Pedro Ramirez "Kitsch" Polymer Clay Artist

Pedro Ramirez, the self-proclaimed “King of Kitsch” has crafted a business out of his polymer clay hobby.  Creating figures with bright skirts and flowing manes, sealing them in plastic boxes, and selling them on the streets, the internet, the NYC subway system, and wherever else he can.  Ramirez embraces the title due to his recent educational experience in the Public University CUNY system.  While attending and even upon graduation, he claims that his advisors and professors would often try and convince him to alter his work to be more scholarly, to get out of craft, and into galleries where the big bucks were.  He claims those around him were trying to mold him into the next big thing in ceramics, but things didn’t turn out that way, Ramirez took his own path and he says he regrets nothing.  A closer inspection upon these exquisite little figurines reveals something more, kitsch?  I think not.  According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Kitsch is something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality.   I would argue that Ramirez’ work is 50/50 Kitsch if at all.  The figures are brilliant, his own personal style of intentional body manipulation with an attention to detail which can be appreciated; of low quality? Definitely not, of popular appeal… perhaps.  Dozens of onlookers can be seen at his table at all times of the day, making it hard to take bathroom breaks.  He muses over each and every one, and if someone tries to get a lower price?  Ramirez tells them that he is happy to keep each and every figure no matter what, he doesn’t sell his girls off cheap!  Stay tuned this original and inspiring Kitsch King is well on his way to getting the notoriety he deserves.

Belly Dancer #1

Hi everybody. So the whole belly dancing project that I spoke about in the last blog is quite well underway, yes I ADMIT I was wrong, Mica actually helped quite a bit (at least through talking and googleing images), and I have actually completed my first belly dancer; she is pretty cool but in my humble opinion looks like a gypsy girl. It may be because of all of the mixed media jewelry and stuff that is placed on her. Nonetheless, she is beautiful, it reminds me of my older work when I used to make the crafty, mixed media stuff so I really do love her. As you can tell from the pictures below, she began as a simple clay doll and then after placing the hair on her head, I took broken pieces of jewelry, shells, and metal, and pieced them onto the figure in ways which work with the form and theme of the piece. The video which accompanies the blog was recorded when half way done with her, here see the finished product!

Update for beginning of Sept 2008

Hi guys,

whats been new with the butterfly folks?

Well, although it may seem like I've been up to nothing, nothing could be further from the truth! I survived my first week of school, and have been inspired to make a whole set of butterfly people I want to call affirmation figures or something of the like... they will be inscribed with words like the girl pictured below

They will read things like, The secret; prosperity; wealth; freedom; abundance; health; strength; power; peace; create; joy; happiness; life; love; miracle; success; and thoughts become things.

These words have absolutely transformed my life since I begun using them, speaking them, and most of all, thinking them so perhaps they can change other peoples lives for the better when I make them seen!

I have also been very busy repopulating my etsy.com shop with lots of new and loose (not in cases) figures, check them out below.