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Biography
Emma Ralph has been working with polymer clay since her teens, when she was a student at Croydon College of Art in South London, England. She focuses on creating unique Art Beads which have proven popular with jewellery designers and collectors worldwide, selling on internet auction sites such as eBay and Justbeads as well as from her own online store. She hand-crafts her beads in her home studio in the beautiful North Downs area of Surrey, England. More recently, Emma has extended her focus to include working with hot glass making Lampwork beads as well as using ceramic clays. Emma takes influence from many sources in her bead-making, "I love seeing how different artists and artisans throughout history have used colour in their work. The vibrant effects that can be achieved with polymer clay make it a perfect medium for exploring colour and imitative techniques" says Emma "Working with polymer allows me to create unusual effects, inspired by artists as diverse as Clarice Cliff or Gustav Klimt and turn those effects into a series of beads or jewellery. I like to make colour become wearable!" Emma makes beads from other mediums too. "Although I work mostly in polymer clay, I think of myself primarily as a bead maker rather than a polymer clay artist specifically, so I love to explore a variety of mediums when creating beads. Sometimes I may have an idea that can only be worked in glass or ceramic say, but other times I may explore the same theme in multiple mediums and just see where I end up. Whatever material I use that day though - there will always be new beads at the end of it, on that you can depend. Ask any bead-maker, it is an addiction we cannot break!" Emma has written many articles for both British and American crafts magazines and is the author of two step-by-step polymer clay project books, published in the UK, US and Europe. She is currently a member of the Advisory panel for the worlds first polymer clay specific magazine, Polymer Cafe and is actively involved in many online beading and bead-making communities. In Print Magazine Articles
Artist Profiles
Artist Interview in
Polyzine, - September 2004
Featured Business
in Polyzine, -November 2004 |
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