International Artisans and Crafters Polymer Clay

Dragon Dreamer
9" Wide x 11" Deep x 12" High

Barbara Foster

Click on the image to visit Barbara Foster's web site.

My art has always been "dragon rich", even before I accepted that I was an "artist" Mostly self taught, I started working in "sculpture" at age 10 - "monsters" (which even then had a strong dragon element to them) made out of colored telephone wire. The move to more substantial sculpture was, initially, a response to necessity. Since my favorite topic is dragons, and since it is DIFFICULT to get a dragon to pose (!), I had to sculpt the critters before I could draw them. It didn't take long for me to drop the 2nd step and start perfecting my sculptures. There is something almost... therapeutic about working in clay, or sculpy. To mold and squeeze and manipulate the medium into something that grows before your eyes has a magic feeling to it. Something now exists that didn't before. Something that you can reach out and touch, that has substance under your fingers. Something that you can walk around and see new facets of with each step. Something that holds its own and says "I am..." And, I have moved in on the subject from a slightly different angle, as well.

Polymer clay is a wonderful medium. It requires no special equipment and can be used to create endless patterns. It may be stretched, reduced, embossed, stamped, sanded and buffed, and formed into long rolls or blocks with designs inside. Although I have been a craftsperson for many years and worked in many different areas, it was not until I moved to New Mexico in 1991 that I discovered polymer clay. It was the perfect material to express the things I loved in the "Land of Enchantment."

Many of my designs are inspired by the ancient Mimbres people of New Mexico and by the petroglyphs. Much of these are done in the black and white found in the Mimbres pottery, but recently I've been exploring color and experimenting with many materials new to me.