artists
every piece has a story, and every story begins with an artist
KĀPITI COAST, NEW ZEALAND · POLYMER CLAY SCULPTURAL ARTIST
Danny Forrest
Danny Forrest is a self-taught polymer clay artist creating intricate, lifelike representations of the natural world. Through a distinctive combination of colour, texture and finely observed detail, her sculptural works invite viewers to slow down, move closer and rediscover the extraordinary within their surroundings.
about
Originally from Whangārei Heads, Danny now lives on the Kāpiti Coast of Aotearoa with her husband and two boys.
Creativity has always been part of who she is. As a child, Danny was constantly making things and was instinctively drawn to colour, texture and tiny details. Although she loved creating, she didn't initially believe art could become a career for her.
She studied archaeology before moving into marketing and sales, yet gradually felt an increasing need to return to making and working with her hands.
In 2017, Danny discovered polymer clay. Drawn to its accessibility and the freedom it offered her to experiment at home, she began exploring the material without formal training or preconceived ideas about how it should be used. What began as a creative outlet slowly developed into a deeply absorbing artistic practice.
After becoming a mother, Danny discovered that she is autistic and has ADHD. This brought a deeper understanding of qualities that had always shaped her experience: her attraction to colour and texture, her intense focus and her ability to become completely absorbed in the smallest details.
Rather than sitting apart from her practice, these qualities are woven through the way Danny observes, experiences and interprets the world. Her work transforms that sensory and visual intensity into something tangible, inviting others to encounter nature through her uniquely focused perspective.
Process
Danny creates vibrant, highly detailed representations of nature using polymer clay. She mixes the clay by hand to develop an extensive range of colours, then moulds, layers and builds the material to create depth and texture.
Using her fingertips and fine, needle-like tools, she forms hundreds of individual components into intricate organic compositions. Her process is tactile, repetitive and deeply absorbing, allowing each work to emerge gradually through sustained attention and experimentation.
Every artwork sits somewhere between sculpture and image. From a distance, it appears as a complete composition; viewed closely, hundreds of individual forms and unexpected details begin to reveal themselves.
Danny’s distinctive style has developed organically through her relationship with the material. As she continues to explore the possibilities of polymer clay, she is developing processes and techniques that are distinctly her own.
“My sculptural artworks are ultimately an extension of the way I see and experience the world. Through the deliberate use of colour, texture and detail, my work draws attention to the extraordinary elements in nature that become visible when we slow down and absorb our surroundings with intention.”
Her work is an invitation to pause, look more closely and become immersed in the colour, texture and complexity of the natural world.
Danny’s artworks are held in collections throughout New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
SLOW DOWN. LOOK CLOSER.
Danny Forrest
A richly textured moss oasis that invites a moment of calm and closer looking.
Wakamārie is the third artwork in Danny Forrest’s Korowai O Te Ngahere collection. Hand-sculpted greenery stretches across the circular composition, dipping through the centre and rising towards the right. Tiny rounded leaves, pale foliage and dark rippling forms create intricate contrasts against the warm woodgrain background.
Inspired by Aotearoa’s abundant mossy landscapes, the collection has also become a reflection on motherhood—the quiet moments found amongst its busyness and intensity. Wakamārie, described by the artist as calm and peaceful, captures that sense of pause through carefully shaped layers of polymer clay.
Display it in a bedroom, reading corner or living space, where its sculptural detail can be appreciated up close. It makes a distinctive standalone piece or completes the collection alongside Rangimārie and Aumārie.
Calm · Lush · Intricate
Collection Korowai O Te Ngahere Hand-sculpted polymer clay on round MDF board 38.5 cm diameter × 1.7 cm wide White wooden frame made by Glynn Berland Art; artwork secured within the frame using Command Velcro strips UNFRAMED room-setting image shows a display possibility only.