Book Review: The Art of Jewelry Polymer Clay

This post was written by Anna of Grays Crafts

The Art of Jewelry: Polymer Clay by Katherine Duncan Aimone.

152 pages, soft cover, full color.



It is a wonderful book for intermediate to advanced clayers. I do not recommend this book to beginners. The projects in the book contain just a few illustrations each, and in most cases steps are not described in full, since, being an advanced clayer, you are supposed to know how to do elementary things. I have heard some negative reviews about this book, and they mostly came from beginners, which is understandable. If you are just starting your journey into the wonderful world of polymer clay, you may become disappointed and overwhelmed by this book and may be better off with simpler projects at first, reserving this one for the time when your skills will reach the next level. However, if you are an intermediate to advanced polymer artist, this book would be a sheer delight to you, as you would have a chance to challenge yourself while using well-familiar techniques and learning new ones. Following the instructions in the book, you would truly be making art jewelry, of quality and beauty such as to be easily displayed in an art museum.
The Art of Jewelry, as its title implements, is a jewelry-making oriented book, in other words, all projects in it are polymer clay jewelry. The book contains:
- 12 necklace projects;
- 7 pendant projects;
- 7 brooch/pin projects;
- 6 bracelet projects;
- and 3 earring projects.

Techniques you will be using (and learning) include:
- sculpting;
- forming;
- texturing;
- embossing;
- image transfer;
- transfer etching;
- screen printing;
- freeform mica shift;
- color blends, including Skinner Blend;
- caning, advanced caning and millefiori;
- faux tesserae mosaics (clay embossing);
- faux glass;
- faux ceramics (Celadon glaze);
- faux fresco (gelatin coating);
- creation of hollow forms;
- molding;
- antiquing.

Some of the projects require use of general metalsmithing skills, such as soldering, wire work and riveting.
The book’s cover states Katherine Duncan Aimone as the author, however she is the compiler and the author of the introduction to the book. The introduction is followed by the polymer clay jewelry basics chapter by Mari O’Dell. In that chapter, you can find information on:
- polymer clay, its properties, conditioning, storing and curing;
- materials that can be used with polymer, such as embossing powders, metal leaf, heat set inks and so on;
- an overview of basic and special tools used for working with polymer, including advice on making and using your own molds;
- finishing options and surface treatments;
- use of findings in polymer jewelry, including excellent instructions on attaching a pin back to polymer brooches.

Projects themselves start from the page 24. Artists whose projects are featured include:
- Judith Skinner (3 projects);
- Jacqueline Lee (3 projects);
- Pier and Penina (4 projects);
- Louise Fischer Cozzi (2 projects);
- Mari O’Dell (3 projects);
- Jennifer Bezingue (3 projects);
- SL Savarick (2 projects):
- Stephanie Jones Rubiano (1 project);
- Sandra McCaw (1 project);
- Lindly Haunani (3 projects);
- Jeffrey Lloyd Dever (1 project);
- Leslie Blackford (2 projects);
- Julia Converse Sober (3 projects);
- Wendy Wallin Malinow (2 projects).

The beautiful cover piece, Snow Flower Brooch by Sandra McCaw, is included in the book and is an advanced caning project.
Book contains a lot of useful tips. There is a wonderful inspiring Gallery section which alone makes book to be worth its price. You can learn things by just looking at these beautiful high quality photographs. Pieces presented in the Gallery are advanced to ultra advanced. At the end of the book you can find short bios of the artists whose projects are featured, alone with their contact information. And like all of that already was not enough, the book also contains a metric conversion (inches to centimeters) chart.

I got my book on Amazon.com for $12.76 and, since my husband is a Prime member, shipping was free.
I would give this book six stars out of five and highly recommend it to advanced clayers interested in jewelry projects.

Below you can see a picture of a project I created after reading this book:


You can find Grays Crafts online at http://grayscrafts.com/, on Facebook, Twitter, and her ArtFire shop.

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Book Review: Polymer Clay Jewelry

This book review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

Do you like ethnic jewelry? Well Debbie Jackson's book 'Polymer Clay Jewelry' may be just the book for you.



The book is divided into 5 different chapters with the first one being 'Getting Started' and as usual it's the polymer clay basics for beginners-which tools, supplies, and findings are recommended. A couple of skinner blends are demonstrated, one of which is the rainbow skinner blend. Also, there is a couple of pages about laminating with liquid polymer clay that is very informative.
Moving along to the next chapter, Additives and Embellishments, is for all of you that have a few seashells or feathers laying around....and you know you do :D...this chapter will show you how to put some of those treasures to good use. There is an African brooch, a beautiful feathered hatpin, and a hinged dragonfly pendant.
The next chapter is Textures, and it starts with an oriental fan pin. Then follows a pendant that makes use of the rainbow skinner blend and shows you how to carve a baked polymer clay. Lastly in this chapter is a mokume gane button that is sure to be noticed.
Liquid polymer clay is the next chapter and included is embedded bead earrings, eggshell mosaic brooch, a laminated collage pendant and a faux cloisonne enamel brooch.
Did I mention that each chapter is followed by a gallery of idea projects to get your creative juices flowing? And Debbie doesn't just show you alot of finished projects in these galleries; she also gives pointers and tips on how she achieved different variations of her projects.
The last chapter, and my personal favorite is titled Canes, and it starts with ginkgo leaf earrings. Among the others are a snakeskin bangle, a bengal tiger brooch, a mud cloth pendant that I have been wanting to make, and a sea turtle pendant.
All projects are described very well, have excellent pictures, and all are unique. You will not see these items in other books. I give this book 5 stars out of a possible 5, and will not be putting it back on the shelf until I make that ginkgo leaf cane.

Until next time happy claying :)

Book Review: Polymer Clay Extravaganza

This review is written by Charline of 2BeadOrNot2Bead.artfire.com

As do most polymer clay books, the introduction to Polymer Clay Extravaganza, by Lisa Pavelka begins with a discussion of the medium, comparing clay types (although Kato clay is not discussed), and covers conditioning, leaching, measuring, baking, color blending, storing, and work surfaces. It moves on to tools (cutting, rolling, shaping (pattern cutters and clay guns) and the ever faithful pasta machine. It then discusses surface techniques (pearl powder, paint, rubber stamps, and metallic leaf and foil), glazes, adhesives, and sealants (clay glaze, acrylic floor wax, liquid polymer clay, superglue, and epoxy). It finished with information on polishing and cleanup. As the entire introduction is accomplished in 6 pages, each section is essentially the Cliff Notes version of each subject.



The next section is called basic techniques and covers one type of Skinner blend (2-color balanced), making a jelly roll cane from the Skinner blend and, subsequently, a flower millefiore cane from the jellyroll. The pictures for the Millefiore cane might be a little confusing for the neophyte caner, as the jellyroll is not only a different color from the Skinner blend jellyroll instructions that precede it, but have a “separation” line halfway through the jellyroll that is not explained. Furthermore, although reduction of the jellyroll is discussed textually, there are no pictures to illustrate what the reader would see during the process nor during the reduction process of the Millefiore cane. Even more to the point, the distortion that usually takes place during cane reduction is not discussed. Again, because of this missing information, I don’t think the instruction is particularly helpful for newbies. Furthermore, the people who do know how to reduce a cane and what happens during reduction for either cane process probably don’t need the instruction in the first place.

The project sections are much more complete than the preface material.

* Polymer Clay and Paper Crafts walks the reader through making:
* Two types of polymer clay decorated greeting cards.
* A scrapbook where the principle decoration piece is not polymer clay, but a metal embossing sheet. The bordering leaf or feather (it wasn’t identified as one or the other by the text) is referred back to the Skinner blend jellyroll cane – and again, the separation halfway through the cane to form the vein or spine isn’t explained.
* Polymer Clay and Memory Crafts explains making:
* A photo holder with a Millefiore base and wire photo heart clips.
* A whimsical Tooth Fairy to put on a painted papier-maché star box studded with metallic leaf covered stars.
* A stamped gold picture frame dusted with mica powder.
* A mini-photo album using some of the techniques used in the picture frame.
* A photo keepsake box that is trimmed with threaded beads and flowers.
* Polymer Clay and Desk Accessories has the reader creating:
* A Victorian business card holder using a self-colored picture burnished onto clay by hand. This project shows how to make a striped cane. My main issue with this is tells the reader to bake the transferred picture before trimming it, but doesn’t tell HOW to trim the baked piece of clay (scissors, Exacto knife, fingernails or teeth??).
* A mesh pencil caddy, with a very simple covering. This project shows the reader how to build the caddy from wire mesh; that’s convenient if there isn’t a Dollar Tree or other everything’s $1 store in your vicinity (I bought a bunch there a couple of weeks ago, before I read this book – maybe I’m psychic).
* Flower pen and stand – this is probably my favorite project in the book, because of the stand. And FINALLY, the way to put the split into the Skinner blend jellyroll is explained. However, it repeats the information for building the entire Millefiore flower, again without explaining or depicting the reduction process.
* Mica shift checkbook cover, with a brief description of sanding and buffing.
* Polymer Clay and Jewelry provides tutorials for:
* A heart locket pin, using a stamp and mica powder, to include how to add a metal hinge, embellishments, and pin back.
* A spirit song amulet, which repeats the stripe cane instruction (although with different colors). The amulet has a cutout at its center and is completely sealed designed to include a message to the recipient from the giver. As such, this would be difficult to sell unless you make the amulet after the purchase and the buyer provides you with the message to be included.
* A faux dichroic heart pendant using metallic foils and Liquid Sculpey.
* Polymer Clay and Home Décor takes the reader through the construction of:
* A switch plate for a baby’s room with a stamped base and small decorations.
* A candle holder using leaf pattern cutters and a repeat of the Skinner blend jellyroll cane in fall colors. A knitting needle is use to make the division in the cane by surrounding the cane with a darker outer wrapping and pressing it toward the center of the jellyroll.
* A mosaic address plate on a painted wooden base (only numbers).
* Polymer Clay and Garden Décor provides instructions for:
* Garden stakes with sculpted carrots, corn, and tomatoes in a checkerboard frame (not a checkerboard cane, however, but individually cut out squares of color on a white background), with extruded clay borders inside and out.
* A decorated terra cotta pot with flowers made from the Skinner blend jellyroll cane (this cane really gets a workout in this book!) and a textured sheet of clay around the bulk of the pot. A single repetition of the tri-color stripe cane is twisted and used to create stems for the flowers.
* A cute little garden angel on a stake is the final project in the book. She has a flower decked dress with bell sleeves and a draped skirt, complete with “train”. Her hair is made from simple gold clay in a teardrop leaf shape and she carries a bouquet of simple 5 leaf flowers in a bed of green leaves. Her wings are a large stamped heart with a leaf border.



The book ends with a gallery of complex clay art (purses, vessels, jewelry, a business card holder and more) done by “talented polymer clay artists” as well as some done by Lisa herself. None of the pictures give credit to the artist who designed and built the piece, which I find a little distressing.

Overall, as someone relatively new to the polymer clay medium, the book has shortcomings that I know would have caused me some serious confusion when I was starting out. Now, after 6 months up to my elbows in clay, there’s not much in here I haven’t already tried (except for the pen holder – got to do that one!!!)
Charline Ahlgreen

Book review: 400 Polymer Clay Designs

This review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

The book review this time is 400 Polymer Clay Designs. And simply put it is 348 pages of pure inspiration!



There are no instructions to any of the finished projects in this book, but who needs them? This book is total eye candy and will break through even the toughest of creative blocks. Each page features a different piece with a brief description of the item, size, and artist.
I don't think there is any type of project not covered in this book - Vessels of every size and kind, jewelry, purses, sculptures, masks, trinket boxes, earrings, clocks, pendants, bracelets, tables, wall decor, book covers, vases, and OMG! I think I just saw one of our guild members featured in this book! Yes it is!! Polymer Clay Smooshers very own Laura Timmens has been featured not only once, but SEVEN times! Oh how exciting-we have a celebrity in our midst.

175 polymer clay artists are featured in this book, and an index of authors and their contributions is at the end of the book.
I give this book 6 stars out of 5 simply because if you choose to add it to your library it will be a lifetime of inspiration.

Until next time...Happy Claying everyone!

Cindi
ClayItAgain

Book Review: Polymer Clay Creative Traditions

This review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

This week's review is Judy Belcher's Book titled Polymer Clay Creative Traditions, and just one look at the cover of the book and you know you're in for a treat with this book.



If I had to name a quality about Judy, it would have to be meticulous. Have you seen how perfectly neat her canes are? I mean, yeah they look cool, but there is absolutely no distortion in her canes.
On with the book ~ The pictures are great and Judy is just as descriptive and helpful in the book as she is on her TV appearances. For clay newbies- basic clay history, care, tools, and supplies are all explained in the forward pages.
The book is broken down into chapters of traditional art mediums, and at the end of each chapter is a gallery full of finished items by various different artists.
Glass Traditions is the first chapter which includes millefiori, two tone tessellation, Chinese eye beads, mosaics, fused and slumped glass. There is an example of a slumped bowl by James Lehman that is really spectacular. You'd never suspect that it is polymer clay. But the one project that I am so wanting to try is the encased bead (done with embossing powder)
The next chapter is Metals and the Mokume Gane examples really look like metal. but there are also texture stamping and an enameled pin.
Fiber Traditions is next and OMG! There so many cool fabrics to make in polymer clay. Even if you didn't use them as clothing for a figure, these are interesting enough for your pendants and beads. Ikat, bargello, batik, quilting, Kente and Mud cloths just to name a few.
Painting and drawing is the next chapter, and oh my, I wish you could see the Georgia O'Keefe flower purse that Judy shows how to make. It is stunning! Several other artists' work is shown how to imitate in polymer clay - included is Gustav Klimt, Georges Seurat (pointillism), Jackson Pollock(abstract expressionist), and M.C. Escher (which has directions for a beautiful geometric cane)
Stone, Bone, and Wood is the next chapter a few of the highlights here are chatoyant effects, bone simulations with scrimshaw, and parquetry.
The last chapter is Sculpture and Ceramics and the first thing she teaches is how to make a triangle horse head and it is simple! Along with the horse head there are other animal heads that can easily be made with the same instructions. Also is metallic raku, crackle raku, and mishisima and decorative layering.
Overall I give the book 5 stars out of 5 and I will not be getting rid of my copy.

Until next time..happy claying!

Cindi

Book Review: Creating with Polymer Clay

This review is written by Charline of 2BeadOrNot2Bead.artfire.com

This book begins with an introduction that talks about the beginnings of polymer clay and its move from doll and puppet making, to a versatile medium for artisan crafting from which almost anything can be built.



There are several pages that discuss the influence of other media on polymer clay, most notably millefiore and lampwork glass, and mosaics, as well as great color pictures of work by and small polymer clay sound bytes by great artists like Donna Kato, Pier Voulkos, Kathleen Dustin, and Susanna Oroyan, to name just a few.

The Getting Started chapter starts with a discussion of various polymer clays by brand. Due to the age of the book, it doesn’t discuss Kato, Premo!, or Pardo clays. It also talks about some brands I’ve never heard of and for which I can find no suppliers (Pro-Mat and Modello). Like most clay books, it then discusses conditioning the clay, mixing and using colors, various tools for use with polymer clay, baking, and general safety rules.

The Special Techniques chapter discusses simple shapes, incised designs on baked and unbaked clay, image transfers, and surface techniques (metal leaf, metallic paints, faux ivory, press molds, Mokume Gane, veneers, fluid shapes, dolls, a couple of methods of making vessels, and the more obscure lost wax and wood lathe turnings. Although the color photos showing examples of these techniques are wonderful, except for Mokume Gane and the vessel building parts, the section is VERY lean on explaining how to actually do any of them. There is a rather extensive section (at least when compared to the rest) on caning, although it only covers two or three types. (The butterfly cane tutorial in it is great, though!)

The Projects chapter of the book is, again, long on beautiful, finished product pictures and short on step-by-step instruction pictures. It covers Jewelry, Decorative Items, and Household Articles sections.

The section on Jewelry provides limited instructions for making “Dancing Figures” and “Autumn Leaves” necklaces (with the latter a much more complete tutorial), buttons (a discussion rather than a tutorial), memory wire bracelets (all text – I’d never be able to make these from the instructions alone), Navajo beads (the cane instructions are very sketchy), mosaic earrings (this has a faux coral, turquoise, and jet composition and the instructions are, again, minimal).

The Decorative Items section includes instructions for a tile made with a self-constructed stamp, beaded baskets, Ikat coiled vessels (with no step-by-step pictures to help you figure out how to make the Ikat cane), a footed platter that reminds me of Central American primitive designs/colors, a gorgeous heart shaped box without instructions on how to achieve the cane patterns used in the construction, and some cute caned children’s shoes – Mary Janes and T-Straps – again, with no cane building instructions.

The Useful Articles for the Home section has instructions for a mosaic clock, journals and scrapbooks, drapery rod ends, a mosaic pattern tin, picture frames, candlesticks, mirror frames, floral napkin rings, dominoes with matching faces instead of dots, a backgammon game, caned Christmas tree ball ornaments, a chess set, bird houses, and cane covered eggs – the latter look like the Ukrainian Pysanky Easter eggs with very delicate lines and bold colors. As I used to make these using dyes on egg shells, I was thrilled to find them in a polymer clay book – that is until I discovered that there weren’t instructions to go with all the glorious eggs shown. In fact, I had a hard time trying to figure out which of the eggs in the picture was actually explained in the instructions.

Although there are many, MANY, beautiful pictures, there is so little explanatory text on how to achieve the effects in the pictures that beginning clayers (like me), will have more questions when they finish the book than they did when they started. If I had to classify this book by who would most benefit from it, I’d say it’s best for a really experienced intermediate clay artisan or expert. However, if you’re the kind of person who can intuit how to do something by how it looks, this book will give you all sorts of wonderful new ideas.

Book Review: Polymer Clay for the Fun Of It!

This review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

Since I didn't see any requests for a book, I grabbed one purely at random and came up with Polymer Clay for the Fun Of It! by Kim Cavender. I first saw Kim on the Carol Duvall Show on HGTV. And then I saw her book while waiting at the check out stand in a crafts store. Just thumbing through it, now, I remember exactly why I bought it; I have seen a half dozen projects that I need to try.

'For the Fun of It' starts out with the 'clay primer'-a short basics overview-clay, tools, and treatments; and quickly moves to the skinner blend- demonstrating a couple of different ways to start using it. She teaches a couple of earring projects; one of them is a dichroic look that is particularly stunning! But what really caught my eye was the leaf cane. I took a picture of the cane I made following her directions and as you can see, even in different colors, it's a nice looking cane.


There is a simple tip on using black/white patterns as an accent. And then she shows you how to apply that tip in several different projects. Next, there is another cane, and this one is a beautiful flower petal; another beauty worth trying! Among some of the other projects are a face mask, a set of book ends, a mirror and photo frame. There is a glitzy tile clock that I believe I have all the materials needed to make it. The book finishes off with a gallery of beautiful pieces by various artists. I give this book 5 stars out 5 and I will definitely be keeping this it in my collection.

Until, next time, happy claying everyone
PS. Did you see Dori Of SassysClayCreations featured in HandMade News this week?

The next Review-Do you have a preference? Dottie McMillan? or Judy Belcher? If so, leave me a comment.

Book review: Making Polymer Clay Beads

This review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

My review this time is on Making Polymer Clay Beads, written by Carol Blackburn. All together I counted over 20 different bead shapes with some of them being unique beads that I have not seen in any of the other books I have. Maybe I missed them or maybe they are just explained in a little more detail here that made them stand out more to my eye.



As usual the book begins with all the basics- different types of clay, tools, conditioning, and baking. There was a very clever idea for a measuring tool that was very simple to make from something every home has. There are basics in different shapes, color mixing, and then the more in depth techniques begin-such as combing/feathering, the skinner blend and how these are applied to beads in a variety of ways. The Kaleidoscope cane is explained in a way that makes it easy and very symmetrical.
The pictures all along the way are very crisp clear and leave no doubt as to what you should be doing in each step. She shows different ways of using molds and how the techniques can be used on beads. Foils, powders, glitters are all used and applique and inlay are also shown in various ways. After the beads are made the different sanding, buffing, and varnishing techniques are shown and explained.
Faux techniques are in the heart of the book with malachite, veined marble, abalone, and agate being particularly well described. But those were just 4 of the 16 faux looks taught. All are very well detailed.
The very last section of the book brings everything together. Carol shows the different tools used in beading, what they are called, and how they are used. She demonstrates how different findings are attached and what they are called. She shows all different kinds of cording, wires, and beading methods to string your beads. Lastly she inspires us with ways to design with beads, and finishes up with a gallery of finished examples from various artists.
I give the book 5 out of 5 stars and it would be an asset for polymer clay bead makers and any beginner polymer clayer would be able to make a great variety of beads with the instructions provided.
Until next time, happy claying and special prayers going out to the guild master and her family.
Cindi

Book Review: Making Doll's House Miniatures with Polymer Clay by Sue Heaser

The following review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

Last week's a request was made for a book to do with miniatures. I chose Making Doll's House Miniatures with Polymer Clay by Sue Heaser, because I was fascinated with this book from the first instant I picked it up. The cover is an indication of the intricate detail that will be shown in this book. Sue has chosen the Victorian and Edwardian periods for the settings in the rooms. The pictures in this book look real enough to be a picture of a room from someone's house and not someone's Doll house.
As usual, the basics are described, types of clays, tools, paints and powders. There is a small miscellaneous materials section that gives some helpful hints on different resources for making your polymer clay miniatures look more authentic. Then the general techniques section has more of the basics, along with tips and pointers on ways to make uniform shapes for different types of dishes.
Next begins the meat of the book and Sue begins in the kitchen with miniature food because it is the simplest-vegetables, breads, pies. Then she moves on to accessories, the stove and the sink. The stove you see on the front cover of the book has detailed directions and patterns and she even shows how to make the front door of the oven swing open with it's own make-shift hinge..so clever! And the kitchen sink is complete with faucet.
Living room miniatures is next with bookshelves, books and OH MY HECK! the working tiffany lamp is absolutely adorable! I thought the directions for the lamp was worth the price of the book alone.
The dining room is next and all the accessories you would expect to find are there-dishes, utensils, more food. Teatime in the conservatory has oodles of plants, flowers, ferns and of course a tea set with more cakes and breads. The bedroom also has more flowers and another cute working bedside lamp.
The bathroom is another chapter that is in great detail complete with bathtub and toilet and bathroom sink along with the tiles that would be found there.
The very last chapter is the nursery play room, and it has directions for a toy chest, jointed doll, hobby horse, train and other toys and accessories.
And of course at the end is a section for further reading and a list of doll house furniture suppliers.
If you are interested in making doll house miniatures, I would highly recommend this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Not sure what I will be doing next week. I still have other miniature books-flowers, dolls, villages....or maybe you have a favorite author/ PC artist? Leave me a comment and I'll do my best to do your request next. Until next week, happy claying :)

Book Review: Fairies Gnomes & Trolls by Maureen Carlson

This book review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

Last week's request was for a Maureen Carlson book, and since she was one of my sculpting gurus, I figured this was the perfect pick for our guild. So without further ado, here is Fairies, Gnomes ,and Trolls:



This book reads almost like a fairy tale with short stories about each sculpture she creates. It is a creative world of fantasy characters and all creatures great and small in the realm of make believe get their exposure here in this book. As usual, in the beginning, Maureen goes through the basics of sculpting clay, taking the newbie clayer through small steps in order to make sculpting simple.

After the basics are explained, the first project in the book is, of course, a fairy door, (complete with real operating hinges), because fairies won't visit if they don't have a door to come through.
After you've made the magical door, next comes all the invited guests including fairies, gnomes (have you ever seen a toadstool gnome?), elves, a couple of trolls (one who started life a rock), and a tiny flower baby. For all you baby sculptors out there- this is a greatly detailed step by step how to make a pure sculpt baby. And what fairy kingdom whould be complete without a king, wizard and a faierie folk storyteller? There are bigger projects like a forever tree (a home for the fairies), and the garden face green man. I did make the green man garden face and it was very simple following Maureen's instuctions.

I must say the photography in this book is very different from Maureens other books. These characters have been captured in their natural habitat in gardens and forests which makes them all the more enchanting and inviting. Just a quick flip through the pages is enough to make one want to invite a fairy to their studio. The pages are bright and colorful taking you deeper and deeper into the magical land of Faieries, Gnomes and Trolls. I would recommend this book to any fantasy character maker and I give it 10 stars out of 5 !!! Kudos to Maureen Carlson...great job

Any requests for next week? There's a lot of beadmakers out there...How about a bead book? Or would you prefer a book specializing in miniatures? Leave me a comment and let me know what you'd like. Til next week, happy claying all you smooshers :)

Book Review: Susanna Oroyan books

The following review is written by Cindi of ClayItAgain.artfire.com

This week I am reviewing 4 Susanna Oroyan books. You probably wonder why I chose to do 4 at once. Well, as the titles infer, they are all about the doll making process.

I first saw Susanna Oroyan on the Carol Duval Show several years ago. She had several dolls (part polymer clay with fabric clothes). At first I didn't like that idea. In fact I despised it; the fact that she was 'cheating' and not using polymer clay clothing! How jealous is that of polymer clay? LOL Just looking through these books is like eye candy for an aspiring doll maker. There are polymer clay dolls, paper clay dolls, soft sculpture dolls, primitive dolls, beaded dolls, any kind of doll you can imagine and every book is just filled with pages and pages of inspirational pictures.

Susanna is a master doll maker and shows every step along the way to making any kind of doll you can imagine. She has 100's of photos (from over 100 different artists) of all different kinds of dolls.

Fantastic Figures deals with clay sculpting of dolls and every aspect of it-from the head to the feet. This book is strictly clay dolls where as the others have various other mediums.

Anatomy of a Doll is just that- basic doll anatomy; different forms, heads, body joints, and assemblies. There is even a face gallery showing pages of just faces on different types of dolls-painted faces, soft sculpted, polymer clay. And when it gets time to add hair, there is a whole page of different ideas for hair materials to consider.

Designing the Doll is taking your doll making to the next level where you begin to do constructive thinking about your future dolls. Proportional charts for adults dolls(women and men) then teens and children and toddlers. Forms, design elements, armatures (which ones would be best for your project), construction material, and assemblies.

Finishing the Figure is all about dressing and accessorising your doll. Ways to make fabric clothes for your dolls, how to make patterns, and how to add the details that bring your dolls to life. She shows different ways to mount your doll a stand if that's what you want to do.

I just can't say enough about all the inspiration in these books. And even though I would not consider making a cloth doll, there are several that have inspired me even so. I paid full price for all the books and I could never part with them simply because it is so easy to get lost in them for hours at a time...the photography of the dolls is that good. If you ever want to delve into the doll making aspect of polymer clay, try looking through her books at the book store and see if you can walk out with just one ;)

What will be next? Not sure....Maybe Lisa Pavelka? or Maureen Carlson? Leave me a comment and let me know what you'd like. Until next time, happy claying!

Book Review: The Polymer Clay Techniques Book

The following review is from fellow Smoosher ClayItAgain.artfire.com

Well, as promised last time, here is my review of The Polymer Clay Techniques Book by Sue Heaser. I LOVE,love love the way this book is laid out. When you get to the 'meat of the book' the technique or project title is toward the upper left hand side of the page making it each to flip through and see the project and the name of it. Scattered all throughout the book are many helpful hints, some of which, I had never seen before.

The book starts out with an inspiration section with all different kinds of projects from different artists to stimulate your polymer juices. Next comes the basics-She explains the different equipment and tools that are available and which tools you can make yourself from objects you most likely have around the house. Then she goes on to show the basic techniques in working with clay- color mixing, blends, ways to use tools and different baking, gluing, and sanding tips. The pictures are excellent and nothing is left to doubt when she explains a technique.

Next we have 'the meat of the book'. She begins with beads of all sorts (over 8 varieties) and then moves on to the canes-millefiori, face, landscape and different ways to use them. In the mosaics section I found different methods which I did not find in other books I have. She shows many different types of vessels-basket weaved, covered objects,boxes, and frames. In her sculpting chapter, she first teaches how to use simple shapes to put together an easy sculpt and then progresses to more elaborate and challenging projects. The decoration and embellishment chapter shows different applications you can use on your clay and also has a project that has peaked my interest again. *Note to self*-make that pendant! Moving on to the simulations and inclusions chapter, which was for me, my favorite part of the book because there are all types of faux techniques-wood, semi-precious stones, mokume gane, miniatures and another of my favs-making a flute!

The books ends up with a review of the clays and a supplies list of companies along with further reading recommendations. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and I know I would NEVER be selling it on eBay. I paid full price for it and it has been worth every penny. Stay tuned to this blog-next time I will review 4-that's right 4 books by Susanna Oroyan-Anatomy of the Doll, Designing the Doll, Finishing the Figure, and Fantastic Figures As always, if you have a book review preference, leave a comment and I will put your choice on the top of the list.
Have Creative Day!
Cindi
ClayItAgain

Book Review: The Art of Polymer Clay

The following review is from fellow Smoosher ClayItAgain.artfire.com

When I first began hoarding everything polymer clay, I wanted to obtain as much information and instructions as I could. In my opinion there are a few must have books for a beginner pc'er, and 'The Art of Polymer Clay' by Donna Kato is right on top of my list. She has been considered by many, a guru of polymer clay. Seen countless times on the Carol Duvall show on HGTV for several years, she has introduced this addiction to many of us. Her work is exquisite, detailed, and always flawless looking.



In the book The Art of Polymer Clay, Donna introduces the newbie to the different polymer clays on the market, different tools to be used, and many misc supplies that can be used in conjunction with the clay. The pictures and directions are clear and easy to understand, many with detailed step-by-step photos.
She takes the beginner from simple shapes and canes to surface treatments, finished vessels and sculptures. Among the methods described are: onlay techniques to create different beads; making and using molds; imitation/faux jade, jasper, turquiose, and others; using armatures to strengthen your projects; different flowers; lined and unlined vessels and bowls; a particuarly nice seahorse sculpture; and finally the book is finished up with detailed directions to making a realistic face/head. I have only briefly covered the many topics in this book, and hopefully, I explained enough that you have a good idea of whether the contents would be helpful to you. I am a seasoned polyholic and I still keep this book in my inventory. In fact I even forgot about the seahorse. Yet, another reason for me to re-visit this book again. I paid full price for the book and considered it well worth every penny. I give this book 5 stars out of 5 and I recommend it for the beginner to even the seasoned pro.

Stay tuned to our blog; next time I will review Sue Heaser's book - Polymer Clay Techniques.
Cindi
ClayItAgain