Let's Play with Clay! [Cabby Crafter's Polymer Clay Adventures Series]

A few weeks ago, I started to write about my adventures in polymer clay.

If you want to get more creative in making art beads or sculpture, try playing with polymer clay.  In the coming series of blogs, allow me to share with you what I've read and learned from my own experienced in the hope of encouraging you.

There are several brands of clay in the market that have slight differences from one another.

We used one polymer clay brand during my training in Manila.  Here in the U.S., I realized that there were so many to choose from:  Kato polyclay, Polyform products such as Sculpey and Premo sculpey, Fimo by Staedtler, Cernit, etc.  Donna Kato's book "The Art of Polymer Clay" gives a detailed description of each brand.

I have tried working with Kato, Sculpey 3 and Premo sculpey.  There is a noticeable difference in how each brand of clay feels.  The Kato clay was firm and really great for making canes because the layers of clay remain defined and do not "bleed" on each other.  It just needed more patience in conditioning to make it soft; I had a great time making these roses - the petals maintained its beautiful forma nd texture. 

Kato polyclay primary colors

 The next brand I tried was sculpey 3 in dusty rose.  It was the clay that I used when I made the asymmetrical rose necklace.  It was soft and easy to condition however, I discovered that I had to let it rest and cool to allow it to harden once in a while.

Sculpey 3 Dusty rose

Premo' sculpey is soft and easy to blend but it is firm enough to hold its form when used with techniques such as caning and mica shift among others.  I love the range of colors that Polyform has in this line especially the Accent colors.  There are many more colors to available and I am looking forward to trying out each one.

Locket made using Premo sculpey

I have yet to try the other brands like Fimo. 

Stay tuned for the next Cabby Crafter Polymer Clay adventure. 
Be creative.  Have fun!