Sanding, Buffing, & Polishing Polymer Clay

Something that a lot of polymer clay artists end up skipping out on is the sanding, buffing, and polishing process. It is usually left behind namely because they just don't know where to start or they find it too time consuming. I will admit that this process does take a little time, but with a little bit of know-how, it doesn't have to be a downer. The look and feel of the piece after this process is absolutely beautiful, and if you want to put a little more value and quality into your pieces - read on!

Now, I am going to describe MY process to you. Other clay artists may have a different approach to the same process, but you might develop your own techniques as you go on. This technique will get you started. But first off, we need a few simple materials.

• Towel
• Container
• Wet/Dry Sandpaper
• Canvas
  
• Polishing Cloth
  

You might not have worked with wet/dry sandpaper before, but it is relatively easy to find. Just look in the sanding section of your hardware store, hobby store, or big box store. This sand paper will usually be black in colour and say "wet/dry" or "waterproof" on the back. This sandpaper comes in a variety of "grits" ranging from coarse to fine. Smaller grits like 200 or 400 are more coarse, whereas larger numbers like 800 or 1200 are very fine. What you want is about three different grits - one that is somewhat coarse, one that is finer, and one that is very fine.

Personally, I work with a 600 grit, 800 grit, and than a 1200 grit to finish it off.

Any sort of canvas will do - you could use burlap or white denim too, just as long as it has a good coarse rough texture. I use a piece of painters canvas that my old high school Art teacher gave to me. As for a polishing cloth, you could try looking in the automotive department with all the car waxing supplies or in the fabric department. Find a piece of material that is very soft like fleece, flannel, soft cotton fabric, or terry cloth. You could even tear apart an old shirt!

Now that you know a thing or two about where and how to get the materials, I guess we should start the sanding process! Lay out a towel onto your work surface, and get yourself a container filled with warm water. This container should be large enough so that you can dunk your hands into the water without being too cramped - just as long as it is comfortable for you.

Now, get your clay creation out! All it needs to be is baked and cooled, and you can begin to work on it. Make sure you haven't painted it yet, as any painting you need to do can be done AFTER this process. Give your clay a dunk into the water, and grab yourself the coarsest grit of sandpaper (in my case, a 600 grit) and dunk it into the water, as well. Now, working over the water, begin to sand your clay, working in small circles, and paying special attention to all the nooks and crannies. When you notice that the clay particles start to fill up on the sandpaper and the clay, just dunk them into the water to give it a rinse. If there is any dust, impurities, or unevenness in the surface of the clay, this is the point where they need to be sanded away.

When the surface starts to improve, move onto the next grit of sandpaper. Just like before, sand the entire surface and pay special attention to the nooks and crannies. Keep dunking the clay and the sandpaper into the water to remove any clay particle accumulation. When the surface becomes more even and smooth, move onto the finest grit and repeat the process over again. By this point, your clay will be extremely smooth - but not as smooth as it is going to be a little later!

Dry your clay off with your towel, and grab your piece of canvas (or whatever you chose as your rough material) and begin to rub your clay. Get into all the nooks and crannies, move in circles, and don't be afraid to apply some good pressure. After about 3-5 minutes of buffing, we can now move onto the polishing phase! With your polishing cloth, do the same thing as you were doing before with the canvas - rub and polish your clay until it is bright, shiny and smooth!

This process really is easy, but many people just don't go through with it because it takes too darn long. If you sit in front of the T.V, it helps to be a little bit zoned out - or try listening to some music, as it makes the process a little more enjoyable. If I could offer any advice at all on this process, it would be to spend the MOST time in the first phase while sanding. This phase is crucial because it defines the final product.

If you don't spend much time sanding, than buffing and polishing isn't going to make it look much better. How does that saying go? "You can't polish a turd"... hah! Spend the most time with the coarsest grit of sand paper - I usually sit there for a good 8-10 minutes sanding away. Than spend a little less time with the next grit, and even less time with the finest grit. This phase is always the most time consuming, and for good reason! Buffing with the canvas and polishing with the cloth usually don't take that long.

If you like, you can add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to your water at the beginning. It creates a little less friction, and heck - it smells nice! You will find that if you are going to be adding any painting detail after this process, the paint will go on even smoother and it will hold on more easy. If you add any paint, just go over the entire surface with a little bit of rubbing alcohol - this gets rid of any excess dirt and oils so that the paint will stick even better. If you are used to glazing your clay creations with layer upon layer of gloss, you will only need ONE layer of gloss for an equivalent shine after the sanding, buffing, and polishing process - it is THAT shiny!

Seriously, if you haven't tried doing this before, just try it once - that is all you will need to convince you. After gazing at your smooth, shiny, and beautiful creations and seeing your practically seeing your reflection in the clay, you will be wondering how you did without it!

The Clayers Best Friend

Every clayer has one pet peeve in common, and that is getting dirt and dust in your clay - especially white clay! It's hard to avoid when you live in a dusty house like I do, and the fact that no matter how many times I wash my hands to rid them of dirt and dust doesn't help either!

I discovered a fantastic product in the automotive department of our hardware store. It's called Fast Orange, and it comes in all sorts of forms from Hand Creams to Wipes - but the product I am love with is their Pumice Bar Hand Soap.

This stuff is designed for automotive mechanics - the ones that have dirt and grease up to their elbows all day long. Not only does this fantastic soap help a polymer clay artist by taking off dirt and dust - it gets into all those nooks and crannies that you can get to! The crud that you didn't even KNOW was on your hands will be gone, and you can actually physically feel the squeeziness in the clean!

This soap cleans off grease, oil, resin, tar, grime, sealants, adhesives, ink, glue, paint, rubber cement, epoxies, and all sorts of nasty sticky dirty stuff! You'd think that a soap with gritty Pumice in it might dry out your hands, but it is filled with moisturizers such as aloe, lanolin, glycerin, and jojoba to keep your hands smooth and conditioned. It is biodegradable, non-toxic, and has a citrus orange scent to keep your nose happy!

I know what you may be thinking... is it expensive? No. It isn't expensive at all. You can buy it for $2.50 CAD a bar - it's a big bar, may I add. It'll last quite awhile! You can buy it all sorts of places, just look for it in the Automotive section of hardware stores, general stores, grocery stores, etc. Some stores that carry it are Ace Hardware Stores, Do-It-Best, True Value, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Lowes, & Princess Auto (in Canada) to name a few.

Seriously. Grab yourself one bar of it and prove me wrong. I wet my hands with warm water, scrub my hands good for about 30 seconds, rinse, and dry with a PAPER towel. Don't use a cotton towel to dry your hands before playing with your clay - they are full of fuzzies! After giving your work surface a good cleaning and washing and scrubbing your hands with Fast Orange, you'll definately be a lot less worried about all that invisible crud that SOMEHOW always gets onto your clay.

For Miss Alice

I've been asked to write a review for a good friend of mine on DeviantArt - named Alice. She owns a small polymer clay business called Citrus Wedding and will be entering a "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" competition very soon. I hope that this review may help her in this competition, and I wish her all the best luck! <3 Kookie

Miss Alice Citrus-Wedding is a lady who is all about sweetness and colour – and her polymer clay creations express this. She only started about a year ago with this medium, and her creations have progressed tremendously over time.

We all look back on our first creations and laugh, but so few of us can actually look back and see our art as a milestone. I have been given the honor to watch Alice as she learns new techniques to apply to her pieces, and I have gotten to see the progression in her pieces as she does this.

Many of us start with cupcakes and donuts with polymer clay, but we don’t exactly develop a style that is all our own, and many things look the same. Alice’s creations boast an originality and flair that make them distinctly feminine and sweet – much different than just deep fried dough with icing.

If I had to choose three of her creations to be my favourites, I would choose her “Fizzy Cola” earrings, first. All of us grew up with penny candies, five cent candies, and such, and this brings back memories to the days that my mother would give me a quarter or a few dimes to buy myself a few pieces of candy on the way to school. The cream-white and brown gummy cola bottles covered in that sweet and sour sugar was my most adored candy – and Alice has recreated them so flawlessly that I would probably eat them if I didn’t know they were clay.

The “Sprinkly Donut” earrings that Alice creations are just simply darling. The combination of pinks and browns almost always scream delicious, and these are no exception. Chocolate donuts slathered in vanilla icing, as well as vivid pink and yellow sprinkles are a cute concept on their own of course, but the addition of that glimmery pink bead with the silver earring hooks really add a chic touch.

Her “Toothpaste & Toothbrush” earrings are a cute reminder that we need to brush those pearly whites after attempting to sink our teeth into Citrus Weddings’ sweet creations. The squishy little toothpaste tube is just perfect in that baby-blue hue, and the toothbrush is so dainty and a lovely shade of purple. They match eachother so well!

Alice is definitely crafty and is no stranger to other mediums as well, so I have no doubt in my mind that Citrus Wedding will continue to grow and that I will be hearing more about her work in the future – perhaps saying that she has made it big!

Annihilator v.31.0

I just finished a new Industrial Heart, and it turned out fantastic! This is the 31st piece in my Industrial Heart Collection, entitled: "Annihilator". The entire body of the heart is polymer clay that has all of the components of the anatomical human heart, but has been made to look like metal, with paneling and rivet detailing. This was an extremely fun piece to create, as the customer was looking for something that was a bit more technological as opposed to old-school with all the gears and such. The lady he is buying it for is a huge sci-fi enthusiast.

The entire body of the heart is brass. Usually people ask for the steel/silver body, but I wanted to give this piece a particular old machinery look. Most of the features have been picked out in a worn steel colour and than antiqued with black acrylics to bring out the textures and details.

The front features a centralized round panel with some intricate detailing and a small red LED in the middle. From this, extends a long metal strap with large rivets. There is also a large receptacle-like rivet off to the left side on the front. On the right side is two receptables with thick silver cable going from one receptacle to the other. On the left is a very interesting Industrial scale pattern with angled spiked edges.

On the back is a textured silver panel with large rivets and a silver cross button in the middle. There is also a carbon composition resistor running along the panel in the top. There are also other little details like tiny silver cylinders and screws as well.

It's one of my favourites so far! I just saw Terminator for the first time the other day, and so I had cyber-borgs and red LED's stuck in my head for a few days. Hehe. Hence, the title as well!

There is a loop in the top so that this heart may be strung on a 20" black rubber necklace with chain extension and heart charm, which this piece comes with. The entire thing has been antiqued with black to give it a worn appeal, and it has been glazed once to allow for a touch of shine and durability.

Industrial Heart Information
For answers to ALL your questions about my Industrial Hearts or if you are wondering how to get one, please check out this link: Industrial Heart Collection FAQ. Want to see more of my work? Please check out my website at MonsterKookies.com. You can learn more about me, see my past work, or buy something from my Shop.

Spring-Into-Summer Giveaway Contest!

CONTEST NOW CLOSED!

In my last blog entry, Sweet Sweet Candy... Soap?, I featured Verbena Custom Fragrance Blends - an Etsy Shop that sells the most sweetest and delightful soaps and fragrances imaginable! From their rich Buttery Toffee Caramel Whipped Body Frosting to a refreshing Pineapple & Jasmine Shampoo - everything is just lovely! The owner and creator of these fine body products is named Tina, and she only uses the most purest ingredients for her sugary body sensations.

Tina, the owner and creator of Verbena Custom Fragrance Blends as well as me, Kimberly aka Monster Kookies, would like to present a Spring-Into-Summer giveaway to get you guys ready for a nice hot Summer - and we want you smelling nice and feeling good!

What's the catch?

Leave me a comment stating the most creative and yummy fragrance you could think of. Surprise us with THE MOST truly delightful fragrance combination, and the BEST fragrance will win a $20.00 credit to use in the Verbena Custom Fragrance Blend Etsy Shop. This credit entitles you to buy anything you want for $20.00 (this includes shipping) or you could use it to buy something worth $20.00 and just pay for the shipping on your own. Your choice, of course!

You do not need to buy anything to win - just leave a comment with your most innovative and creative scent - you could win!

Each person gets one entry, so please think carefully! If you are not signed up for Blogger/Blogspot and choose to comment anonymously, please leave us a way to get in contact with you in your message, otherwise we won't know where to find you if you win! Something like an e-mail, etsy shop, or your website is a good option to add.

This "Spring Into Summer" Giveaway will end on June 12th, and Tina and I will be announcing the winner here on June 15th! So good luck, and get creative my friends! Make your idea sound as wonderful as possible, and comment away!

In the meantime, check out the Verbena Custom Fragrance Blends Etsy Shop! And check out the Monster Kookies Etsy Shop while you're at it - for lots of Cutesy & Creepy jewellery made by the Mad Scientist of Polymer Clay!

CONTEST NOW CLOSED!

Sweet Sweet Candy... Soap?

Have you ever picked up a bar of soap, scrubbed yourself down, than afterwards, felt like some sort of dried-up prune? All those chemicals can really take their toll on your skin, but Verbena Custom Fragrance Blends intends to change all that.

"My soaps are nothing put pure natural goodness! I don't use artificial lathering agents in my soaps like SLS or Propylen Glycol. All of my handcrafted soaps get you clean without stripping your skins natural oils and they have a silky glide - you can shave with - and a rich creamy lather. Your skin won't feel dry or tight, just pampered and moisturized!"

Not only do her soaps apparently moisturize, they also give your skin a sugary treat! Flavours like Chocolate Raspberry Cream Roll and Coconut Cream & Frosted Lime Cupcake sound more like desserts than soaps, but what really got my attention was the Pink Sugared Marshmallow scented Whipped Cream Soap, pictured above.

Quite literally, you spread this soap onto your skin like you spread frosting on a cupcake. A little goes a long way, as those sweet pink bubbles lather up and leave your skin hungry for second helpings. And for all of you who aren't digging the chemicals - most of her products are 100% Vegan, with certain lovely exceptions such as the Strawberry Coconut & Chocolate Goats Milk Soap, pictured above, or the Strawberry Banana Coconut Marshmallow Fluff Parfait scented Whipped Yogurt Body Cream. Delightful!

Check out the Verbena Custom Fragrance Blends Etsy Shop, and get your skin some dessert!

Liquid Clay 101

Liquid Clay comes in many forms, but many of us just refer to all brands as TLS, which actually stands for "Translucent Liquid Sculpey". In actuality, Sculpey certainly isn't the only one who makes Liquid Clay. Fimo makes a Liquid Clay called "Fimo Decorating Gel", and Kato makes a Liquid Clay called "Clear Liquid Polyclay".

From my experience, you can use a WIDE variety of things with your Liquid Clay. If you want it to be Translucent though, I suggest using Fimo Decorating Gel. It is EXTREMELY translucent and makes the BEST sauces and syrups and anything else that needs to be coloured but still still transparent. TLS will leave you with an opaque mixture, so it's good for things that don't need to be see-through like chocolate sauce, slime, blood, icing, etc.

For colouring, things like Oil Paints, shaved Oil Pastels, Chalk Pastel/Charcoal, Kneaded Polymer Clay, Eyeshadow, Metallic Powders, Alcohol-Based Ink, Dry Pigment Powder, etc...

DON'T use Acrylic Paint. It does BAD things when baked, and turns out like crap!

I can't tell you how many times I have been questioned on how to use liquid clay, though. How do you make icing? How do you make chocolate sauce? All sorts of things can be made from it, so here is a little list that I have compiled!

Blood Hah, figures I start out with something morbid, huh? A good thick red blood is a combination of TLS and red oil paint. Just squeeze a dab into the TLS, mix it up, and than drizzle or squeeze this liquid onto the object of your choice. Here is an example of BLOOD: [link]

Slime Like blood, slime is just compiled of TLS and a mixture of a bright or royal blue and bright yellow oil paint. Just mix and use! Here is an example of SLIME: [link]

Frosting/Icing When I make icing, it is generally a mix of TLS and Kneaded Polymer Clay. If you add Polymer Clay to TLS, it gives the mixture a very spreadable texture, and is much more thicker than using something like Oil Paint. Just take a ball of the colour of polymer clay you want your icing to be, and knead/warm it in your hands. When it is nice and warm, tear it into pieces and throw it onto a ceramic tile or into a container.

With the back of a spoon or a solid mixing object, add TLS and mix and mash it until it becomes smooth. A lot of people get discouraged because it is chunky at first, but trust me... just KEEP mixing. If it is too thick, add more TLS... if it is too thin, add more clay. After it is nice and smooth, spread it onto your cakes, cupcakes, and cookies with a stirring stick or something that spreads well! Here is an example of FROSTING/ICING: [link]

Syrup & Sauces A great way to make syrup is with TLS or Fimo Decorating Gel and shaved chalk pastels. If you want a VERY clear syrup, I suggest using Fimo Decorating Gel. Take a brown chalk pastel, and swipe it across a nail file or piece of very fine sand and put it into a little baggie. Add a little bit of Liquid Clay and squish it around with your fingers until it is mixed. This will make Maple Syrup! If you want something like a strawberry syrup, just use red chalk pastel! If you don't have any Fimo Decorating Gel, mixing the chalk pastel with some gloss also works well. Now you just pour it on top of Pancakes, Waffles, Cheesecake and such!

Here is an example done with Fimo Decorating Gel: [link]
Here is an example done with TLS, see how much more opaque the syrup is? [link]

Peanut Butter Whether you like it crunchy or smooth, all you need is TLS and some kneaded brown (peanut butter coloured) clay! Just knea the clay, add the TLS and mix mix MIX! The more you mix, the more smooth your peanut butter will be. If you don't mix it all the way, you have chunky peanut butter!

Whipped Cream Like Frosting/Icing, Whipped Cream is also made with a mixture of TLS and Kneaded Polymer Clay. Just add slightly more TLS. If you want that "piped" look, just scoop some into a baggie, cut the corner, and squeeze it out! You can also use Cake Decorating bags and tips, as well! Just make sure to keep ones just for using with your clay - don't use them for cake decorating once you use them with clay! Sometimes I like to add a tiny bit of Vanilla Scent to my whipped cream just for fun! Here is an example of Whipped Cream: [link]

Here is an example of how whipped cream or frosting can be PIPED to make it look really pretty: [link]

Chocolate Sauce: Is made the same was as blood and slime (Gross, huh?) except with Brown oil paint!

Drizzle: Great for finishing off baked goodies like cinnamon rolls and donuts! Just mix some TLS with some white oil paint (for Vanilla Drizzle) or any colour you want, stick it in a small baggie and make a TINY cut in the corner! Drizzle across your piece, and bake! Here is an example of Drizzle: [link]

Have anymore suggestions? Go ahead and make a comment!

Working With Polymer Clay

If you remember your kindergarten days, you might re-call several occasions in which you mashed and poked away at that vivid and doughy sculpting clay called Plasticine. This stuff would entertain me for hours, and I always loved it more than Playdough because it would never dry up. Whenever something looked all wrong, you could just ball it in your hands and roll it around some more to create something entirely different.

Polymer clay is quite similar to Plasticine. Both of these clays are somewhat solid when you buy them, but are softer from the heat of your hands. They both have an "oily" feel to them that leaves that residue on your hands, and they do not harden in the air. Plasticine is one of those clays that does not solidify at all, unlike Polymer Clay which, when baked, turns hard as a rock. So, if you intend to create a figurine, piece of jewelry, or some dollhouse miniatures that you would like to last forever, than Polymer Clay would be your best bet.

But Polymer Clay is a clay in name only. It is actually PVC based, and is more of a moldable and sculptable plastic than anything. It doesn't actually contain any Earth clay at all. Polymer Clay doesn't require any curing in a kiln, but it does require you to bake it in a conventional oven, ranging from 265* F to 275* F for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the object you are baking. Afterwards, you may choose to sand buff it to create a surface sheen, file down any imperfections, and than leave it as-is or gloss it with a water-based finish.

Polymer Clay isn't a new concept. In fact, it has been on store shelves for almost 40 years as a sculpting material, and even longer for other purposes. So, it's no surprise that there are a vast array of clay brands and colours to choose from.

The most popular and well-known brands of Polymer Clay are Fimo Soft and Sculpey III. Through the years, these companies have come out with different formulas for their clays, so the texture and feeling of the raw clay in your hands has changed tremendously overtime. For a beginner, I would suggest that working with either Fimo Soft or Sculpey III would be your best bet, namely because they are easy to handle and easy to find. You can easily find other brands as well online, such as Premo or Kato Polyclay, and they can also be found in your local hobby or arts & crafts store.

Polymer Clay generally comes in small 2oz packs of one particular colour, although many brands also offer boxes of 24 or 32 small packets of various colours to get you started. This may be your cheapest option if you have never worked with clay before. If you wish to create something with just a few colours, than you might be better off just purchasing the small amount of colours that you need. You may want to go ahead and buy just one block of each brand just so you can get a feel for their qualities and decide which brand works best for you.

One of the most favourable aspects of working with Polymer Clay is that it comes in so many colours. There is basic colours, fluorescent, metallic, pearl, glow in the dark, translucent, glittery, and even textured clays. Unlike sculpting materials like Terra Cotta, you don't have to spend all the work painting your creations afterwards. The option is always there if you would like to add details after your goodies have been baked with paint such as acrylics.

The great thing about colourful Polymer Clay is that it does not shrink or alter shape after baking, and most of the colours only change hues a very small bit and are quite unnoticeable. The downside of so many colours to choose from is trying to keep them separate. If you have several packages of opened clay, you may want to invest in some zipper-top baggies and an airtight container. If you have too much clay to handle, invest in one of those plastic organizers with the different compartments. Grab some sticker labels, write down the colours, and stick them on the matching compartments. This will keep your colours separate and clean. A good idea is to keep opened clay in one place and un-opened clay in another place to avoid opening several packages of the same colour when you already have some opened.

Cleanliness is another huge factor in Polymer Clay sculpting. Light colours such as White and Yellow just love to pick up specks of dirt and dust from the air and your hands. Even when your hands appear clean, these specks somehow seem to find their way onto your clay. Here are a 3 steps to keeping your clay nice and clean.

1) Keep a smooth and clear work surface. An ideal surface would be a big chunk of ceramic tile or glass. Clean thoroughly with soapy water, baby wipes, or some rubbing alcohol. After the surface starts to get tacky or oily again, keep paper towels and alchohol to give your surface a wipe down.

2) Keep your hands clean. I find that washing up with dishwashing liquid and letting your hands air dry works the best. Cotton towels are monsters for little specks of dust, so avoid them. Also avoid wiping your hands on anything or touching anything. A good hard wipe with a paper towel on your hands does wonders in getting off any dust. Keep a scrap piece of clay to roll between your hands to get off any spare dust that the paper towel didn't pick up.

3) Work with dark colours last. Dark colours leave dark residue on your work surface, and when you are rolling light colours on the same area, you are going to pick this residue up and your colours can get very muddy. Also, red seems to be a bad culprit in bleeding into other colours, so consider this a "dark" colour.

Another addition to Polymer Clay is the very useful "Liquid Clay" usually sold under the names "TLS - Translucent Liquid Sculpey" under the Sculpey brand, or "Fimo Decorating Gel" under the Fimo brand. Use liquid clay on your wire when you insert it into the clay before baking. This keeps it from slipping or falling out eventually, and acts as a very good adhesive or glue. When you attach pieces of clay to each other before baking, try adding a bit of Liquid Clay to the joint before sticking it on, as this will ensure a strong grip onto the clay base. Liquid Clay can make very attractive garnishes, such as frosting, icing, syrup, and glaze. If you add some colour, either by Oil Paint or by shaving in some hard coloured pastel, you can make yourself some glaze or syrup. If you add solid clay to the liquid clay, you can stir it constantly to a smooth consistency and make some very tasty looking frosting or icing for some clay cupcakes. Liquid clay can be baked with the rest of your clay at the same temperature and the same time, so they can be combined effortlessly.

Polymer Clay can be rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters, it can be pushed through a clay "extruder" to create strands in all different sizes and shapes, it can be sculpted with an unlimited amount of tools such as toothpicks and Popsicle sticks, and it can be rolled into different shapes and stuck on itself. Experiment! If you look up "Polymer Clay Tutorials" on the internet or in a bookstore, you will get many helpful resources to get you started as well if you do not know where to begin.

You can do a lot with clay. It doesn't just have to sit on a shelf and collect dust. You can wrap pens in it, create picture frames and light switch panels, or you could do what I do - make some jewellery! Before baking, try sticking some wire loops or eye pins in the clay so that it can be hung on things like jumprings and earring loops. Polymer Clay makes very attractive necklace pendants, rings, keychains, and all sorts of accessories that anyone can enjoy.

Sculpting with Polymer Clay is an entirely different world where you are free to create all that your imagination conjures up. What I have explained will get you started, but if you are ever curious to know more about the art, there is a wonderful Polymer Clay encyclopedia on GlassAttic.com. The creator is a Polymer Clay guru, and she is always happy to explain anything you need to know about the wonderful art of Polymer Clay. Experiment and enjoy!

Original Source: Crafts: Working With Polymer Clay

The Independent Artist

This shall be my very first blog - and I intend to stick to it! I had an online journal way way back, but that is much different than a blog. A blog is more public, and it is the purpose of the blog that people know who you are. In online journals, you do not state any details about who you are, and if you do, you do so in an anonymous way.

What is this blog about, exactly? Well. I want to give the world some insight in what I do and what I create. I am a mad scientist of polymer clay, and I want to show you what I make! I also want to share tips, tricks, and all sorts of information on polymer clay that is useful to reader. I don't want to sit here and yabber on about myself all day - that would get very boring.

In addition to that, I might add a bit of my writing on social/youth issues, music, etc. I am very passionate about things like that. I am also passionate about the DIY ethic, and I would LOVE to feature independant artists and their creations online. So all in all, this is a blog about the Independent Artist - taking nothing from nobody, creating by feeling, and expressing who they are. That is an artist, my friends!