DEBBIE CROTHERS

Teaching has always been one of Debbie’s passions and sharing her love and enthusiasm for polymer clay comes naturally.

Debbie loves to experiment with polymer clay; it seems an endless, exciting journey and generally doesn’t plan out her work. Most of it seems to fall into place, or evolves from one project to the next. The evolution of a polymer design for her, is an outcome of the continuation of play and experimentation.

Though not formally trained, Debbie has been creating with polymer clay and teaching for about the last 18 years. She’s has taught extensively throughout Australia and has taught at many international polymer clay events.

Debbie now creates and writes tutorials for her own website as well as numerous polymer clay publications, e-learning sites and books.

BOBBI M. OLIVER

Bobbi immigrated to Australia from the USA in 1999. She has been an active potter/sculptor since 1969, also casting bronze and working in other mixed media. Since moving to Australia Bobbi continued to work in clay establishing a pottery in the Hunter region of NSW, for more than 10 years. While working full time as a coordinator for day programs, she concentrated on working in polymer clay and air dry clays. She has since returned to working in porcelain and stoneware clays for last 12 years. All her pieces are original, no pre-made molds or pre made armatures are used. She travels NSW selling her creations at Expos, Art Markets and other Arts events, Including many Psychic fairs.

Her qualifications include an Associated Arts Degree in Fine Art from Mendocino Junior College Ukiah, California 1988. Bachelors of Arts Degree from Humboldt State University, Arcata, California in Studio Art with an emphasis in Sculpture in 1992. She has been a Member of the Maitland Regional Artists Society, Tuggerah Lakes Potters Association, Gumnut Dollies, Newcastle, Hunter Arts Network, Art At Work Exhibitions.

SUE BUTLER

Art has always been a huge part of my life since childhood and has at times in my life provided me with an income. As a young woman in Sydney I’d pack my milk crate full of Fimo jewellery, strap a fold up bike to one side and a collapsible stand to the other, attach the whole lot to the back of my ex-posties motor bike with octopus straps and make my precarious way to Paddington markets. Quite the sight!

Over the years I have experimented with a multitude of mediums and art styles from life drawing to sculpture, printing, painting and collage. I am a certified Paverpol and Contemporary Clay instructor.
For the past few years I have become passionate about paint pouring – the alchemy of mixing mediums, melding of unexpected colour palettes and big, fat, juicy cells.

MELANIE DILDAY

Melanie has been a senior instructor at the Contemporary Clay Instructors Program for two decades. She has taught at TAFE colleges, the Fremantle Art Centre in WA, Grafton Artfest NSW, McGregor School Qld, Territory Arts and Crafts NT, Community Arts Bribie Island Qld, Camp Creative NSW, Woolgoolga Art Gallery NSW, Shambala Estate Mount Tamborine Qld, Trycan Two Rocks Art Centre WA and Byron College, Mullumbimby. She travels up and down the east coast in Presence, her campervan, running her popular intuitive painting course which often sell out quickly.

The author of Buddha in a Red Dress, Melanie has years of experience teaching meditation, running free community dance groups and intuitive painting classes.

Have a look at her Facebook page for examples of inspirational participants' work.

BRONWYN STUART

Throughout her life Bronny has enjoyed a cross section of crafts including dressmaking and clothing design with a keen interest in free machine embroidery, crochet, and knitting. Other crafts she has dabbled in include paper weaving, silk painting and collage.

A chance meeting at a workshop with an old boarding school buddy, Lex Sorrentino, introduced her to Paverpol and a way to incorporate many of her acquired skills into her creative work. Bronny is the proud owner of Paverpol Australia, supplying sculptors and artists across Australia with Paverpol products to create their own masterpieces. She is a certified Paverpol Instructor and Trainer and enjoys teaching creative Paverpol sculpturing at the Contemporary Craft Retreat. Using a versatile fabric hardener like Paverpol enables her to incorporate a variety of mediums like Artstone, Paversand, Plaster of Paris, and air drying clay into her teaching and sculpting.

Early in 2024 she was awarded the prestigious prize of “Champion of Champions’ at the Canberra Show Craft Expo after becoming Champion of the 3D Figures section with a unique air dry clay sculpture of a leafy sea dragon.

Pam Annesley 

– Mixed Media Artist & Jewellery Designer
Pam Annesley is a versatile mixed media artist and jewellery designer
with a passion for innovation and creativity. Based in Two Rocks, just
north of Perth, she draws inspiration from the coastal landscape,
incorporating elements of nature into her work. Her expertise spans
painting, printing, collage, and sculpture, with a particular focus on
silver and polymer clay jewellery.
With a background as a high school art teacher and TAFE College Art
Lecturer, Pam has dedicated years to fostering creativity in others.
She shares her extensive knowledge through hands-on workshops, and
studio classes, encouraging students to explore new techniques and
materials.
Pam’s work has been published in various art and craft publications,
highlighting her expertise in mixed media and jewellery design.
Whether crafting intricate jewellery or dimensional polymer clay
artworks, she brings a distinctive approach to each piece. Passionate
about culture and the arts, she inspires students to experiment with
new materials, push creative boundaries, and embrace their artistic
journey with confidence and curiosity.

LEX SORRENTINO

This dynamic and exciting contemporary clay artist continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the contemporary clay world. Senior CCIP and Paverpol Instructor/ Trainer, based in Canberra. 

Lex has 29 years of Polymer Clay Sculpting experience and holds weekly classes and workshops in Polymer Sculpting and Caning, Silver Metal Clay and Air Dy Clay sculpting. She also holds regular workshops in Paverpol Garden Sculpture.

She recently started working with and teaching a liquefied form of Makin's Air Dry Clay dipped in fabric with spectacular results.(The Makin's Clay Company have purchased a few of these sculptures.)

 She has won numerous awards for her Polymer Clay work including winning the Australian Doll As Art Judges Choice Award - twice. 

Being self- taught,  the minimal training leaves her free to approach clay sculpting with no preconceptions as to how it ought to be used. Ignorance can be genuinely constructive, particularly in a medium as adaptable as clay.

Her tutorials and amazing work have featured in multiple publications including the Australian Doll and Bear News and Dolls Bears and Collectables, Australian Beading Magazine and the USA Publication Polymer Café, Mixed Media & Steampunk, plus Passion for Polymer magazine.
 Lex is one of 3 Aussies published in the Prestigious Polymer Journeys Book 2019 and came second in the International Polymer Clay Association Global Exhibition 3D section 2022.

  In 2023 she came First in 2D Works in the IPCA Global Exhibition and Second in 3D works.

LARA LE REVEUR.

Lara Le Reveur is a multi-disciplinary artist. Or she just has a stubborn child locked away in there somewhere. Her art practice spans across her entire lives. Traces of her can be found in the courtyard of her childhood home, in the DNA of her children and on the road down the street where she fell off her bike in the winter of 2019. She worked commercially with porcelain and ceramics for many years. Her current practice contains the blood, sweat and tears borne of circumstance (not always bad ones) and some are deliberately put there by design. This does not make her an artist. As a child, Lara - like most young children who grew up in Australia - was encouraged to sing songs, make melodies and create marks with things, and half a century later she continues to pursue the infinite possibilities that a simple mark, sound or motion presents, and takes much delight in investigating how harmony can be achieved through combinations of these three expressions. She draws inspiration from travel, identity and cultural practices seeking balance, ideals in an imperfect world, and gaming technology. She holds a diploma in Jewellery design and three different metal clay teacher certifications. She has shared her crafting knowledge extensively throughout Australia and South East Asia, and recently spent 5 1 ⁄ 2 years on sabbatical in northern Germany. As she can not afford to study a fine arts degree, she uses too many different materials and experiments and creates beads, dolls, jewellery, paintings, sculptures and books. Now that she is back in Australia, she is developing her private teaching practice and has rejoined The Gallery Mt Macedon. Her current activities are painting based on the flow state and intuitive gestures, using them to create both 2D and 3D subjects, including jewellery (using paper, contemporary metals, craft and found materials from her travels across Europe) and learning historical martial arts.