On Playing With Clay And Experimentation: Abbstract
Photo courtesy of Abbstract.
ABOUT ABBY GARCIA AND ABBSTRACT
Abby Garcia is the creator behind Abbstract. She makes clay jewelry and beaded goods. All of her clay pieces are independently designed and handmade from start to finish.
1. Describe Abbstract with three emojis.
✨🍄🌸
2. What does being a creative person mean to you? How do you claim your creative identity?
It gives me a sense of freedom. I’ve always been relatively creative, sort of a jack of all trades master of none, but when I picked up polymer clay it changed things for me. The possibilities are truly endless! It’s hard not to feel imposter syndrome in the clay community, but when I stick to making things that bring me joy and not what everyone else is doing, that really helps!
3. Looking back on the last year, what have you learned from your business or creative work?
It’s unpredictable and humbling. This is my full time gig, and I really didn’t know much about running a business before I started. So learning as I go has been challenging but rewarding!
4. Describe the feeling you get when you make something new that’s in line with your vision.
It’s very satisfying! Most of the time polymer clay is pretty forgiving, but sometimes things don’t always turn out the way you’d think. There’s tons of trial and error. I know something’s good when I keep a pair for myself and incorporate it into my everyday earring rotation!
5. How do you get into the headspace to make something new?
I need to start with a clean workspace. For new pieces, I’ll usually have a color palette in mind, or I’ll look for inspiration to create one. I find the biggest inspiration from home décor pieces! I love color and cool patterns so much, and it’s really fun to incorporate that into clay. I would also like to add, I often get into creative blocks. I feel like I’ll never get out but creating without intention and making pieces for fun helps with that. Sometimes I’ll get my favorite pieces this way!
6. If you could collaborate with any vendor on The Front Market lineup, who would it be?
I enjoy the work of Tanya Zal. Their ceramic pieces are really fun, colorful and just so cool to look at!
7. What do you hope for the future of Texas?
I would love to live in a blue state! And vote Abbott OUT.
8. What has the word “community” come to mean to you this last year?
I’m newish to the Austin area and something I’ve learned is that community really is everything! Especially the art community—it’s unmatched. I’ve met so many cool people, and I’m super grateful for organizations like Future Front for putting on events for the city and bringing artists together!
9. What are some of your goals for 2022?
I would love to see my pieces in some Austin storefronts and maybe collaborate with another local artist. I’ve also been traveling out of state for markets this month and I’d love to do more of that.
10. Biggest creative milestone?
The first thing that came to mind was the checkerboard pattern. Things often trend and everything comes back so when checkerboard became popular in the clay community, everyone was attempting the technique. There were no tutorials yet! So when I figured out how to make a checkered slab, it felt very good. And then a week later, a tutorial came out and now it's everywhere, but I still love to do it. I would also say beads. The amount of yin yang beads I sculpted before I got it right is unreal.
11. Favorite piece in your collection?
My little mushroom babies. They’re hand sculpted individually, coated in a resin and then beaded together. I’m super proud of them!
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