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“This purple teapot was a broken ceramic sugar dish to which I added a handle and spout. I use found objects—like a sugar dish—and breathe new life into the object by adding beads, feathers, and other odds and ends to my pieces.” -- Ginnie Parrish

GINNIE PARRISH

FLORAL TEAPOT POLYMER CLAY OVER CERAMIC BASE 8 BY 8 BY 8 INCHES

RADIAL PATTERNS BY CHARLOTTE RUSSELL

Cary-based artist Ginnie Parrish crafts whimsical, functional and decorative art objects like teapots, trinket boxes, jewelry, bowls and other vessels made of polymer clay. Originally drawn to the material more than 25 years ago, polymer clay is her medium of choice because it is a versatile and accessible material that does not require a lot of equipment, and is easy to start and stop working on. The technique she uses to create intricate patterns and designs is the millefiori, or cane-making, technique. In the millefiori technique, brightly colored components of clay are layered to form a long cylinder. The image and pattern goes lengthwise throughout the tube. When sliced, each segment is a duplicate of the design. She then adheres the radial patterns onto the object, and fires the colorful polymer art in her home oven.

Parrish earned a degree in studio art and worked in a number of different mediums before falling in love with polymer clay. She started Blue Frog Designs in 1995 from her home studio in Cary. Her polymer art is available at the Cary Gallery of Artists, the North Carolina Crafts Gallery in Carrboro and Preston Flowers & Gifts in Cary. View more of her work at bluefrogclay.com, via Instagram @parrishginnie and on Etsy @Bluefrogclay.