What is it about Polymer Clay that produces such a mixed bag of comments? Comments which you never hear with semi-precious gemstones or glass. Whilst the majority of people that pass through the door or by the stand at an exhibition are in awe at the intricacy of the work some are down right plain rude. I have begun to laugh at these uneducated views and would love to see what they could produce given the chance.
Polymer Clay is such an interesting medium to work with, it can be sculpted, moulded, carved, rolled, squashed…..the list is endless. The feeling of seeing a stunning piece materialise from the oven is wonderful. It’s really only when you begin to work with the clay that you can really appreciate it’s beauty.
December 14, 2007
What is it about Polymer Clay?
Posted by Lunes under Polymer Clay | Tags: Art, Culture & Ent., exhibitions, Polymer Clay |[4] Comments
December 14, 2007 at 5:20 pm
SparkleBee has a link to a thread a mile long regarding this exact question at the etsy site. Long story short – some of the folks on that thread posted links to the galleries of some of the top pc artists, many of whose work had never been seen by the non-clayers at etsy. I don’t think any minds were changed, but they were opened.
Personally, I look at it this way and tell people the same. Flour, butter, and sugar are no big deal. Put them in the hands of a kitchen clutz and you get a pile of burned up yuck. But put them in the hands of someone who has some skill, and you get some pretty darn good cookies. Even people who don’t like cookies can appreciate good ones. Bottom line – we all need to do our best possible work and keep growing as artists so we can bring the nay-sayers along with us. AND price our work appropriately – if we don’t value it how can we expect others to do so?
December 14, 2007 at 5:21 pm
amareke 2007.12.12 11:48
perhaps it is just lack of education/understanding about it
before beading (yes there was a time !) i thought of fimo as something kids might use! Embarassed perhaps it reminds people of plasticine or play dough!(working texture wise?)
people are often in awe of semiprecious stones but often glass can be more beautiful!
perhaps some materials are low in people’s mental hierarchy of desirability… do people value shiny stones most? or maybe it is the not valuing hand made things idea?
December 16, 2007 at 3:35 pm
The public hasn’t a clue about the expertise needed to make a gorgeous polymer clay bead. Time after time, they think it is mass produced printed plastic. That I think is the first major hurdle to overcome. Even a poor lampwork bead can look, and feel better to the uneducated than a poor, light polymer clay bead.
I think you can only truly understand how amazing polymer clay beads can be, when you start reading about Skinner blends and how to make canes etc. Quality polymer beads easily rank with fine lampwork beads, but I am afraid to say I have seen an awful lot of terrible polymer clay beads for sale. definitely the public needs to be shown more wonderful work and told how they are made. I’m doing my best!
December 16, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I can’t wait to learn how to use Polymer Clay. I have seen some absolutely gorgeous jewelry made with this clay. No where else can you get the bold color and deep texture that you can get with this clay. I would pay just as much for these clay pieces as I would for some gemstone or glass jewelry. I love my glass, but I see myself diving into some colorful clay really soon!