I am Kira Slye, aka Studio Bijou. I have been creating and selling my artwork for over 15 years, and have a degree in Art Education earned at SUNY Buffalo.
My past affiliations have included the Western New York Polymer Clay Guild and the Baldwinsville Art Guild. I am currently a member of the South East Florida Polymer Clay Guild, and the online guild which I helped to start, www.pcagoe.com.
A bit of wanderlust infected me after college and because of that, my husband, Rob, and I have lived in several cities over the past 10 years. In the suburbs of Boston we rented and then owned a home on the beach. During the summer of 2001, we packed our 2 cats, dog, and tarantula in my car and drove to Portland OR where we stayed for 2 years. We then moved home to Syracuse NY to recover from Portland (which although it was a lovely city that we miss, was a terrible place to find work), and now finally have permanently located ourselves in South Florida.We have friends and family all over the country and count ourselves lucky because of this.
I have a shop on Etsy.com, where I have met all kinds of wonderful artisans like myself. I am the webmaster for the Polymer Clay Artist Guild of Etsy, PCAGOE, www.pcagoe.com.
I am a certified Art Teacher, k-12, and currently work for the School Board of Broward County as a designer of online course materials for Broward Virtual University, including video creation and graphic design. I teach polymer clay every other week, on the internet during my videocast with my artist-partner, Ilysa. Be sure to check out the show at www.polymerclaytv.com.
I also paint murals and faux finish in my “free time” so please feel free to commission me. I am 35, happily married to a fabulous guy and graphic artist. We have a farm cat, an spca cat, a stray cat who decided to move in with us, and a tarantula. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our 10 year old akita, Kasha, this past summer. She was a faithful friend and beloved family member and we miss her.
Feel free to contact me at studiobijoubeads@yahoo.com