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his special collection of projects culled from Quarry’s most popular books about polymer clay
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offers a spectrum of inspired ideas and techniques for polymer clay enthusiasts with all levels
of experience. Learn from some of the most talented artists in the field how to make every-
thing from jewelry to fun clay figures. LL
Projects and Techniques for Jewelry, Gifts, Figures, and Decorative Surfaces
A complete and comprehensive section teaches the basics of working in the medium of poly-
mer clay. Artists including Georgia Sargeant, Celie Fago, Ellen Marshall, Dinko Tilov, and Livia
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McRee then provide step-by-step instruction for beautiful projects, special effects, patterns, tex-
tures, surface embellishments, and working with special materials, including Precious Metal Clay.
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INCLUDED ARE
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• Projects ranging from inspired gifts and clay • Step-by-step instructions covering the basics
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figures to unique jewelry and beads of working with polymer clay, special tech-
niques for surface embellishments, and a (cid:2)(cid:2)
• Advice and insight from seasoned polymer wide range of distinctive projects for boxes,
clay artists into their own techniques and pendants, vases, wind chimes, book covers,
processes jewelry, and more CC
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(cid:2)(cid:2)
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Celie Fago, Ellen Marshall, Livia McRee, Georgia Sargeant, and Dinko Tilov
Also available from Quarry Books: Making Designer Mixed-Media
and Memory Jewelry
ISBN: 1-59253-314-0
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Making Designer Seed Bead, Stone,
and Crystal Jewelry
ISBN: 1-592523-245-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-357-2
Crafts ISBN-10: 1-59253-357-4
$25.00 US
C N
P £16.99 UK A
U $29.95 CAN E
www.quarrybooks.com
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© 2007 by Quarry Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book
have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists
concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by the producer, publisher, or
printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the
contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that
credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any
inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing
information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
First published in the United States of America by
Quarry Books, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
33 Commercial Street
Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930-5089
Telephone: (978) 282-9590
Fax: (978) 283-2742
www.rockpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-357-2
ISBN-10: 1-59253-357-4
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Design: Bob’s Your Uncle
Susan Raymond Art & Design
tabula rasagraphic design
Cover Design: Dania Davey
Illustrations by: Lorraine Dey
Grateful acknowledgment is given to Ellen Marshall for her work from
Polymer Clay Surface Design Recipeson pages 9–25, 28–101, 270–287,
and 300; to Georgia Sargeant, Celie Fago, and Livia McRee for their work
from Polymer Clayon pages 7–8, 102–195 and 288-299; and Dinko Tilov
for his work from Creating Fantasy Polymer Clay Characterson pages
26–27 and 196–269.
Printed in China
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PPOOLLYYMMEERR CCLLAAYY AARRTT
Projects and Techniques for Jewelry, Gifts, Figures, and Decorative Surfaces
by Celie Fago, Ellen Marshall, Livia McRee, Georgia Sargeant, and Dinko Tilov
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Contents
7 Exploring Polymer Clay
8 Polymer Clay Basic Techniques
9 A Helpful Note to Readers
10 Chapter 1: Getting Started
28 Chapter 2: Surface Techniques and Applications
102 Chapter 3: Transforming the Clay
116 Chapter 4: Creating the Structure
134 Chapter 5: Enhancing the Surface
158 Chapter 6: Precious Metal Clay Basic Techniques
170 Chapter 7: Creating with Precious Metal Clay
196 Chapter 8: Creating Fantasy Figures
270 Gallery
301 Contributing Artists/Resources
304 About the Authors
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Exploring Polymer Clay
by Georgia Sargeant
Polymer clay is solid color—color you can knead, twist, pull, mold, turn, modeling and construction techniques devised for polymer
layer, and cut. You can make it look like ancient amber, glowing clay can be applied to other media, especially precious metal clay,
glass, engraved ivory, or modern steel. You can use it to make deli- producing metal objects with a fluidity and freshness seldom at-
cate miniatures or large folding screens, wrap it around an armature, tained before. In one section of this book, eleven artists will in-
or stretch it out to airy thinness. You can layer it with metal leaf, troduce you to decorative and structural techniques for polymer
blend in scented spices or delicate sparkles, transfer photocopied im- clay. In another section, master craftsman Celie Fago will show
ages on to it, or tint the surface with paint and colored pencil. It is you how to work in PMC and how to combine it with polymer
wonderfully convenient because it will harden in twenty minutes in a clay. In yet another, Dinkov Tilov will show you how to create
home oven, so expensive studio space and fiery kilns are not strange and fantastical creatures. In the Gallery section, many
needed. A corner of a table in a small apartment will do just fine. artists will show you examples of how some of these techniques
In recent years, polymer clay has been transformed from a have been used in creating marvelous and evocative objects to
child’s toy to a mature art medium, yet its delightful playfulness delight the senses and entice the imagination.
has not been lost. It can be bright or dull, large or small, realistic or The projects in this book are intended to explore the wide-
abstract, down to earth or fantastical. It has been used to make ranging possibilities of this versatile medium. There is something
jewelry, dolls, sculptures, accessories, wearable art, lamps, books, for everyone—from those just starting to discover polymer clay
boxes, and bowls; it has been turned into mosaics, plaques, wall to those who have been creating with it for a while and are ready
hangings, furniture, and decorations. to experiment with new techniques. Keep in mind that the most
Polymer clay is a modern material that combines well with beautiful and ingenious polymer clay techniques were developed
other media, allowing you to borrow techniques and tools from by fellow enthusiasts—we hope that this book inspires you to
other arts and industries and use them in your own creations. In develop a few of your own.
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Polymer Clay
Basic Techniques
Polymer clay is a brilliantly colored modern modeling
material that bakes hard in a home oven. Its star feature
is its compatibility with other art and craft materials,
from acrylic paints to glues to glitter to metal leafing to
rubber-stamping supplies. With polymer clay, sturdy and
colorful three-dimensional art is within everyone’s reach.
It’s widely available in art and craft stores.
The basic ingredient of polymer clay is polyvinyl
chloride (PVC), the same sturdy stuff that water pipes
are made of. The other ingredients are inert fillers to
give it bulk (and sometimes texture), dyes and pig-
ments to give it color, and a plasticizer—an oily chemical that allows the microscopic
chains of PVC molecules to slide over each other at room temperature but lock onto each
other when the clay is heated.
This clay, also known to its fans as “polyclay” and “PC,” comes in many of the colors
you find on the artist’s paint rack—not only in standard colors like red, white, and brown,
but also in flesh tones (developed for doll making) and in translucent clays that are milky
when raw but almost clear when baked properly (and in a thin enough layer, they’re ab-
solutely transparent). With many brands, you can mix the package colors and get attractive
intermediate shades.
Manufacturers also make some wonderful specialty clays. There are pearlescent and
metallic colors incorporating tiny mica flakes that give a shimmery luster. There are fluores-
cent colors using brilliant pigments; a dab added to a dull color will perk it up. There are
glow-in-the-dark colors that shine at night. There are glitter clays—tinted translucent clays
with heat-resistant microfine glitter mixed in. There are clays that contain short colored
fibers that make them look like stone. You can even make your own stone clays by mixing
embossing powder from the rubber-stamp counter into translucent clay. Or you can mix in
other grains or powders, from coffee grounds to aromatic herbs to iridescent pigments to
children’s tinted play sand.
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A Helpful Note to Readers
This book presents a wide array of techniques and inspirations for creating unique
surface designs in polymer clay. We have made an attempt to tell you very specifi-
cally what materials we have used to get a particular effect, so that if desired, you
can try to duplicate a result exactly. If a product has a certain property or charac-
teristic that makes it especially suitable for a particular effect, we have made a
point to tell you. In many cases, another brand may work just as well, but we still
tell you exactly what we used, in case you want to match a particular color or
design.
Please note: None of this specificity should discourage you from substituting sim-
ilar products that are easier to find or that you may already have. You may discov-
er that your results are exactly the same, or you may find completely unexpected
results that make you just as happy. We have tried to design this book so that the
information provided, based on the authors’ extensive experience and testing, is
as detailed and as helpful as we can make it, but we also encourage you to con-
duct your own experimentation and to not feel limited by the suggested products
in any way.
A majority of the materials used in this book are available internationally or can be
easily ordered on the Internet. A resources section is included for your reference
on page 301.
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