Brewtifully Made
Here, Tracy Dawn Brewer shares creative insights, discussions with creative souls who are invited to doodle along with her and share their creative processes, and more.
Adding a twist, each episode begins with a doodle prompt and you can catch the final pieces from the episode on her YouTube channel, linked on the website! If you choose to also create along with her during an episode, share your work with the hashtag #brewtifullymade so she can shout out YOUR awesome creativity too!
Brewtifully Made
How A Leap Into Clay Became A Blooming Creative Business
Ever wonder how a single creative pivot can bloom into a multi-venue art business? We sit down with exhibiting artist Rachel Blakney and trace her path from early painting classes to a pandemic-era leap into polymer clay that reshaped her practice and presence in the community. Rachel’s world is rooted in nature—florals, animals, and organic textures—and she brings that love to both canvas and jewelry with moody palettes, crisp outlines, and tiny sculpted details that people can’t stop talking about.
We unpack why acrylic has become her medium of choice over oil and watercolor, digging into dry times, layering, finish, and the confidence that comes with working fast. Rachel explains how black backgrounds and bold lines make petals read like stained glass, and how value mapping helps students and collectors see the structure beneath the beauty. On the clay side, she reveals the process behind her miniature florals and playful food pieces—croissants, cupcakes, and tiny ice cream cones—and how tailoring designs to each venue boosts sales and connection. From bakeries to farms to a bustling mall shop, her location-aware merchandising shows what happens when product storytelling meets audience intent.
If you’re a maker, you’ll appreciate her candid tips on switching mediums, building a cohesive style, and balancing wholesale with direct sales. If you’re a collector, you’ll find out exactly where to shop locally and how to snag her seasonal drops online. We also preview her upcoming classes focused on florals and still lifes, plus an open house where you can meet her in person and see the work up close.
Subscribe for more artist stories, share this with a friend who loves tiny details, and leave a review telling us your favorite medium—acrylic, oil, or watercolor. Your feedback helps us bring more thoughtful, creative voices to your feed.
Catch the doodles on YouTube
My socials:
Sign up for my monthly newsletter
Portfolio website: Brewtifully.com
Instagram: /Brewtifully
Facebook: /brewtifully
TikTok: GettingSmallwithGrandma
LinkedIn: Tracy Dawn Brewer
Hello everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Brutally Made. I'm so excited to have our exhibiting artist for November, Rachel Blakeney. And so she is in the Stark County Canton area. And welcome, Rachel. I'm really excited that we get to share all your work with everyone. Yes. Thanks. So, Rachel, I met you through uh your inquiry about wholesaling your earrings here in the shop. And so she does beautiful clay work. But then after hearing all the other things that she does, she's been painting for years and all the other interests. She applied to be one of the exhibiting artists very early on. That was very smart because she got on the calendar. Oh, and so her work is all these beautiful florals, and you've got animals like you know, orcas and uh fish and watercolor and oil. So please share with everyone a little bit about yourself and all the mediums that you like to work on.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So I love obviously to paint. Um, I'm totally into florals, nature, animals, um, just everything having to do with nature. And I obviously am obsessed with florals, that's part of my logo. Um, but I used to garden on my own just in my front yard. Um, I didn't do it this past summer, it was just too crazy. But I love to grow my own flowers. Um, I'm friends with April, and she's a um flower farmer here in Canton too, Joyful Blooms. Yes. Um, so I'm obsessed with her flowers, and I just love to paint them. I love to put them on clay. Um, it's not just putting them on clay.
SPEAKER_01:People she is sculpting them in these beautiful tiny details on her jewelry.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, I love to make that's probably my favorite thing to make with the earrings is the florals. Um, just because there's so many different things you can do with it. You can make obviously dangly earrings, you can make studs, uh, you can make them big, small, whatever you like. And I I just love to experiment with different colors, different flowers. Um, and it seems like you know, other people are interested as well. Like they love the tiny details. They love obviously the silly ones that I make, like croissants or food items, but um they just I don't know, it seems like people like to wear unique things and support other artists who make unique things as well. So it's been fun. I've been doing it for about three years. So um I obviously I've been painting a lot longer than that since I was probably 18 in high school, and I took a bunch of art classes, but um the clay stuff has just been like three, three and a half years. So I just decided to try something new when it was right around COVID time, and uh I actually quit my full-time job to stay home with my kids, and I just saw some videos and I was like, you know, that looks actually really fun. So I tried it just to see what it was like. I had no idea before I saw some random videos online what clay even was or how to bake it in the oven and how to make it, you know, get hard. Um, and then you know, put it on earring hooks and stuff. But uh, I just tried it one day and I fell in love because there's so many different things you can do with it.
SPEAKER_01:And uh the versatile, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. And it's just fun. It's I call it like adult play-doh. You get to mix the colors yourself, and then um you just sculpt it into whatever you like. So yeah, I just think it's fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, people are obsessed with miniature things. I find that I have the mini house that you can shop from, but oh yeah, and you're talking about the mini food or the the details, the delicate details in the florals. I mean, people just obsess over that, so you're on the right track.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, anything that's tiny is just so cute, and people love it.
SPEAKER_01:I know, I know, I love that. Now, I was talking also about your wall art, and you have quite a few different mediums, even in our display. So, oil, acrylic, watercolor. Do you have a favorite?
SPEAKER_00:Um, I used to say oil was my favorite, but in this past year, I really just love acrylic. I don't know. It's I like the fact that it dries fast, and you can, you know, give it a second coat if you want in the same day. With oil, obviously, you have to wait two to three weeks till it dries completely. So I do like that you can mix oil and play around with it for like a few days until it sets, but I just I've gotten into like the matte, I like the matness of acrylic, and I love that it dries quickly and you can paint on top of it, or you can paint a second coat on it, or whatever you want to do with it. But I've been recently, I like probably acrylic even more than oil now. And I always I like watercolor too, but I think acrylic's my favorite.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, that's definitely a different medium, like you said, you're able to work in layers very quickly in oil, the cleanup and stuff.
SPEAKER_00:It is hard, but I love that you're exploring in all the different varieties of you know each one is each one is totally unique and different, and that's why I encourage other people. Like, if you don't like a certain medium, just try a different one. Like, they're literally all so different, and the different techniques you can learn from each different kind of paint is just fun. So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Have you ever explored the different um substrates that you put the paint on? Have you ever painted on cradle board or has it only been on canvas?
SPEAKER_00:I have well, I've only mostly done canvas, but I have painted on wood before. Like one of my display boards is wood for my markets, um, just like a big wooden rectangle that I put hooks on and I painted florals on that, and that's fun too. Um, but I really mostly just do canvases just because it's my favorite.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Now, is there any special prep that you do for your work or do you just go straight into painting?
SPEAKER_00:Um, I usually just go straight into painting, and then at the end I put um like a sealant coating on it just to keep it safe. But yeah, yeah, I just like to jump right. I I obviously do like a little sketch first to see, you know, where I want to place it. Right. But yeah, I just like to jump right in because I love the painting portion of it.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, I love how you were everything has a really like like you called it moody color palette in your show, and uh a lot of black backgrounds, and you've got the bright colors to make and pop, and then one piece has some really cool, definite outlines, and it's got a lot of requests for like classes. Is there a certain style that you seem to gravitate towards?
SPEAKER_00:Um, I really just love the bold colors and bold lines. So, like the one I think that's a magnolia flower that has the bold black outlines on like every petal. Um, I just love where you can see the definition between every single little detail on there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um so yeah, I do. I have been thinking about classes for next year and just either like a still life of a bouquet or just a close-up of a flower and then um sketching it and then teaching people like what shades and how dark each color of each section should be before you finalize that. But yeah, yeah, I have been thinking about that the past week, and uh maybe next year we'll plan some classes of that would be great.
SPEAKER_01:No, I think that's a great idea.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, definitely fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I it that that piece especially reminds me of like a stained glass, and so I think that gets a little bit abstract, but it's still realistic, and yeah, it's got a lot of great positive comments since it's been up. Well, thank you. Of course, have you ever thought about like making miniature pieces of art as earrings? Um, like your paintings and stuff?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I have done a few earrings that kind of look like a little, obviously not a canvas, but that's a good idea to make a tiny canvas. Yeah, it looks like a painting.
SPEAKER_01:Um necklace, that'd be beautiful as a charm.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I do need to do, I need to experiment with that too. But uh yeah, some I have done um like little tiny murals of um like a mushroom with a little tiny ladybug on top. I had a few of those. Oh my god, those usually sell, it's like a very tiny mural. So yeah, that's cute. Those are fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love that. And how many local places um can people find your work?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, let's see. I have a list here because I knew I would forget. Yeah, I'm like, I definitely want to talk about that. Yeah. Um, so I'm in Bombshell Gifts, which is in Belden Village Mall. Um, they're right by the Dillard's and Spencer's Dillards, and then them. Um so that's where I have my biggest collection. And then I'm in Paper Twigs, the florist in on Hills and Dales, I think. Yeah. Um, and then I'm in Sprinkle City Bakery in Canton. Yeah, I'm at Pav's Creamery, uh, all four of their locations. Cool. I think they're all fully stocked, but I have to double check on that. They all have little tiny ice cream cones. So fun. Those are cute. And then I'm in the cake lady bakery on North Main Street. Yeah, they have a rack there, and then um obviously your store has a few. Yep. And then Tansy Run Farms. She had a bunch of chicken earrings and um like florals. She's obviously closed for the season. Okay. But next summer she'll open for her you pick flower farm. Yeah. So I'm in those. I have a few, I think, at um Wild Roots Herbal Care, which is in Hartville.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:I think she still has a few of my mushroom earrings. So okay.
SPEAKER_01:Sounds like you really try to cater what the store represents. Like the at Sprinkle City, that's a bakery. Are there bakery earrings in there?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, they have excuse me, they have different um, they have like croissant ones, I think, cupcake ones. Um just like eggs and bacon ones.
SPEAKER_01:Um, I have art palettes here at the shop. They're really cute. Yeah, you're very thoughtful about what you offer to put in those locations.
SPEAKER_00:And I try to put, you know, what people are there to buy and what they would think is cute in that location. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Do you mainly do earrings or are there other pieces of jewelry that you also like carry?
SPEAKER_00:Um, mainly earrings. I'm sorry, I've been sick this week.
SPEAKER_01:Oh no.
SPEAKER_00:Mainly earrings and some bracelets, but mostly earrings everywhere. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01:No, no, they're they're very cute. I didn't know if people were like, I want a set, it has to have a matching necklace or something like that. So I didn't know if that was a request.
SPEAKER_00:I do necklaces sometimes, but okay, not too often, mostly earrings.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think people like the statement earring, you know, they want to represent something. So that's that's really good. Well, where can people find you online if they are not local at all those locations? Do you offer your products online? Uh, I do.
SPEAKER_00:So I have an Etsy page that I will update on November 10th. So it's gonna have all my Christmas designs. Um I've been taking pictures of all of them for the past two weeks. Uh-huh. And um that is um etsy.com slash shop slash Rachel Annie. Okay, oh that's good because you're Rachel's Clay Cafe here locally.
SPEAKER_01:So Rachel Annie. All right, and I'll make sure I have links in the show notes.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and then that will be open on November 10th. Those ones will be um like made to order. Oh, so I'll put the pictures of them and then as they order, I'll make them just because I've had to fill all my stores, so I don't have a lot left. Yeah, so um, those usually ship out within two days, though. And then um obviously Rachel's Clay Cafe on Instagram. Okay, you can always, you know, send me a message if there's something specific you want.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, yeah. Okay, good. Yeah, I'll make sure we have show in the show notes those links to both those platforms. So that's great. And any uh upcoming news, any other shows, or you've got art planned to be showcased anywhere else or any um local shows coming up?
SPEAKER_00:Not yet for um artwork, but I do have um an I do have an open house um at Palmshall Gifts on November 15th.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:So I will be there from 12 to 4 on the 15th. Okay, and at the mall, so yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Super. Oh, well, thank you so much for still taking the time. I know you don't feel well today. Yes, I'm sorry. I've had a cough and a cold for like a week. Well, it's going around and the kiddos bring things home. Oh, yeah. Well, thanks again, Rachel, and I'm really excited about having your pieces here in the studio for the month. And I will continue to talk you into teaching because I think that it's going to be a very fun class. That will be fun, yes. All right, well so thanks again. All right, thank you so much. Bye.
