fruits basket zodiacs

In college, I discovered manga, Japanese comics. I was absolutely obsessed and my collection was growing quickly. A manga set that proudly displayed on my bookcase was Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. The work was brilliant, beautiful and moving. The main protagonist and shining star, Tohru Honda, had a calm, loving persona. No matter what happened, she had a cadence of respect and genuineness. She loved her friends and truly cared for each of them. 

Tohru had a ceramic set of the Chinese zodiacs, each representing one of her friends. I loved her ceramic figure set so much that I decided to make a set of my own. After molding, shaping and painting my set for 15 hours, I had finally finished my very own set.

my first etsy shop

I loved my zodiac clay figure set and I wanted to share it with the world. I created an etsy store and posted pictures of it. That night, my first order came in. I was astonished! I had very busy and slow weeks with each set taking me 10-15 hours to complete. It became difficult to balance my new small business, work and college classes. I made the decision to close my store a few months later, but I am so grateful for that experience. It showed me that my art was valuable and gave me the fire I needed to continue pursuing my passions.

how it’s made

products i used:

• Sculpey polymer clay
• acrylic paint
• Sculpey gloss glaze

1. Mold your polymer clay into the figure(s) that you desire.
2. Reference the polymer clay packaging and size of piece to determine how long to bake the clay for.
3. After the piece has cooled, PAINT!
4. After painting, seal the figure with a glaze.
5. After setting for 24 hours, your piece is complete!