Lesson 3: Clay
Polymer Clay
Recommended Reading: The Bead Maker pgs. 34-45 and Making Beautiful Beads pgs. 40-69.
Polymer clay is yet another type of clay that can be used for bead making. While not entirely different from self-hardening clay, there are some notable differences between the two.
Perhaps one of the biggest is that polymer clay is made from plastic as opposed to earth. This means that polymer clay must be heated in a conventional oven in order for it to dry out.
Color selection also varies greatly between the two. Since polymer clay is a man-made material, it is available in a wide-array of colors which can be used directly out of the package, or mixed to create custom colors. This is not the case with self-hardening clay, as color must be applied to the beads after they have been made.
However, this is not to say that polymer clay is superior to self-hardening clay in any way. Each type of clay has its own unique characteristics, and it is up to the designer to decide which is right for a given project.
If you have not worked with polymer clay before, I recommend picking up a book on the subject. Your local library should have several books on proper polymer clay handling and techniques.
Getting Started with Polymer
The first step to working with polymer clay is to decide what sort of effect you hope to achieve. Since polymer clay is such an easily manipulated material it can be used to create virtually any effect you desire. It can be manipulated to simulate natural materials like ivory, stone and gemstones or mixed with special metallic powders and other substances to create boldly colored abstract designs and kaleidoscopic effects.
And these are just some of the effects that can be acheived before paint or other finishes are added!
In the example shown here, I formed a letter "K" out of ivory polymer clay, and then painted it with acrylics after it had been baked. To create the illusion of sterling silver, I first applied silver paint to the entire bead. After letting it dry, I then went back and painted a coat of black paint over top of the silver, and quickly wiped it off with a paper towel. As you can see from the photo, the black only stayed on in recessed areas.
If you are interested in trying this particular technique, you might also consider purchasing silver polymer, and then just brushing on the black.
Once you have determined what sort of effect you are interested in achieving, try giving a polymer project a try.
Still More Possibilities
This lesson only touches on a few of the endless number of polymer projects that you could try. Since polymer clay is still a relatively new material, crafters are still finding new uses for the product. Play around with the material for a while, and you might just come up with a technique that no one else has thought of.
If you want to see a few more ideas, be sure to check out the following websites:Photo Transfer Beads and :Transfer Bead & Bracelet
