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Sunday, January 20, 2019

Teacher Feature - Kristin Morris

Kristin Morris Clay and Ceramic Artist

Teaching Tea Cup Creatures at:

 April 25-28, 2019 - Columbus Ohio


Kristin grew up in Springfield, Ohio to a mother who is a potter and a geologist father.  She has always loved art, especially painting and sculpture, and has worked with clay as far back as she can remember.  

Kristin graduated from the College Of Wooster with a major in Studio Art, and later attended The Columbus College Of Art And Design where I focused on 3D Illustration.  I have had jobs sculpting props and "corpses" for haunted houses and working on animals for a water park.   She also holds a Master's degree of Social Work degree from The Ohio State University.

 “Art it is my first love!” 
She is currently is working full time as an artist.  Creating art is her passion and she loves to tell stories with her work! 

Kristin loves Halloween
My dolls are usually on the more  "playfully macabre"



Kristin's works are often made from old recycled spindles or bits of wood and found objects; which she enjoys altering with Apoxie Sculpt and paint.  As a member of the Guilded Lilies Art Doll Club her dolls are usually on the more  "playfully macabre" end of the spectrum! 


         Tim Burton and his many eerie films, as well as Halloween, Jim Henson's characters, and pop surrealism are major influences for her.  More often than not Kristin is inspired by edgy, thought provoking or "dark" art that is bordering on creepy.  You can see it in everything she does. 

Kristin finds herself drawn to pieces that have their roots in carnivals, folk art, or Day of the Dead. 

          In the past she has sculpted for haunted houses, worked for a costume shop, and been employed by a studio making animals for an amusement park ride.  In the past summers she has  taken ceramic workshops and have fallen in love with hand building in ceramic clay!  


"I love the feel of the clay in my hands.”

More recently she has been working in ceramics. Below you can see a few of her art works from a recent Art Galley Show 

“By The Sea” 

If you would like to see more from this show and other art works visit her web site.

Cowfish

Dogfish

Clownfish

Kristin is teaching a 1 day classes this spring

"Tea Time in Wonderland"

She is open to your own interpretation of the Tea Time characters
 Here are two of her versions of the Cheshire Cat 

 Artistic freedom in Kristin's workshops is welcome.

She is also teaching the March Hare and the Dormouse
Check out her workshops at 
Artistic Figures in Cloth & Clay

Kristin is excited her artistic journey!

check out her workshops:






Teacher Feature - Layl McDill

Presenting Layl McDill 

Polymer Clay Artist

Workshops coming to:

Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay April 25-28, 2019 Columbus Ohio

Curious Clouds Crept Above - sculpture by Layl McDill

Layl McDill grew up in Gillette, Wyoming where she began creating things at a very young age. Her first Story Boxes were dollhouses and even an entire Smurf Village in the basement

Crow with Keys Pitcher
2 day Clay Bird Vessel class
When Layl was 17 she saw modern art for the first time on a family trip to Washington DC and New York City. She was extremely excited about the endless possibilities of mixed media when she saw pop art that used everyday objects and oil painting and whatever else. Suddenly her creativity was unleashed, art was more than just painting and drawing. She could make ANYTHING! Her senior year of high school was spent making numerous sculptures that were both 3D and 2D at the same time- a lot like pop up sculptures that are always popped up.

Goddess with image Transfer - 1 day class
After a year of creating an attic full of sculptures she decided to be more practical and choose a major that had actual job prospects. She majored in illustration in art school at the Columbus College of Art and Design with plans to write and illustrate children’s books but the mixed media materials she used in the community outreach programs she taught continued to intrigue her. Layl did illustrate three books for a small publishing company in Columbus, Ohio but the restraints of working on a flat surface were too frustrating.
Polymer Clay Goddess with Image transfer- see more Click Here 
samples of 1 day workshop taught at AFICC

Polymer Clay Bird Vessels- see more Click Here
samples being taught at AFICC
When Layl found success selling her art at arts festivals even when she was still in art school she began to realize conventional illustration was not her real love. She found she could actually make a living making what she really loved to make. Layl made Story Boxes, Story Quilts, Story Scraps, and Story Vests made of fabric, found objects, and polymer clay. Over the years polymer clay has become her dominant medium. 



In the past few years she has worked primarily in clay creating series of work that tell stories about her life as a mother. She still uses mixed media objects as accents and enjoys working with kids using her collections of found materials. Even though she is not creating the work herself it’s exciting to see a pile of stuff transform into creatures, settings and to see the stories come to life.

To sign up for Layl's Classes at AFICC click here
Layl now lives and creates in Minneapolis with her two daughters and husband. In 1999 she and her husband, Josh Blanc, opened their studio and showroom, Clay Squared to Infinity, in North East Minneapolis. Here she sells her work and Josh makes and sells tiles. She still does many festivals throughout the year and teaches artist-in-residencies and after school programs. 

Contact me anytime for more information Cyndy Sieving