I sculpt these whimsical figurines of polymer clay. Each has a unique personality and a humorous backstory which includes their typical coffeehouse order.

At this point, I have over 50 characters crowding my house. They look like they are planning an insurrection on my mantle!

Some characters are inspired by people in my life. For example, Nadine's optimistic personality is just like my 87-year-old Dad, who never met a stranger or a bad dog. Brewster's love for the written word was inspired by my husband's grad school advisor, the chief librarian at a large theological university. Hadassah reminds me of my friend, Sam, who always has an open seat at her table and genuinely seems delighted to see whoever shows up at her door.

Other characters spring from my imagination after I've seen what they look like. Some surprise me. For example, JoJo's cheeky smirk and Jenn's startled expression didn't show up until after they were painted.

Sometimes while I'm sculpting I immediately know the character's name and story. With others, it can take months for me to come up with just their name. If I'm really stuck, I repaint, change their skin tone or their hair color, add or remove embellishments, and wait. For example, Sybil was easy to know and paint while Tuesday was repainted several times and didn't seem finished until I added the feather to cover up a crack on her head.

These characters and their journeys bring me such delight. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Some are for sale at my Etsy shop. 

More info: Etsy