Polymer Clay – It’s What You Do With It

By Beverley Start
August 2012

Polymer clay’s sculpt-ability and low curing temperatures make it ideal for a wide variety of craft and art projects. Many people talk about giving polymer clay a try but if you’re still on the fence here’s a whole laundry list of reasons to climb down and just Go For It!

Polymer Clay Can Be:

1. Molded or sculpted

Polymer clay was created for doll making but was shelved for a while only to be re-born later on as a sculpting medium for arts and crafts of all kinds

• Hand-sculpted Polymer Clay Granny Smith Apple Earrings by Welsh Dragon Designs at The Handmade Artist’s Shop
  

2. Textured

I like to wet my polymer clay before pressing it into a textured mold or rolling over it with a textured surface. The water prevents the clay from sticking to the mold and it also allows for a crisper design. You can even make your own textured or patterned sheets from polymer if you can’t find the ones you want.

• Check out these awesome texture rollers!

3. Sanded, drilled, painted, or glazed

Once your polymer clay is molded or sculpted it’s ready to be drilled or sanded, glazed or painted.

• Sculpture by Jordin Isip

6. Carved

I actually make carving tools from polymer clay. Then I use the tools to carve more clay!

• Carving demonstration photos by Polymer Clay Cyclopedia

7. Used as part of any multi-media

Polymer clay works well with metal, glass, and a host of other materials so go ahead and mix it up!

• Caramel Wafer Dutch Spiral Necklace with Polymer Clay by Haffina Creations at The Handmade Artist’s Shop

9. Inked, Stamped, and photo transferred

I’ll admit I’ve only done photo transfers a couple of times using polymer clay but my paper and ink quality sucked so it didn’t turn out very good.

• Peacock Lady Polymer Pendant by Purple Rose at The Handmade Artist’s Shop
• Dolly’s Picture-Perfect Color Photo-Transfers at Polymer Clay Central

10. Extruded

You can buy small extruders that come with different shape profilers. The clay gets inserted into the barrel and squeezed through a hole at the end that’s shaped like a star or whatever. They can be made quite long so they’re ideal for cane work.

• Using an Extruder with Polymer clay, article at George Weil’s website

11. Combined with other materials before curing for varied effects

Pearl powders, glitters, micas or other bits and pieces can be blended into the polymer clay to add shimmer, bulk, or texture. This one can be really fun!

• Polymer Clay With Additives Collection by Tonya McDonel on Pinterest

12. Liquefied

You can buy liquid polymer clays or you can just make your own!

• Turning Polymer Clay into Liquid on Carie’s Clay Creations webpage
• Faux Enamel With Liquid Polymer Clay and Mica Powder on Jewelry and Polymer Clay Tutorial Heaven’s website

13. Experimented with

I use polymer clay to make “paintings”. The Feature Image is my latest 100% polymer clay painting. The character is Shug Avery from The Color Purple movie. This piece (unframed) is 16” X 9.5” and took roughly 40 hours to complete.

Oh the magic of polymer clay…I mean really what can’t be done with it?

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