Polymer clay is an art medium which consists of pigment in a plastic base. It is not a traditional organic clay. When the clay is cured, which can be done in a toaster, conventional, or convection oven, the liquid plasticizer becomes hard. Some of it “burns out” as fumes, which you should not inhale. Some of it coats the inside of the oven, which is why it is recommended that you don’t bake your polymer in an oven you intend to also cook food in. There are several solutions to that, including: put a tent of aluminum foil over your object during baking to capture fumes, bake objects inside a covered roasting pan, or completely clean your oven after each polymer clay curing session. Polymer Clay is non-toxic and the solvent for cleaning it up is rubbing alcohol (isopropyl). It does not clean off your hands or tools with soap. Alcohol pads, like Wet-Ones or medical style pads in a little wrapper are a great thing to keep around the studio for quick clean up.

There are several brands of polymer clay available in American craft stores such as A.C.Moore and Michaels.

Polyform products makes Sculpey, Sculpey III, Studio by Sculpey, and Premo (along with a couple other products that are more specialized, like Super Sculpey and Sculpey Firm.) Sculpey is white, very economical, needs to be painted with acrylic paint for color, and is most often used in schools. Sculpey III comes in some great colors, however it is a soft clay and tends to be rigid and break more often after curing. It is not usually used in professional applications and again is better suited to use with children. Premo comes in “artist” colors (the same color names as oil paints- such as Cobalt Blue, Zinc Yellow, etc.) It is a great clay for professional use due to it’s strength, flexibility and working properties. Lots of polymer clay jewelry artisans use this clay. Studio by Sculpey is the newest in the line, having been released in 2008, it’s use as a professional medium is still under consideration. It is being marketed as a Home Decor product, it is lightweight, easy to use straight from the package, and comes in home decor type colors.

Fimo might be the most recognized brand name for readily available polymer clay, as it has been around in the U.S. the longest. Fimo Classic has many of the same properties as Premo, although it tends to be a more firm clay that requires more conditioning before you can work it with your hands. But it is strong and flexible and comes in artist colors. Fimo Soft is more comparable to Sculpey III- great colors, but the consistency may sometimes not stand up to the test of time and use required for items you are going to sell. Fimo is a Staedler product, and is imported from Germany for sale in the U.S.

Cernit is another European clay. It has a waxy consistency and translucent look, and therefore has been used by doll artisans for years to produce beautiful realistic fleshtones. It comes in many colors as well, but must be purchased on the internet as it is an imported product.

Katoclay is another newer product. It was developed by Polymer Clay Artist Donna Kato. Many professional artists love this clay, especially for canework, because of its smooth, firm, pliable working consistency. It comes in artist colors, metallics, and liquids- both translucent and colored. It is also strong and flexible when cured.

Speaking of liquids, there are three readily available liquid polymer clays on the market. TLS, or Translucent Liquid Sculpey, is the thickest and least translucent when baked. Kato Liquid clay has a creamy consistency. It bakes to a milky color, but can be cured with a heat gun to a glassy finish. Kato Liquid also comes in several colors. Fimo Decorating Gel is the clearest and does behave like a gel- almost like a cake decorating gel. It bakes clear, and can also be polished with a heat gun. There are many applications for the liquid clays- as a binder between baked and non-baked pieces of clay, as a polish or finish over a cured piece, and as a faux medium- to create convincing faux dichroic glass, stained glass, resin, faux-food, and miniature effects. You can color any of the liquid clays using oil paints or dye inks. You can also add powdered pigments and inclusions such as glitter or ground herbs, for different looks.

There are other polymer clays on the market as well. Prosculpt is mostly used by doll artisans, and Makins Clay is an air-dry polymer clay. The air dry clays have different working properties. Because they must be worked “wet” you have to work a bit faster, and they tend not to cane well. Simple canes like a skinner blend or jellyroll are really the only canes you can make with them.

Polymer Clay can be stamped, inked, cut with scissors, knives or cookie cutters, sculpted, molded, painted, worked with leather tools, gold & silver leafed, made into faux stone, inlayed, made into beads, tiles or lamps….the list goes on. Almost any physical object can be remade and adapted into a polymer clay project.

We hope you enjoy your journey in the polymer clay world as much as we do. Be sure to check out the Video Archives and Polymer Clay Classroom for demos and projects that will teach you how to work with it.