Hello! My name is Lin Taylor. I live on the west central coast of sunny Florida. I was born in Illinois and moved here with my parents when I was 13.
I started WaterLily Dreamin' in 2022. I make jewelry. I have been making jewelry as a serious endeavor since 2012, and primarily polymer clay jewelry for the last 2 years. I love polymer clay for the possibilities it offers. There's no end to what one can do with it. I have learned so much from polymer clay artists, yet i know there is so much more to be discovered.
I have always been an artist. When I do not create art, I become someone you don't want to be around. It took me years to realize that. Creating is my purpose in life. I'm an artist, currently working in the medium of polymer clay. It's my purpose in life. I believe that when we don't follow our purpose, our lives aren't happy and our mental health deteriorates. That's what it means to be an artist.
It's been a long journey discovering my medium. When I was a little girl, I was always wanting to draw and make things. My mom subscribed to "Craft of the Month Club", which gave me the experience in basic design concepts and assembly techniques. In school, I was the person people came to when they wanted a drawing. I loved that I had something that made me unique. After school I married and had children, I had my family to occupy most of my time. I had 2 girls and loved getting them art and craft materials and watching them have fun. In the background I was continuing with my art. I learned sewing in home economics, so I made clothes for my girls, which meant I had lots of extra fabric, so I taught myself how to quilt. That was my love for many years, but eventually I realized it was the colors and patterns and how they combined that delighted me. I still have have many quilt tops as it was always more fun to make tops than finish quilts. Later in life one of my daughters moved in with me. I had to seriosly consolidate my artistic footprint in my house to make room for her, which meant downsizing my fabric collection and packing up my quilting frame. I began making art quilts using crazy quilt techniques, which involved buying beads. One day I realized that the beads needed to be jewelry because they were taking on a life of their own. That lead to experimenting with wire, chain, metal, resin, and finally polymer clay.
I remember the day I realized that I was an artist. I was grieving over the loss of a family member. I picked up my current project and started embellishing it through the tears. It was then that I realized that I was an artist. That piece turned out to be one of my best because I put my whole soul into it. That's the day I allowed myself to consider myself an artist. I may not be a Rembrant or Picasso, but create I must.