Credit: Sarah Maricha White (2nd photo to right)
Layl McDill grew up in Gillette, Wyoming where she began creating at a very young age. Her early works were dollhouses, marionettes and even an entire “Smurf Village”. Layl received her BFA in Illustration from the Columbus College of Art Design but she found it more exciting to make sculptural work and sell it through galleries and art fairs. She has exhibited her work around the country since 1994. Polymer clay has been her medium of choice using the millefiori technique and mixed media materials added. The theme of wonderment permeates her sculptures that are covered with endless details. She uses themes of animals and nature to explore the ways we interact with the environment. Her work can also be found in numerous books and publications.
Volunteer work has been an important part of her life. She currently serves as the board chair of Art to Change the World. Sharing her skills as a full time artist with emerging artists has been her way of giving back. She encourages others to try art through polymer clay by teaching in person and virtually around the country.
Layl has shared her artform and taught about polymer clay with various types of participant groups and types with various backgrounds, skills, and abilities, always finding ways to adapt her programming for accessibility.
Program Offerings
Workshops
Polymer Clay Millefiori Magic
Millefiori means “thousand flowers” in Italian, it originated as a glass blowing technique and now you can learn it in the form of polymer clay. Layl will walk you through the steps of creating your own millefiori designs. When you slice up the clay you will be amazed at the tiny images you created! Then choose an object like a frame, switchplate, vase, or pen to cover with your little slices. Take your transformed object home to bake in your own oven.
Bird Buds on a Stick
We will create a kaleidoscope design by layering colored clay and making symmetrical designs. Everyone’s design will turn out unique! Then we’ll use these designs to make three little birds that sit on a real branch! Make each bird symbolic of an important person in your life by adding fun details like jewelry or sports equipment. Take your creation home to bake in your own oven and then hang up your cute little birds somewhere fun.
Sea Creatures
Just imagine all the sorts of underwater sea creatures that could pop out of a colored clay! Maybe it’s an octopus or a whale or a shark? Learn how to layer the clay to get great aquatic texture designs that will inspire you to create your own amazing creature that you can take home and bake in your own oven.
Bugs
Layer colored clay in fun ways to reveal spots and stripes that you can use to build whimsical bugs with wire legs and beaded antenna! We will even add some glitter to bring out the fun of bug-ness! Take your creepy crawlies home to bake them in your own oven.
Switch plates for adults (can be customized for kids)
Dress up the wall with a colorful patterned switch plate made with polymer clay. Layl will teach you how to layer the colors of your choice together to make magical designs in clay. Then slice up the clay to make three dimensional stickers for the switch plate you would like to cover. You will take your creations home to bake them in your own oven to cure.
Small Vessel Transformation with Polymer Clay
Turn a small teapot, a bottle or a pitcher into a fanciful bird or fish! We will learn 4 or 5 different millefiori techniques of layering colored clay together and slicing it up to reveal tiny images. Then we will use all these fancy slices to add to your vessel and let an imaginative feathery creature appear! This workshop is 4 to 8 hours total and can be taught in two to 4 sessions.
Residencies
Predator and Prey Environments
Students will learn millefiori techniques by layering polymer clay which will be used to create small (2-4 inches) sculptural animals- one predator and one prey. Mixed media found objects will be used to create the environments for the sculptures usually inside a box or on a platform.
State Birds
Start with a drawing of the chosen state birds. Study where it lives and other interesting facts about this bird. Learn millefiori techniques to create bird feathers that will be used to build a small (2-4 inches) bird sculpture. Make accessories for your bird that are symbolic to the state they live in out of clay or out of found objects depending on the time frame allowed.
History of Millefiori
The Egyptians invented a lot of amazing things- including the glass technique now called “Millefiori”. I will show a short presentation with pictures of glass millefiori going back to Egyptian times, Roman times and then Venice Italy. Learn how to make basic shapes with this magical technique in clay then in time invent your own designs. Use these designs to make beads and buttons or cover an object.
Clay Quilt
There is a lot of math and geometry involved in art making but quilting and the millefiori technique are two that are all about measuring and dividing and other fun hands-on math concepts! We will start by learning basic millefiori techniques then create quilt pieces with a basic quilt pattern. This project could turn into a large-scale permanent installation.
Colorful Clay Sculptures
We will learn 4 or 5 different millefiori techniques of layering colored clay together and slicing it up to reveal tiny images. Then we will use all these fancy slices to create sculptures!
