How it all began…

You could be forgiven for asking the question “But… why?” about the cute clay characters that have dominated my work over the past year or so, and they’ve certainly grabbed all the attention! I have been asked what made me start making these, so why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll tell you all about it.

I love things with faces on. I’ve been known to draw faces on our plug sockets at home. I love anything realistic but miniature. As a child I loved my doll’s house - my Dad made it for me one Christmas, spending hours beavering away in the garage in the evenings while mum tried to make sure I stayed away, as I was always the one wanting to be involved! Following this, I was allowed to choose 1 thing from a doll’s house/miniatures shop. For some bizarre reason, the item I picked was a miniature loaf of bread. I loved it. And I think that’s it really, it’s a ‘real’ thing but miniature - and instead of furniture (which might have been a more sensible choice), it makes make-believe life in the doll’s house more real.

At school I recall a textiles project was to make a pin cushion for use in our work. My design was for a burger with all the layers - bun, burger, lettuce, tomato, cheese etc. My execution was terrible and I don’t think I actually ever finished it - I’m not very skilled in the dressmaking department, preferring a speedy bodge-it-and-scarper approach! I have no idea why it didn’t work, as it seems relatively simple to me, but never mind - the point is, the burger represents things I love, kitsch novelty ‘food as practical objects’. (I can’t tell you how much I wanted the burger phone in the 90s ‘Going Live!’ era of telly, I would still love it now!)

I love designs from popular culture on things that they shouldn’t be - like my Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Baked Bean socks. I love the surreal design style of The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine animated film (I also have socks with Yellow Submarine/The Beatles on!)

I love emojis, especially the iconic food emojis (much more fun than the complicated too-tiny people emojis). My influences definitely include people like artist Lucy Sparrow and her felt food and household items, all hand-sewn and painted on felt, even entire shops of them!

On a family camping trip back in, I think 2021, I brought my box of Posca pens with me (always trying to keep holidays screen-free!) Their versatility is awesome and my kids love any opportunity to use them - they give instant colourful results, instead of colouring pencils which look more ‘faded’ and are harder work, crayons are, well, rubbish, and felt tips are alright but can’t manage shading or blending and won’t work on every surface. We started painting pebbles and stones found around the campsite, a relaxing activity while the sausages are browning over the campfire. Initially we were trying to match the painting to the stone shape - “that’s shaped like a whale”, “that could be a banana” etc. We were on lovely family campsites (Beryl’s in South Devon and Cloud Farm in North Devon, both recommended) and started leaving the pebbles for others to take. It was good fun watching children discover them and taking them for their collections (we’d also painted a rock saying ‘please take a stone!’ or something to that effect).

I painted a whole bowl of fruit (pictured above) on stones. I love them, and it was very satisfying to paint their smooth surfaces, but I was thinking about the fact that a) it’s not very eco-friendly to take rocks, really and b) I couldn’t manipulate their shapes at all, being rock, obvs.

I kept thinking about emojis, and about the cute pebble paintings, and thought ‘I’m sure I could make these’. So I did! I’ve never particularly been a 3D artist, but somehow I’ve discovered an outlet for 3D creativity. Using air drying clay (I don’t have a kiln and don’t want to get one), I started by making miniature food for my daughter’s Barbies to use (second photo above). Fun fact, my miniature doll’s house loaf of bread looked just like that one, I recreated it!

They turned out better than I anticipated - I loved them, and my daughter did too. They’re still in use and still going strong - so they’re durable. Painting them worked a treat, however I needed to work out how to stop the Posca pen nibs drying out on the clay (primer was the answer), and how to be able to paint in all the nooks and crannies.

So this is when the clay cuties were born. Starting with the watermelon, its iconic shape and colourway remains one of the most straightforward and eye-catching of the gang. I gave a Wendy Watermelon to Emma, Chief Pom at Pom Stitch Tassel as she’d said she loves watermelons, and the resounding ‘yes!!’ and the giggles that the clay cuties bring has been all the encouragement needed to keep on making them!

My experimenting has continued and now there is a core collection of clay food which are always crowd-pleasers. As well as the watermelon, the avocado, hotdog, burger, waffles, pancakes, taco, pizza, burrito, chocolate eclair, Victoria sponge cake, croissant, sausage roll and many more are attention-grabbing and popular with both children and adults. It’s heartwarming to see the smiles these clay critters bring and the double-takes when people walk past my stall!

I can’t not mention the names either - the names are at least half the fun. I like to follow an alliterative rule, so names will be Peter Pizza, William Waffle, Polly Pancakes etc. However there are a few jokes in there to spot, too. Following the naming covention but referring to someone entirely more famous is Barbara Broccoli. I can’t call the Victoria Sponge Cake anything other than Vicky Sponge. And keep your eyes peeled for a certain ‘Footloose’ legend coming soon… (clue in the photos) All the best things have joke references for adults as well as being entertaining for kids! Good wholesome fun.

Seasonal limited edition collections are gathering a fan base too, with Easter hot cross buns and mini egg nests, summer ice cream cones and lollies, Yule logs and Christmas puddings, there’s something for every season. I’ve branched out into keyrings/bag charms with mini versions of the big desk buddies (better as bag charms as the paintwork isn’t tough enough to withstand bashing from metal keys all the time - I’m working on that). I’m planning to develop the different themes that have evolved, such as the Furry Collection of the desk buddies with furry coats (made with the modelling textures used by model railway enthusiasts and miniature model painters!) and others.

My latest development are the Cute Clay Collections - not just a single item, but an instantly recognisable plate-full! So far I have made the Cheeseboard, the English Breakfast, the Picnic Hamper, the Afternoon Tea cake stand and the ultimate Christmas Dinner. I have more up my sleeve too, so watch this space. Incredibly realistic-looking cheeses are my favourite (not least that names like Steve Stilton and Gary Gorgonzola crack me up!)

The Collections are incredibly attention-grabbing, and as well as being made to order they can be hired as shop displays. Ideal for getting customers talking! They may not be able to splash out on an entire Christmas Dinner made of clay, but they may well want to buy one of the items as a desk buddy to keep.

Practical conundrums have been resolved such as getting into the nooks and crannies - I use a variety of paintbrushes to get paint off the Posca pen nib, and this I can use neat or diluted with water to make a lighter wash over the clay which provides a great effect and depth of colour. So they are created with a mixture of pen and brush work. I take pride in the fact that these are never standard, one-colour flat paint jobs - they are multi-layered, fully illustrated creations. One recent customer got a gold star for fully appreciating that they are all about the blurring/contrast between the realistic and absolutely the opposite, the cartoon cuteness (she chose a Brenda Brie). Every single one is hand-sculpted by me, and hand-painted entirely by me. Some are life size while some are more miniature - but the finished effect is adorably cute with their cheerful faces and characters, but often deeply realistic. It’s a confusing juxtaposition for your brain to work out, but the overall effect is of a super cute, tactile object that never fails to bring a smile.

I overheard a baffled person in a shop say once “…but what are they for?” and while that’s a good question - the clay desk buddies don’t have a practical purpose per se, I mean you could use them as a paperweight of course - but what they do is bring a smile every time. They’re your desktop cheerleader. Your emotional support buddy. The start of a beautiful collection. They’re a small piece of art. Never underestimate the clay cuties!

#claycreations #claysculpture #illustration #contemporarycraft #realisticfoodart #contemporaryart #posca