Topics: Modeling Compounds : Polymer Clay
This category contains resources, instructions and non commercial artist's exhibits pertaining to polymer clay. Polymer Clay originated in Germany in the late 1930's. Mrs.Rehbinder accidentally discovered this chemical by-product during WWII. Her mother, Kathe Kruse, was a famous doll-maker. During the war, Mrs.Rehbinder could not obtain proper raw materials to fashion dolls' heads. During her experiments with other materials, looking for something suitable, she found this clay-like by-product and called it Fifi Mosaik. This combined her nickname, Fifi, and the fact that she also found it useful to make mosaic-type designs with the product. Suitable to modeling and easily hardened in the home oven, she marketed this product on her own until 1964, when she consulted with Eberhard Faber, and the product FIMO was created and marketed in the U.S., primarily for children. In the late 1960's a company in Illinois called Polyform started to produce Sculpey, the American equivalent of FIMO. Other brands on the market, mostly coming from Germany, are Formello , Modello and Cernit. Each brand of clay has it's own unique characteristics and full range of colors. Starting in the eighties, new techniques such as caning and covering things with layers of clay advanced this "hobby" far beyond sculpting little figures and dolls. Serious artists discovered it's versatile properties and polymer clay moved from hobby to craft. The discovery of using steel manual pasta machines as a way to condition, mix colors and roll out thin sheets of clay, advanced the art at a tremendous rate. Polymer clay can be molded, sculpted, rolled, cut out, carved, glittered, lacquered, sanded, tied, caned, stamped, built, flattened, painted, rubber stamped, squished, twisted embellished with powders and paint. In addition to jewelry and dolls it can be made into books, paintings, boxes, purses, vessels, and frames. It can cover anything that can withstand baking just under 275 degrees such as, pens, bottles, eggs, pots and rocks - whatever the imagination allows. Susan Lamb
Artists
Meet some of the artists working with polymer clay. The big variety of techniques and design styles can be great inspiration for others.
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Associations
Associations of people working with polymer clay, generally called guilds.
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Chats and Forums
Chat rooms, bulletin boards, discussion groups, and message boards for polymer clay topics.
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Dolls
This category contains resources, instructions and non- commercial artist exhibits pertaining to polymer clay dolls.
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Figures and Creatures
This category contains resources, instructions and non- commercial artist exhibits pertaining to polymer clay figurines.
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Jewelry
This category contains resources, instructions and non- commercial artist exhibits pertaining to polymer clay jewelry.
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Miniatures
This category contains resources, instructions and non- commercial artist's exhibits pertaining to miniatures made of polymer clay.
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Project Pages
These sites can help to get you started with polymer clay art or demonstrate a new technique.
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Publications
Polymer Clay magazines and e-zines are informational publications that feature artistic and journalistic content regarding techniques, finished projects, swaps, guilds, and any general information regarding polymer clay.
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Swaps
Swaps happen when a group of polyclay artists get together in order to trade their work for that of others.
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Web Rings
Listing of web rings that accept sites pertaining to all Polymer Clay art.
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