Found Art Tuesday and Adventures on Polymer Clay

{EYE Pendant/Charm. Polymer clay, acrylic paint, clear varnish, Found Art Tuesday July 15 2008} 

So the other day as I was waking up, you know, when you're still kind of dreaming but not really, I started thinking about "Polimeros" something I know nothing about and sounded really unfamiliar, but it kind of sounded interesting,  so I made an invisible post it note in my head to figure out what it was, but of course I misplaced that post-it, the same way I misplace all the real ones, even if the have super-sticky glue or super-brilliant-hurt-my-eyes yellow. So I forgot all about it until I was in Michaels, and I happened to be there just because I was just passing by on my way to buy milk at Target, and I am sure it has also happened to you, I really think they should do something about those gigantic vacuum machines they have on the doors, because no matter where you were headed, no matter if you were just walking by to go somewhere, that store SUCKS YOU IN. It may be the baskets outside or maybe the plastic flowers, who knows, but that store is like a carnivore plant, it eats you up and only lets you go after you buy your weight in stuff. ahhh.. but what beautiful stuff...

So, anyway... I was at Michaels, and I wandered into the clay aisle. I've never payed too much attention to clay since it's something I have little experience with, when I saw something called POLYMER CLAY And I thought, this is a sign! the universe is calling me! So of course, I got two different colors and a little instrument to poke it with. (It was all on sale, so that makes it Ok in my mind) And later while browsing through the dollar bin (You gotta see what's on the dollar bin!) I saw a set of letter stamps for a DOLLAR! the WHOLE alphabet for ONE DOLLAR. I almost passed out right there. You see, I am a stamp junkie, and I love love love letters, all those typographies, they just make me melt.

Ok, so I've found a few interesting things about polymer clay, and when I try new things, since I am way too impatient to sign up for a lesson, and sometimes even to read the instructions, I started using it right away and trying to see what I could do with it.

THINGS I've learned about polymer clay:

One: It is not messy. I love that.

TWO: It hardens when you bake it on the oven. ON A REGULAR OVEN! at 275 F, that's like 135 C. No need to fire it like ceramics (oh, I know about ceramics, I HATE working with ceramics, they are so messy, you have to glaze them, keep it moist, fire them at a gazillion degrees... ugh)

THREE: The colors don't change after the baking process. I was really impressed by that

FOUR:  You can make anything with it! so far I've been working an a few pendants and charms, and I love to make little tiny dots all around them.

FIVE: You can paint it with acrylics! Wait until it is baked, though....

SIX: You can use rubber stamps on it and it likes it! Numbers, letters, I have so many stamps lined up to get their chance to play! yay!! 

And I had the intention of letting these pieces stay the color of the clay, but you know me, if it stays still long enough, it will end up gessoed and painted, Sorry little guys...

Here are a few of the pendants I've done, I'm adding them to my etsy store soon. I really don't have too much faith in etsy, I haven't sold anything in months! And I read somewhere that you need to be buying  stuff in order to get more positive feedback and then maybe get more sales, but really, why should you need to BUY anything to make a sale?

 

So what do you think? More pictures on my flickr!

Comments

[KathyL]

I love PC too. I have worked on and off with it for years. You can also do amazing transfers on it! Think pendants with a small picture of your children for la abuela y tu madre! And you should make a boat load for your art fairs. They are great. Here are a few sites for you: http://www.sculpey.com/sculpey101.htm http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/
http://clayfactoryinc.com/

I was going to set up an etsy store but I think I will build a website instead (that is what I have been meaning to do for years).

[Undaunted]

Your pendants look great! Is this Polymer Clay the same as Fimo? I had loads of Fimo about a hundred years ago and I made a few things with it. In fact, I still have it somewhere...

[robyn]

Bwahahaha, giant vacuums! You crack me up, I'll be telling that one to people for a while now.
Zoooooom, that is me speeding to michaels to get some of those alpha stamps. I can feel the suction all the way from here. I love letter stamps and have several different kind of sets already.
As for Etsy, don't lose faith. I don't agree with that thing you read. In fact, since I made my goal to try and sell 100 items by the end of the year, I've stopped buying and focused more on selling and I've done a lot better. Although I do think that a lot of buyers are also sellers. I try to remember to relist often (sometimes an item a day) and post in a lot of places about what I'm working on, etc. to spread the word.

[iHanna]

One dollar for those letter sets? YOu're kidding me! They are amazing! I just ought some clay to play with, and your pendants look great! Very cool Rosa, now I'm inspired! My etsy is not selling much either, I think it has to do with marketing it better! :-)