I haven’t written anything in the last week because nothing particularly interesting has happened, but I am friends with the International Polymer Clay Association on Teh FaceBukk. They just announced their big conference (Synergy 2010), and it reminded me how amazing polymer clay is. When most people think of polymer clay, they think of childlike sculptures and millefiore beads on hemp bracelets. Which is fine, but polymer clay is much more than just that. It is so versatile and so under-appreciated as a medium. You can shape it by hand or use tools. Then you can bake it and sand it and carve it like a carving block, then add more clay and bake it again. It comes in a gazillion colors and there is a clear version. You can make a piece and then make a mold of that shape and then make all kinds of mass-produced pieces. It can resemble a myriad of other materials: semi-precious stones and dichroic glass, bone, stained glass, enamel, wood, raku, metals – almost anything you could imagine. However, it is a perfect mirror of the artist’s level of skill: if you are a poor artist, you will make poor pieces; if you are a phenomenal artist, you will make truly amazing pieces. Here are a few of the more stunning examples I found on the internet and in a book I have called 400 Polymer Clay Designs.
And if anyone wants to join me, I’m going to go to this polymer convention. Gonna learn new stuff, meet nice people.
[…] not know, I have taken an interest in polymer clay lately because I see buckets of potential in it. I wrote a whole entry on it previously. The convention was lovely, I must say. Everyone was really nice and informative and I learned all […]