The Art of Polymer Clay: Designs and Techniques for Making Jewelry, Pottery, and Decorative Artwork (Paperback)

~ (Author) "With its vivid colors, ready availability, and tremendous versatility, polymer clay has become one of the craft world's most popular mediums..." (more)
Key Phrases: cured polymer clay, translucent clay, clay gun, Liquid Diluent, Super Sculpey, Pro Tool (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Available in a tremendous array of colors and easily cured by baking in a home oven, polymer clay is a unique medium for creating a variety of beautiful items. In The Art of Polymer Clay, noted artist Donna Kato explains the basics as well as many unusual techniques, including imitative methods that can be used to create the look of semi-precious stones, woven fabric, carved wood, metal, and realistic flowers. Kato's sense of style and color is superb, and her directions are clear and concise.

Product Description

The only book on polymer clay not limited to a single application, this step-by-step resource includes well-illustrated project instructions for earrings, bead bracelets, napkin rings, candlesticks, animal figurines, and even a birdhouse. 200 color illustrations.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823002780
• ISBN-13: 978-0823002788
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,439 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Technique-Based Book, August 21, 2000

By	Ivy (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Donna Kato is known throughout the polymer clay world for her tools, her techniques, and her art. This book is an excellent distillation of all she's learned and invented about polymer clay work.

Unlike many of the PC books on the market, Kato doesn't spend any time on projects. There are many, many techniques - Ballinese Filligree, the Clichy Rose Cane, several different types of faux materials, just as examples - but she doesn't tell you how to apply them or use them. This is fabulous for those who can use the techniques as springboards, and makes the book far more useful than any project-based book could be.

However, the technique-based approach is a little intimidating for the novice clayer; I bought this book a month after I cracked open my first packet of Sculpey III, and there wasn't much in The Art of Polymer Clay that was useful to me. Four months later, I started to get into it, and now this is one of my favorite PC books.

The basic information is extensive, but some of it, like the types of clay section, is out-dated. However, as I've said, this isn't the most helpful book for the beginning clayer - The Polymer Clay Techniques Book is probably that - so the front material is a bit beside the point. (However, everyone should read the whole book, as there is fabulous information in all the chapters.)

If I had to (horrors!) reduce my collection of PC books to just five, The Art of Polymer Clay would be one of them. It is a great book for any clayer at any level - one of the classics of the PC library.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Polymer Clay, March 16, 2000

By	Christine Saalbach (San Antonio TX) - See all my reviews

OK, so I already own three other books on Polymer Clay. Did this book have information not contained in my other three books? Was this book's new information of sufficient quantity that I couldn't just memorize the new techniques and not spend the money?

Billed on the back cover as the "ultimate polymer clay book," every page holds the same promise. This book demonstrates the absolute versatility of the polymer clay medium.

Donna's organization of polymer clay techniques makes perfect sense. She starts with the basics, then explains canes and loaves, followed by a host of surface treatments. Mould-making is next, then there are Tory Hughes's imitative techniques for bone, stone, and coral. Donna gives liberal credit to Tory. Next, Donna hits on sculptural techniques in three chapters: vessels, floral forms, and figurines.

Vernon Ezell's photographs are colorful and sharp, enhancing Donna's instructive text. You may have seen an article or two by Donna in Jewelry Crafts or Lapidary Journal magazines. This book contains all of her ideas from those articles and lots more.

I pondered for four days whether I should spend the money for this book. I bought it. You should too if you already work with polymer clay or are considering whether you should start. It's a real inspiration!

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great array of projects for intermediate poly clay artists, April 30, 2001

By	Angel Lee "Liocorno Amethyst Moonstone" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is an excellent book for the intermediate polymer clay artist. The projects are fun and sophisticated. I have nearly ten different polymer clay books, but this is the only one I have found that shows you how to make full-size floral forms.

The book starts out with an excellent introduction to the basics of selecting materials and explains how to choose among the different brands of clay. Conditioning the clay, color mixing and making basic shapes is covered next. A wide variety of techniques and projects follow.

Some techniques include millefiori with instructions for making and using lace, checkerboard, pinwheel, chevron, plaid, spliced, radiating, kaleidoscope, shaded and face canes. The rose cane is gorgeous. Onlay techniques, working with glitter, metal leaf treatments and making beads are next. I love the author's ideas for quilted and Balinese filigree beads. She then goes on to explain carving clay and creating Bakelite like forms.

Next comes the process of making and using molds including taking you step-by-step through making an Asian man face pin. Then, imitative techniques simulating precious stone like jade, marble, ivory, agate and red jasper are covered. There is a great recipe for turquoise. Translucent effects for creating opals and metal effects for creating mokume gane and patinas are a great help. There is even a technique to get a marbled paper look.

Vessel construction follows. Projects included a woven vessel, unlined pot, mosaic bowl and curved box. The book ends with a few sculpture lessons including making a harvest candlestick with several vegetable forms. A great seahorse sculpture and a creating a realistic doll's head are also here.

Though the instructions are fine for someone with a little polymer clay experience, they are in some cases simply not detailed enough for a total beginner. However, with so many beautiful projects and ideas, this book will provide inspiration for years.