997, there were a few polymer clay artists in Canada;
some were already well known and making a living through their art;
however, they were mostly working in isolation. Some were able to explore
polymer clay with like-minded enthusiasts by taking advantage of classes
conducted in Montreal and in the United States. One important workshop
in particular was organized by the American “National Polymer
Clay Guild” at Arrowmont; six Canadians attended and met each
other for the first time(1).
The first Canadian polymer clay exhibit (“Polymorphes”,
curated by Tory Hughes) took place in Montreal in the Fall of 1997.
Seven Canadian artists were invited to exhibit their work there(2).
The first Canadian polymer clay guild was also getting organized in
Montreal. A lot was happening on the Canadian polymer clay scene at
one time.
Meanwhile, other polymer clay enthusiasts were getting connected and/or
connecting to the internet; they knew about each other in a vague way
and communicated through the rec.craft.polymerclay newsgroup (which
still exists). At that point there were also a few websites originating
in the United States, which were valuable sources of information to
those who were connected. In particular, Arlene Thayer’s web site
which, because of its increasing popularity, was later integrated into
the Polymer Clay Central website (www.polymerclaycentral.com/)
where fragments of her site are still archived (including names of participants
of the first Canadian pin swap organized by Cathy Simpson)
Little by little, Canadians were becoming aware of each other and in
late Fall of 1997….
….”by the time the internet came to my house in
1997, recalls Cathy Simpson of Newfoundland,
‘ I was tired of being alone in my obsession and determined
to find kindred spirits--IN CANADA--so I hung out on message boards
and newsgroups, looking for clay-people with Canadian addresses.
The first two Canadian clayers I found, almost simultaneously,
were
Violette Laporte and Margi Laurin.
I emailed them and said, hey, ya’ wanna’ do an all-Canadian
swap....? And d’ya know anyone else in Canada who's into this
stuff?”
Born… to a Baker’s Dozen
....And so, in the Fall of 1997, four Canadian women (Cathy
Simpson, Margi Laurin, Violette Laporte and Vicki Domansky),
each leading different lives in different parts of Canada but wanting
to share their passion for polymer clay with other Canadians, pooled
their respective talents which eventually led to the CLAYAMIES as we
know today.
When Clayamies took its first steps, the original group of Canadian
enthusiasts (who named themselves “Clayamies” in April 1998)
communicated through an individual shared email list. A Baker’s
Dozen we were but it wasn’t long before growth spurts made communicating
via a long list of individual emails cumbersome. Thanks to the World
Wide Web and Vicki’s techno knowledge, Clayamies became an official
on-line group(3) on June 23, 1998 at 6:40pm Vancouver time. The journey
has been (and continues to be) an incredibly exciting one.
Eventually, Cathy assumed the role as list mom/moderator. She put in
many long hours to make the list a convivial and enduring one and to
this day she is still the list moderator at the Clayamies yahoo!groups
list. “Captain Clayaway” as she is affectionately known,
is a fearless leader who can put on her boss hat when required. We owe
much to her persistence and discipline.
Cathy Simpson organized the first group activity: a pin swap. Many more
interesting swaps followed and they still continue to this day.
Thanks to Vicki’s computer savvy, there was a Clayamies web page
until recently; it needed a lot of updating! Fortunately, the new kids
on the block are seeing to that.
Who we are…Our Raison
d’Etre
Why a Canadian-only site? This is often asked, but never by Canadians!
Our raison d’etre is to illustrate to fellow Canadians -- and
the world -- that Canada too, enjoys a thriving polymer clay community.
We delight in <and covet> our distinctly Canadian nature and the
genuine camaraderie and generosity of spirit that exists.
Our Evolution…What we’re
about
Excerpts from emails posted by a trio of original Clayamies –
all still active on the Clayamies list – probably best exemplifies
the growth and accomplishments observed with Clayamies over the years:
In July, 1998 Violette Laporte wrote:
‘….In the last six months, we have become good friends,
almost like a new kind of family. If something happens to one of us,
good/bad, we all share in the happiness/grief. I have not met most
of you but through this group, I am slowly constructing your personalities
and even your physical pictures. We’re all new to this, sort
of like pioneers I guess. In a generation or so, this will be everyday
living but in the meantime, we are living in exciting times.’
Eight years later (in March
2005), Margi Laurin reflects:
‘We have seen beginners relish in their first creation.;
We have seen newbie's turn into accomplished artists right before
our very
eyes.
We have been recipients of RAC's (random acts of clayness) and
participated in swaps...and lots in between.
We have seen "Monthly Workshops" and "Topics of the
Week" and the ever popular "Chat Night". Many participate
in an on-line Christmas soirée, swap gifts, and tip a glass
to friends <clink>.
We have seen rejections.
We have seen books written and magazine articles published (the on-line
format of Canadian Living magazine…Canadian Geographic full-colour
feature story)
We have seen TV shows aired and teaching positions accepted.
We were the first to view your new web site.
We have seen businesses born........And businesses fail.
We have seen fabulous creations.......... and burnt disasters!
We have seen guilds, gatherings and retreats develop and thrive.
And we have learned from our mistakes….’
On a more personal note Margi’s email continued:
‘We have seen weddings happen...and babies born... and
first days of
school.
We have seen family members pass away, including beloved pets and
we shared your grief.
We have been there waiting for test results with you and sighed with
relief
when all was well.
We have seen life long friendships develop as members finally meet
in
person.
We suffered great loss when one of us was taken in a tragic accident.
We have seen a lot.
Cathy Simpson concurs with Margi’s sentiments
and wrote: ‘Clayamies is a membership of astoundingly warm,
caring, generous and fun people who have brought friendship, merriment,
and the joys of shared enthusiasms into each other’s lives, not
to mention some pretty wild cyber-parties.....’
Clayamies continues to enjoy all kinds of clay-centred projects, both
in cyberspace at
our Yahoo!Groups list home and on the ground. Information is constantly
being exchanged.
We are proud of our growing number of celebrity members who are quietly
making their own creative imprint while gaining recognition through
the clay world for their astonishing talent and expertise. Amongst us,
there are also Clayamies who work as production and/or commission/one-of-a-kind
artisans, selling at fine craft shops, art galleries, and retail and
wholesale fairs across the country. Still others of us prefer to consider
ourselves hobbyists, for want of a better word -- people who clay for
the sheer love of this wonderful medium.
1 Krista Wells, Michelle Bourgault, Tracy Holmes, Dan
Cormier, Will Truchon , Violette Laporte
2 Elsa Brunelle, Virginia McClure, Margi Laurin, Dan Cormier, Violette
Laporte, Myriam Bardoul, Françoise Durham-Dumoulin
3 The first list was “makelist.com” which then became “egroups.com”
which merged with “yahoogroups.com” where we still are.
All the messages are archived from the time we became an online mail
group
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