Creative Crafting

Readily available, inexpensive, and easily manipulated, polymer clay is an ideal beginner’s medium, and Syndee Holt does an admirable job of introducing it. She sets the stage with background on materials and basic handling, then presents 27 approaches and variations as a series of questions on technique whose answers are full-fledged projects. “How do I make a pinroll cane?” for instance, explains a simple cane process and uses it to cover a candleholder. Other cane methods yield jewelry, a frame, a barrette, drawer pulls, and a covered pen, utilizing both basic canes (bull’s eye, banner, checkerboard, blended) and pictorial types (flower, millefiori, star, face, shaman). The final section focuses on molds and textural effects such as metallic and rubber stamp effects to produce brooches, light switch covers, a box, and coasters.

It is easy to think of polymer clay as glorified modeling clay, but as a serious craft medium it requires knowing some basic techniques, such as making multicolor canes. These are covered in great detail with excellent photos in Polymer Clay for the first time (For The First Time). Beginners will find many of their questions answered in this book. After mastering the basics one can move on to complex projects such as miniature villages. The tiny houses in Ritchey’s book are only several inches high and would be just right for a tabletop display or a small-gauge model railroad layout. Buildings include cottages, stores, a church, and a lighthouse. There are also instructions for making shrubbery and grounds. Both books are recommended for public library crafts collections.

This book is a great way to start working with polymer clays,not only does the author describe the various methods of working with this exciting medium,she also includes facts about the clay itself such as:composition,compatibility to other similar products,which glues and varnishes to use and baking times for different brands. The author is very thorough in giving every possible fact you would need to know to pick up this clay and create a masterpiece. She even lists some of the basic tools needed to easily complete most projects and techniques. I would highly recommend this book for beginners and experts alike.

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