handmade with love
A deeper look into the artistry behind the Sentimental Hummingbird’s handmade trinket trays and ashtrays made with air dry clay, both new and old.
I took clay and sculpting more seriously than Play-Doh when I was in high school taking an elective ceramics class. It was one of the best decisions I made as a teenager. I learned a lot and it was great to be creative during my senior year, when my senior-itis was at its peak
Six years later, I recently finished my newest sculpted piece made with air dry clay: a trinket tray for my jewelry. It sits on top of my dresser and I absolutely love it. It only took me 5 months to finish it! LOL :|
Here’s the backstory:
Back in September 2024, I realized my jewelry was scattered everywhere, despite having an organizer. To solve this both artistically and practically, I decided to sculpt a trinket tray out of air-dry clay. However, after finishing the base, I abandoned it for months—until the end of February. I finally picked it up, put my jewelry away, and painted it.
the unpainted tray (the before picture)
The creative process was unexpectedly symbolic, especially when a tiny spider made the tray its temporary home. Seeing it as a sign of transformation, I set the spider free and was inspired to incorporate its presence into the design.
little spidey friend
The sculpting process involved rolling out clay slabs, forming coils, and refining the structure before letting it dry. When painting, my initial spider sketch didn’t work, so I reworked it into something more delicate, adding other small, meaningful elements.
drawing the tray’s sketch before painting over it
After sealing it with a mix of varnish and UV resin, the tray was finally complete—far from what I originally envisioned but even better. This project became a lesson in patience, transformation, and embracing creative detours.
the painted & sealed tray (the after picture)
Now, my jewelry has a proper place, and the tray serves as a beautiful reminder to follow through on ideas and trust the process.
Before I say goodbye for now, lets take a trip down memory lane and explore some other trays I’ve made over the years. Here’s a small collection I made when I first dove back into sculpting a year or so after high school. I made this with the intention to sell them at an art fair my community college was hosting a booth at the beginning of 2020, but I didn’t end up selling them there out of fear of standing out too much.
Everyone was selling art prints and I didn’t want to bring attention onto myself by selling something different. Don’t let fear do to you what it did to me then. Go after what you want, when you want it. I wish I would’ve just gotten over it. However, I did sell some art prints that day so that was cool.
And last but not least here are ashtrays that I made for Raspberry Gloom’s 420 collection in 2022.
Thank you for being here and thank you for reading.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Sentimental Hummingbird’s official YouTube channel! Each blog so far corresponds with a video so check out the one for this article.
And if you’d like an art piece similar to these, I’m open for commission! Click here to submit a custom art form.
Peace & Love. Have a beautiful day.
