Cooperative Artist Quilt

16"x26"
Assemblage of polymer accented with beads, metals and fiber

When I received the invitation to submit a piece for the 2010 Synergy2 Exhibition and saw that the theme was exploring connections, I immediately thought about doing a collaborative piece.The list of participants quickly grew to a whopping 38 well-known polymer clay artists. I decided that each artist should focus on just one 2-inch square tile. That way, they could really put their own signature style into it. The only parameters that I established were the 2-inch size limit and sticking to a color palette that would include jewel, metal or vintage color tones. This way I thought I could best create a cohesive piece in the end.
The tiles are from a diverse group of artists, some of whom I knew and others I hope to meet at the Synergy conference. There are so many others I would have liked to have invited but then I had visions of this being like the AIDS quilt, covering acres of land!!! I knew that I would need to ship the completed piece back East, so common sense dictated that I limit the number of participants. Each week as the tiles started arriving in my mailbox, it was like my birthday! I anxiously anticipated the mail delivery everyday! The tiles were amazing and, of course, lived up to my expectations.
Laurie Mika
Note: this item will be part of the live auction at Synergy