Polymer Clay Day 2: The Experimentation

After putting aside thoughts of Polymer Clay for a while, I was browsing my local library's crafting/do it yourself section, and saw a book on different Polymer Clay techniques. I borrowed it, and it reignited the interest I had in Polymer Clay.

The book was old, from before a lot of the newest innovations in polymer clay were around, but it rekindled that... "Hey, I can do this!" feeling in me. I read that some clay brands were harder and more crumbly than others, and that polymer clay really didn't go bad unless it got cured during shipping or in a hot store.

Based on the tests they suggested trying, my polymer clay wasn't cured, it was working as intended! So that made me do some research about tools -needed- for the job.

My first task was to find my current 50% off coupon from Hobby Lobby and to buy a pasta machine. I remember my wife's expression when I got into the car after work and told her "Honey, we need to stop at the store so I can buy a pasta maker." Needless to say she was confused, and even more confused when we ended up going to Hobby Lobby.

I bought my pasta machine, a color or two more of Polymer Clay (what can I say, it was on sale!) and a small package of paring knives from the dollar store. NOW I was ready to make my clay masterpieces!

Unfortunately I had still failed to do any real research about what I needed...

I went home and conditioned the heck out of that crumbly polymer clay. Finally it was workable! So I worked some of my new perfectly flat, perfectly even sheets of polymer clay into balls, and... realized that I had absolutely no inspiration.

I conditioned a bit more clay, and once again lost steam. How was I ever going to learn to make masterpieces of art in polymer clay if I didn't know what to make? I looked through my library book again and was immediately overwhelmed...

I looked around online for suggestions and found mostly different techniques for working with clay as opposed to specific projects. I went to the book store and found a cute book on how to make mythical beasties like a gnome, vampire, and dragon. Written by Dinko and Boris Tilov, it has really proven beneficial in my Polymer Clay experience. I also bought a book that gave several different polymer clay techniques, but more importantly a project for each of the polymer clay techniques learned.

What I have learned.

1. You can have all the clay in the world, but without a plan, all you can do is roll it into sheets or balls, and throw it back into the box.

2. Research not only how to work with something new, but what to do with it before you actually go out and do it.

3. Buy a few books with some step-by-step tutorials on maing something specific. It is worth it, even for cheapskates like me! Besides that, it is a big confidence booster, especially for easy projects.