The latest in our best-selling Encyclopedia of Art series focuses on one of the most popular and versatile mediums available to crafters. This comprehensive guide offers directions on making decorative boxes, mosaics, and miniature models, as well as beads, buttons, and jewelry. Large, clear photographs demonstrate over 50 techniques, including basic skills such as rolling, color mixing, marbling, and baking; progressing to more challenging methods of shaping, molding, and sculpting clay. A 16-page gallery of work by renowned polymer clay artists demonstrates what can be achieved and provides crafters with inspiration.

Explore the World--in Polymer Clay! Polymer artists are connected like never before. As the acclaimed curator of the popular blog PolymerClayDaily.com, Cynthia Tinapple brings together 115 diverse artists from around the world to showcase the work of this new international community. Polymer Clay Global Perspectives invites you to explore the trends and cutting-edge styles that are influencing the future of this medium. In this masterful collection, you'll find: · Tips to create meaningful art that reflects your personality and vision · Behind-the-scenes profiles of 13 innovative artists in their studios · Step-by-step projects by contributors who share their signature methods, such as mokume gane,extruded canes, and adapted glass-blowing techniques · Galleries showcasing the best of the best polymer work in jewelry, miniatures, sculpture, and much more With artists including Kim Korringa, Shay Aaron, and Fabiola Perez offering their expertise, you'll find endless inspiration to take your art to the next level. Begin your own journey through the new landscape of contemporary polymer. A world of possibilities awaits.

A guide to making clay beads and designing jewelry from them.

"This book will teach you how to create a wonderful array of unique surface designs, each made by combining day with other media such as inks, paints, and powders, and other tools such as stamps, brushes, stencils, brayers, and wire. Starting with a comprehensive overview onworking with day, the book then offers more than 100 surface recipes and variations with complete details about how the effect was achieved."-- Back cover.

Mixed media brings lots of new possibilities to polymer clay crafting. Polymer Clay and Mixed Media—Together at Last is about making polymer clay figures—jewelry pieces, focal beads, décor items, knick-knacks—and incorporating beads, fibers, fabrics, glass, stones, etc. to create special effects. Embellishing polymer clay with mixed media adds a sophistication and richness without making the projects complicated or inaccessible to the average crafter.

Learn how to make your own polymer clay beads and turn them into colorful accessories and decorations. Making Polymer Clay Beads offers beginning and veteran artists a comprehensive resource for crafting unique beads of all colors and shapes at home. From selecting the right equipment and working with raw clay to making dozens of different shapes and adding colorful effects, this all-in-one guide will aid you at every stage of your artistic journey. Step-by-step instructions and full-color photographs enable the reader to craft a wide variety of beads to be used in making handmade jewelry and decorations.

Everyone can achieve great results with polymer clay. With the 50+ techniques in this book, readers can create polymer clay buttons or boxes or anything in between. Starting with the very basics (such as rolling, baking and gluing), it then moves on to more advanced methods: marbling, texturing, millefiori, bead-making, faux-stone effects and more. Feature spreads show exciting ways to combine techniques. A comprehensive guide to the medium, complete with everything from a listing of necessary tools and materials to inspiring examples of polymer clay art.

Discover how to develop your pottery design skills and bring your ideas to life from start to finish. Covering every technique from throwing pottery to firing, glazing to sgraffito, this pottery book is perfect for both hand-building beginners and potting pros. Step-by-step photographs - some from the potter's perspective - show you exactly where to place your hands when throwing so you can master every technique you need to know. Plus, expert tips help you rescue your pots when things go wrong. The next in the popular Artist's Techniques series, Complete Pottery is the ideal companion for pottery classes of any level, or a go-to guide and inspiration for the more experienced potter looking to expand their repertoire and perfect new skills. With contemporary design and ideas, Complete Pottery Techniques enables the modern maker to unleash their creativity.

Found materials are taking the craft world by storm because the creative potential is tremendous. Contemporary mosaic artists--who continue to expand the limits of construction and materials--can benefit greatly from this movement toward reuse. Even the mosaic neophytes among us can explore the myriad possibilities of these new materials with this fabulous guide. Learn everything you need to get started in the world of found art mosaics, from materials, glass, ceramics, natural materials, grouts, surfaces, sealants, safety gear, and more. The 27 projects here--including the Buttons & Pebbles Vase, Glittering Jewels Belt Buckle, and Recycled Bathtub Garden Planter--each reuse and repurpose objects differently, as the found object may be the surface, the tesserae, or both.

The enthusiasm for making jewelry has been enormous in the last few years, and both the amateur and professional jewelry-makers can greatly extend the scope of their designs by learning to work with wire. With over 500 illustrations and clear, step-by-step directions, the book covers everything from beginner's to more advanced techniques. Readers will learn how to make hoop earrings, decorative chains, brooches, and much more.