One of the things I love about the PCA Virtual Retreat is the monthly swaps.  June’s swap was itty bitty flip flops!  I’ve never made them before and it was a little bit of a challenge for me to get my flops consistently the same shape.  However I had what Bob Ross calls a “happy accident” and bent one of my oval cutters.  Since it was already bent I decided to shape it into a shoe shape.  I see many more flip flops in my future.

The other happy accident was the discovery that one of my clay tools has a textured grip which had a great pattern and texture for the soles of the flip flops.

Overall I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from this month’s swap.  I find that participating in swaps and being in groups like Art Abandonment, challenges and motivates me to create.  Every project I do is a learning experience.  This is something that I try to express to my son when he is frustrated with his progress at art or music.  Each time you create you are improving, every mistake you make is a learning opportunity and no matter how experienced you become, there is always something more you can do to perfect your work.

I follow so many polymer clay artists through social media and I am amazed by the talent.  Sometimes it is honestly overwhelming and makes me feel like such an amateur.  When this happens, I follow the same advice that I give my son.  I look at my past work and I compare it to my present work.  I see how far I have come and it makes me confident on how far I can go.