Laura Burlis

Where do you live?

I live In Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I've been for 30 years.

What inspires you as a designer-artist?

Minnesotans are known for their love of the outdoors and nature, and while I've been entranced by nature since I was a child, I had to learn to embrace the beauty of winters here in order to get through them.

What medium do you work with mostly?

My primary medium is polymer clay, which I got into totally by accident when a friend begged me to go to a polymer clay class with her 12 years ago. I left the class thinking "Well, that was fun, but I'll never do it again." Six months later I wanted to make a scene on a switch plate, and thought "that leftover clay will work for this." That was the beginning of my love affair of making landscapes on switch plates. Ironically, my most popular designs are of winter in Minnesota!

Where and how do you sell your jewelry?

You can see more of my work at my Etsy shop: BorealisArtByLauraB

What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?

Woodland Owl

What inspired this design?

I don't make a lot of jewelry, but I do love making polymer clay beads, especially in the form of animals. My favorite creatures to make are owls, which are beautifully symmetrical creatures with interesting shapes, and to me they symbolize wisdom and are somewhat mystical.

How did it come together?

I'd made a lot of smaller owl pendants, and this piece came together when I decided to make a larger statement piece one could wear for special occasions. I made the owl and some wood "twig" beads out of polymer clay, then added some glass leaf beads, spacers, and a few vintage earrings. I added a wooden leaf earring and one of the earrings to the base of the pendant, with the idea that the earring clasp could be used to attach or detach from the main pendant, to make the necklace longer or shorter depending on what outfit the person was wearing.

I'd taken the necklace to display at an art show just before I entered it in the Fire Mountain Gems contest, and unbeknownst to me, someone had opened the earring clasp and removed the wooden leaf bead. Luckily, you can make almost anything out of polymer clay, so I made a polymer brown leaf to replace the missing bead!