Introducing Annie from SimplyByAnnie. Where every item is handmade!! From her home in Oyster Cove, Tasmania, Annie creates one of a kind polymer clay creations.
Find out why Annie started creating and why she is so passionate about the value of handmade.
Tell us about your creations and your handmade process.
All my jewellery is totally handmade by me, from polymer clay. I have no "set in stone" process that I follow - my ideas are often forming in my head when I see a new flower, spot an animal, look out my window - then the creating begins!
All my Aussie animals are firstly drawn by me to make a template which I then cut from conditioned clay. I then choose and mix all my colours (I love the colour choosing side of things) then I handroll each and every feather for my birds, spikes for my echidnas and spots for my handfish.
My flowers are equally labour intensive - each petal made singly, by hand and then combined to make waratahs, grevilleas etc. I don't plan my pieces, I don't draw ideas or have layouts to follow - my process is very simple, but effective!
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a handmade artist.
My love of art and craft began as a child and has always been there, lurking in the background. My mum taught me at a very young age to crochet and sew, and I still spend many, many hours crocheting rugs and jumpers - another passion. As a child I remember making many dollies and an assortment of clothes for them and created incredible cardboard houses for them! There has always been crochet or sewing or painting and drawing in my life.
I began my polymer clay journey during covid, it was so quiet where we are in Tasmania, I needed an outlet. My daughter suggested polymer clay and sent me all her clay that she no longer used. I also started felting which was very therapeutic and for a while I combined clay with felting until the appeal and versatility of clay took over and engulfed me. When I look back at 2020 and compare my jewellery from then to what I create now - I am amazed at how far I've come!
What is your inspiration or where do you find inspiration?
I only have to look out my window, wander my yard here in beautiful Tasmania, to see inspiration at every turn.
We are spoilt for choice when it comes to wild animals and birds and native flowers. How could I not be inspired!
The colours of a Tasmanian sunrise, a grevillea growing in winter in shades of orange and pink, wattle just on the cusp of blooming - inspiration, for me, is everywhere.
Where did you learn your craft?
I taught myself how to work with polymer clay - mainly from trial and error and watching many, many you-tube videos of other clay artists. As it was Covid time, there were no classes to attend so practice makes perfect and that's exactly what I did - practiced and practiced, pored over pictures and books and finally found my own style which is still evolving five years on. Polymer clay "speaks" to me and I enjoy being able to mould it in to the beautiful pieces you see in my shop.
Why is handmade artistry so important to you?
Each and every piece of something handmade is unique and original and you know it has hours of love and care poured in to its creation. Handmade is not manufactured in a factory, it is made in someone's home, at someone's desk, in their garage - it holds a little piece of every creator within its form. Handmade means something, it comes from the heart and is made to last.
Annie is a much loved member of the Madeit Collective, posting regularly in our Facebook Group ~ The Handmade Marketplace of Australia ~ and sharing her new creations as they are released. If you haven't connected with SimplyByAnnie, make sure you join our FB Group and say hi !
