Today's blog comes from Candace Weir, Central Library staff:

Sometimes a material gets invented that makes it easy and fun to get creative. Polymer clay builds on our kindergarten experience with Plasticine, only there are many more colours and possibilities. The creation gets baked into something permanent. Results can be breathtaking.

As art materials go, it is relatively safe and certainly easy to use and the tools are inexpensive. The material is extremely versatile. It can be used to create stunning jewelry or make decorative objects for your home – anything from sculptures to vases. I recently saw an exquisite little cane-work bowl in the Rubiyat, a shop that specializes in fine handicraft.

We have more than 60 titles in the collection to help you master the craft and inspire new projects. You can learn techniques from books like Polymer Clay 101 by Angela Mabray. Have a look at Amazing Clay Flowers to learn how to make realistic blossoms of incredible delicacy and grace.

A recent article in American Craft (October/November, p. 54 – 61) reveals “How Polymer Hit the Big Time”. It shows the art of Elise Winters, who has worked to establish respect for the art form and the first permanent museum collection of polymer art at the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin.

Winters creates large luscious jewelry that coils about the wrist and neck in vibrant waves. Works by other artists shown here include an ash credenza with a mosaic-like decoration in polymer clay applied to the surface.

To see more work by the pros, check out the online polymer art archive. Or gaze and drool at the lovely handiwork of Kathleen Dustin.

Candace