I enjoy working in polymer clay, a man-made modeling compound, which is cured buy baking in a low-temperature home oven. It is an amazingly versatile medium that can be made to look like several other substances, both natural and synthetic, ranging from stone, gems, metal, wood, bone and much more, limited only by the imagination. When baked, it is durable and can be carved, sanded, polished or cut. It is lightweight, strong and can take on a variety of textures or finishes.

Polymer clay is available from many manufacturers in a great array of colors that can be blended into an infinite palate of choices. It is used by artists and craftspeople to create sculpture, beads and jewelry, home decor, dolls and vessels, among other items. Below are just a few samples of my work in polymer clay.

This funny-faced figure is my first attempt at sculpture and my favorite piece. Adorned in a sterling silver party hat and surrounded by Czech glass and stone beads, this green-eyed disembodied head goes with me to conventions and art events all over the world as my constant companion.

Millefiore is the traditional method of cane-making created by the glassmakers of ancient Rome dating back thousands of years. Polymer clay artists have adapted these techniques and improved on them in many ways. Large, three-dimensional logs of clay are built into intricate patterns and sliced to cover surfaces of many kinds, from picture frames to beads. These canes are stretched to reduce the clay image and sliced into wafers to create a miniature version of the original pattern. I like to make different pendants with several slices from the same canes to show the variety and versatility of the millefiori loaf, which look the same and yet different with every piece. I often add Swarovski crystals, both imbedded in the clay and surrounding the findings, to emphasize the color and beauty of the clay.

Texture and interesting finishes are easy to achieve when working with polymer clay. This Japanese Inro-style purse is made almost entirely out of poly clay. Built around a cardboard shell, the black clay was textured with a rubber stamp, and painted with metallic acrylic paints. The loops to hold the purse together were formed around wooden skewers, and then applied to the box. The box was baked and then cut, and the cardboard supports were removed. The antiqued images are stamped onto layers of ivory clay mixed with silver leaf, and then stained with pigment inks before being applied to the purse.

Optical illusion and seamless color blends are part of the magic of working with polymer clay. This medallion was made using a technique called a Skinner blend, which is a way of creating a gradient blend between two or more colors. For this mix, I used a three-color blend, going from blue to yellow to magenta. After creating a jellyroll cane, I used a method called the Pavelka peel to create the emossed metallic text effect.

This amazingly lightweight necklace is adorned with sterling silver wire wrapped plastic miracle beads and dyed natural stone tube beads. The focal point is a hollow lentil shaped pendants that was created by layering thin slices of millefiore canes over a sheet of clay, and then the sheets were cut into two identical circles before baking each over the surface of a light bulb. The two halves were sanded and joined together to create a nearly weightless but visually substantial bead.