Page 37 - Autumn Brilliance - We Wish You A Scary Christmas! Winter 2020

My name is Jacqueline Patrick, and I live in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee.
I live in the middle of the Cherokee National Forest, and my inspiration comes from the lore and superstitions of the Native peoples and Scot-Irish that lived here. When I walk through this wilderness, the creatures from those tales speak to me in the plants, streams, and wildlife. I see their spirits in the trees and their faces in the bark. What I see, I create.
I am a self-taught artist. I started making jewelry and ornaments from polymer clay, and was surprised at the flexibility of this medium and amazed at what I could create. This gradually evolved into the making of my woodland creatures, and later, art dolls and ghost necklaces.
My Ghost Necklaces made are with polymer clay, hand painted with Genesis heat set paints, and finished with linen fabric. I dip the fabric in coffee / tea to get that old antiqued look, and then use a fabric stiffener to form the fabric for the ghost. This process takes a few days. Each piece seems to take on a life of its own. They seem to have personalities of their own, and no two are alike.