Finally home!

Those were the best 2 weeks! i had so much fun! NYC, CFCF & Synergy!

Both Mira Krispil (the best partner ever) and myself flew to NYC on the 16th and had great 3 days of shopping, so many great stores in this city - cookie cutters, acrylic rollers, paints, beads & findings - that was fun! Metalliferous was the hightlight of the day, and our suitcases slowly gained weight and we were filing them with goodies :)

Then we took a flight and head to Baltimore airport and from there to CFCF - Cabin Fever Clay Festival held in Laurel Maryland. Kathryn Ottman greeted everyone and the event started with some Pre-Classes, we took classes by Lindly Haunani , Maggie Maggio and Jana Benzon. all of them were facinating and we made beautiful pieces.

After 2 days of Pre-Classes, the 4 hours CFCF seminars started and we had so much fun the best teachers - Jeffrey Lloyd Dever, Nan Roche, Cindy Silas, Tony Aquino, Maureen Carlson, Dayle Doroshow, Grant Diffendaffer, Louise Fischer Cozzi, Laurie Mika, Kathryn Jo Ottman, Lisa Pavelka, Sarah Shriver, and Ronna Sarvas Weltman. Demo's and Classes were facinating and we learned so much from all those experts.

The closing night celebration brought the presentation of the first Creative Pioneer and Innovator Award, presented to Nan Roche. Jeffrey Dever spoke of the knowledge and inspiration he gained from Nan in his early days playing with clay, I felt it was an exciting and emotional moment, everybody were cheering for Nan. The silent auction was great and i got one of Jana's pins :)

I was so honored when Nan asked to buy one of my disc necklaces! thank you so much Nan!
We found some new friends and angels who helped us (Barb - that's you!) hugging everybody, sorry we had to say goodbye so soon.

Then we headed to Synergy2 conference held in the tremont Plaza @ Baltimore, meeting new friends. Plan was so full of seminars, panel discussions, polymer shopping for supplies and artwork and jewelry, can we skip buying something?

We couldn't skip the ACC - American Craft Council show , The American Craft Council Show presents outstanding works by America's leading craftspeople for purchase by the public and to the trade, lot's of color, materials and inspiration, Mira and myself walked for 4 hours and still we didn't see all of it, it's huge! we met the nicest Wiwat with his breathtaking jewelry, Louise Fischer Cozzi (which we also took a class with her on CFCF), Karyn Kozak and her beautiful bugs (got us 2 of them!), Sue Fleischer, Karin Noyes and many more.

I also got a mention in Polymer Clay Daily! Sweet Cynthia Tinapple took a photo of one of my Necklaces and posted it in her blog. That was a perfect closure for our trip.

2 weeks of pure polymer clay, isn't that just the best thing ever?

Now, back to work! Passover holiday is coming soon and i should be getting ready :)

Polymer Play Days - AMAZING 6 days

So... what did we have for total - 6 days, 6 teachers, 1 polymer play days event, 1 flight from Tel-Aviv to London and back, 2 coaches, 3 classes, 3 groups, 1 robbin hood & castle, and a great swap "Raffle party" with fish n' chips!

Oh my, did i had a good time, these were AMAZING 6 days, full of happy experiences, Adrenalin and energy, smiles & laughs, good food, claying joy, and all the best superlatives i can give!

I got to Heathrow on Thursday after 5.5 hours flight and took a coach to Nottingham where Helen waited for me together with Donna Kato, who arrived earlier; I took my things and went to rest so i can be fresh the next day getting organized for the workshop.
The next day we arranged goodie bags, sorted out the Kato clay which was provided to the students and had a sunny and fun day, the weather was smiling at us all weekend!

Saturday was THE day, we started our workshops and every student took 2 classes per day, we had students from all over Europe: Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Russia, Estonia, All UK, Norway, Spain and Israel. they were all so nice! I met some of my favorite virtual (flickr or blogs) friends, so happy to meet them in person finally!

These 3 days were like a dream, i enjoyed every minute! I was surprised to see how many people love millefiori flowers and that I can open up a whole new world to them!

On the last day we had a beads swap & "raffle party" - that was such fun! Dani was hilarious!

Thank you all for making this event possible - to dear Helen Cox who planned and organized every thing perfectly, to my colleague teachers: Donna, Alison, Sylvie, Natalia and Dani, to all my students who were so kind to me and letting me know how much they enjoyed my class!

Make lots of flower canes and paint your world in colors!
Kisses and hugs :)

Photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nottingham_2009/

and here

http://picasaweb.google.com/imishly/PolymerPlayDaysUK2009Nottingham

8 days to go...

I don't believe i am writting in my blog when i have PILE of things to do, and i am not talking just about polymer clay work, laundry pile is so high, i think i have neglected my duties in the last 2 weeks, these preparations to my 1st international class are a real project and i am doing my best to be prepared :)

so... checklist? wanna go over my things with me? (such a newbie excitement!!!, please forgive me)

let's see -

raw canes and demos? got it! (how do i pack those for flight? they won't let me get those on plane - right?)

Brochure & tutorials for students? - arrived in the mail yesterday! check!

keychains? & barrettes? finished today - check

beads for swap? almost finished

necklaces and jewelry - not yet, i have to string those

table? - a mess (see above)

soon it will all be packed and ready for launch :)

few more days and.....

I'm all flat on the floor :)

thanks for letting me share my mess!

(sorry the photos are small, i do need some surprizes... :) )

Polymer Play Days Event, 30th, 31th of May and 1st June 2009, Nottinghamshire, England

You are all welcome to Polymer Play Days, an international event held in Nottinghamshire, England on the 30th, 31th of May and 1st June 2009 - 3 days of exciting polymer clay workshops with known teachers such as: Donna Kato (USA), Sylvie Peraud (France), Natalia Garcia de Leaniz (Spain) Alison Gallant (UK), Iris Mishly - myself (Israel) & Daniel Torres Mancera.

All details (photos, registration information) can be found on this site -http://www.picturetrail.com/euroclaycarnival

or email Helen Cox zaroscat@boltblue.com

Places are limited so better hurry! :)

Oh Ya! another Clay Carnival!

After several years of doing the Clay Carnival in Las Vegas, The 'Euro Clay Carnival' is set to take place August 1-3, 2008 in Nottingham, England.

It will have an international flair as special instructors were added - 2 from England and 1 from Spain. The instructors for this event are: Donna Kato, Judy Belcher, Carol Blackburn, Leslie Blackford, Kim Cavender, Alison Gallant, Cathy Johnston, Sue Kelsey and Natalia Garcia de Leaniz.

There will be a total of nine different classes included in the package as well as daily lunch, tea/coffee and the fabulous Clay Carnival Dinner. You can read more about all the details on Donna Kato's website here.

Sign ups are starting to come in quickly so, if you'd like more information, visit our good friend Helen Cox for all the registration details.

Now you tell me, why did i choose to do my daughter "Bat Mitzva" in USA this summer? i should have chosen England... ;)

and this is not an April's fool joke... :)