EXPLORE. Discover. Develop your Style.
Spend 2024 working with polymer clay and mixed media art and craft.
Does this sound fun?
Get a new project delivered inside this course portal, each month.
Download it to watch offline if you want, and to keep it forever.
Join me on Zoom each month during our "retreat Saturday" to show and tell what you made, connect with other Explorers, and get your questions answered.
Learn more about professional clay artists as I bring them in for interviews.
Your Creativity Matters. Make 2024 a year of self-care with clay!
New Classes released every month in 2024
Join me as a Clay Explorer for 2024- and you get them ALL included.
The Projects
- Wall pocket
- Mermaid eggs, and earring variation
- Suspended "arch" bud vase with glass tube
- Wood and clay mobile
- Faux "agate" suncatcher
- Potion Bottle
- Wall Clock
- Wall mirror
- Box cover with mosaic under either UV resin or Liquid clay
- Scented aromatherapy pendant or little hanging
- Ornamental mermaid altered art mixed media
- Fantasy "fishnetting" necklace
You'll notice a few of these are mermaid themed- that is MY theme for the year, so that I work in a series and I don't ever have to worry or spend mental energy wondering "what to make." The blank canvas can be intimidating.
I'm also not focused too much on jewelry, there are so many of those tutorials out there and earrings tend to be my go-to, so I'm also looking to not get bored!
So if you have a favorite theme or motif, you can do that instead of mermaids, or happily swim along with me! And I'm happy to help you figure that out along the way, if you need to alter a project or get some ideas. The purpose of this EXPLORE year, is to spend it going deeper into your favorite topic in clay and experiment with a bunch of ideas to figure out your favorites.
You can't get "behind"
All activities are recorded, and you'll have access to a private student area and Facebook group if you like.
Spend a year being inspired, trying new things, and developing your personal style!
Each month, you'll have access to
- Pinterest board full of ideas to inspire you
- A recorded class to keep forever
- A zoom meetup and Facebook pop-up group to share, explore further, make friends, and get your questions answered
Let's stay home and Clay!
Would you love to spend time each month in your clay room, with a bunch of new friends?
That's right... without having to
- pack up all your tools
- get on a plane
- find pet-sitters
- leave your loved ones behind???
We are going on a year-long adventure to deepen our own ideas about art and craft,
to learn more about your own style and develop it further,
and of course- to HAVE FUN!
I'm planning a new weekend clay art experience each month this year,
and if you join me now- you'll get ALL of them for one low price.
What You Get:
Monthly Class
Recorded, downloadable, and on-demand. A full fun project featuring an exploration of polymer clay + art supplies. A different style each time, so you can explore and find new ideas to bring to your clay art.
Supply lists
Everything you need to make each project will be listed and linked so your supplies are easy to get. Keep in mind this is an art retreat, so there will be supplies to get. However I really enjoy finding lower cost items, and I won't suggest any expensive tools you can't find easily.
Monthly Zoom Party
Complete your project before we Zoom, so you can ask questions, show n' tell, and we can explore more ideas together.
Curated Content
Stop scrolling YouTube, let me find the best tutorials out there to deepen your experience with the techniques we will explore!
Guest Artists
I've got lots of clay friends- I'll bring them inside for you to meet and learn more about them :)
Discount at CreateAlong.com
Grab your 20% off discount in our clay tools supply shop - AND this is good for project related kits all year, too :)
Join me, Kira McCoy of PolymerClayTV + CreateAlong
This is PERFECT for you if you always wanted to go to a clay retreat, but traveling and dragging all of your supplies and tools around doesn't sound fun to you. This is going to be like attending a retreat with me every month :)
Our zoom calls will be on Saturdays so working folks can make it, and they are always recorded.
Back in 2014, I had the idea to create a year-long art retreat anyone could attend from the comfort of home. That idea became PolymerClayAdventure, which many of you joined several years in a row.
Back then, I brought a bunch of teachers together too- the technology wasn't like it is now, and I knew how to host the video and all that.
Nowadays, anyone can go on zoom and record a class, so more and more teachers are doing their own thing- yay!
So I want to do my own thing too :)
And my thing really is
TEACHING.
DISCOVERING.
EXPLORING.
So come exploring with me, a certified Art Teacher with a BS in Education, specializing in understanding art-
I used to teach AP Art History.
I'm planning a new weekend clay art experience each month this year,
and if you join me now- you'll get ALL of them for one low price.
I host an in-person retreat in Florida in March, so if you DO love to travel- come join us there too!
FAQs
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As long as I host it- which will be years. I am still hosting the videos from my first Polymer Clay Adventure online art retreat held in 2015. So my commitment to keep video courses available to students is strong :)
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No! This class is all you need for the topic discussed. I haven't left anything out. I do offer other course and membership experiences, but they are not necessary- think of them as bonus content and connection!
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If you want ongoing support and a membership community to share with, consider joining the Monthly Creative Clay Club, or Polymer Clay Adventure Series.
Inside the courses you can comment on many of the videos, and I will answer questions as they come up. Most courses here do not provide any zoom or ongoing support unless specifically noted in the course description.
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The main teacher is Kira McCoy, BS in Art Education from SUNY Buffalo University, and lifelong teacher. I made my first polymer clay pony when I was 10, became a potter in college, and switched back to oven bake clay afterward because it is so fun and easy to use. I've been teaching and claying for over 35 years. I also own CreateAlong.com, my art supply company and subscription box, and I design all the tools which are made right here in the USA.
In some of the classes, I'm joined by team member Cindi McGee, also a lifelong crafter and clayer, and Ilysa Ginsburg, former business partner at CreateAlong.
About: a Passion for Polymer
Passion for Polymer magazine was published online and in print from 2017 through 2022. Since then, we've taken it into the Creative Clay Club, where there are new tutorials every week.
I want to live in a world where everyone loves to mix up their media and enjoy art making and friends around the world, no matter where you live or how you create.
As an art explorer and podcaster, I have been featured on the Etsy.com blog, CreateMixedMedia.com, CraftGossip.com, PolymerClayDaily.com, BlogTalkRadio.com, The Art Infused Life podcast, and in magazine articles and books including my own, Polymer Clay Art Jewelry, published with F & W Media and available at Michael’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and became a # 1 international Best Seller with my contribution to The Creative Lifebook - The Art of Living a Fully Expressed Life in 2023.
On TV, I showed how fun and easy it is to create with clay on River City Live, Jacksonville's local morning show!
When I'm not up to my elbows in polymer clay, covered in paint with random glitter stuck in my hair, you can find me outdoors enjoying nature, reading a great book, or snuggling with my two pocket beagles and Magic, the cat.
I invite you to Create Along on YouTube @createalongtoolsandart , which has been produced since 2007! The video show features us using our clay tools in fun ways, plus tutorials, techniques, and projects.