This St. Pete artist hopes her sculptures make you smile

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Clay-Z Face is a mixed media art and sculpture studio in St. Petersburg specializing in "whimsy and comedy."  

"My art is a way of reminding you humanity is around us and to smile and not take yourself so seriously," explained owner and artist Nadine McDowell.  

Most of Nadine’s pieces are made of clay.

"They’re a mix between whimsical and surrealism with a dollop of political satire," she continued.  

Nadine’s love of molding clay and creating things was born at a young age when she experienced hearing problems.  

"It caused me to go more into my head and I had a very strong imagination," she said.  

Her parents gave her some clay and she started sculpting, and Nadine’s been doing it ever since.  

Nadine is also an Army veteran with four deployments overseas.  

LINK: To purchase or look at more of her work online, go to clay-zfacebyNadine.com.