Creating With Polymer Clay: Designs, Techniques & Projects

by Steven Ford, Leslie Dierks

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Lark Books (1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0-937274-95-X
Dimensions: 10.0" x 8.5" x 0.3"
Shipping Weight: 0.99 lbs.

Without a doubt, polymer clay is one of the most exciting—and versatile—craft materials available. This book shows how easily you can create countless beautiful designs for projects ranging from mosaic-patterned earrings to decorative picture frames. Step-by-step color photographs illustrate the basics, and detailed instructions and diagrams reveal simple techniques for making complex patterns and simulating exotic materials. Large, full-color photographs of works by many of the finest contemporary artists provide inspiration for you to create our own unique jewelry, decorative pieces, and practical items for the home.

Although polymer clay hasn't quite become an everyday household item, its growing popularity suggests that this status may be in the offing. Artists and home crafters alike are rapidly discovering its ease of use and remarkable versatility.

Better known by trade names such as Fimo or Sculpey, polymer clay is an inexpensive, readily available, manmade material. It comes in a full spectrum of vivid colors, and you can combine two or more shades to make any custom hue, from a nearly translucent pastel to a vibrant jewel tone. Polymer clay is a soft, pliable material that can be molded, textured, sculpted, incised, and extruded through a press. You can embellish it with metallic powders and colored pencils, transfer printed images onto it, or apply acrylic paint to give it a patina. Polymer clay can be blended to imitate natural materials, such as jade or marble, or to crate purely imaginary ones. When your project is complete it can be fired to a permanent hardness by baking it in a standard oven.

In this book you'll learn the basic characteristics of polymer clay, tools and techniques for handling it, and simple methods for creating complex designs. To give you hands-on practice, there are 26 projects ranging from Navajo eye-dazzler beads to a simulated marble and jade backgammon set. Included are detailed instructions for making molded forms, adding surface treatments, building pots and other vessels, creating ever-popular cane patterns, and many other possibilities. The instructions are accompanied by color photographs of finished pieces and easy-to-follow illustrations. A gallery of works by several of today's most accomplished polymer clay artists exemplifies the versatility of this material and provides inspiration for your own creativity.