These items need to be able to withstand exposure to all the outdoor elements, from rain, to freezing, to sun.  Knowing this, about four years ago,  I began experimenting.  I created a design cane, using the six colors of the rainbow, plus black and white.  The brand of clay I used was Kato.  I had intended to also get some Premo, to use for this experiment, but had too many other things going on.

I made a little bird sculpture out of the Kato rainbow cane, fired it, and put it outside

.....Continue reading How Lightfast Are Polymer Clay Colors?

However, it is almost more definitive to talk about what it is NOT.  Polymer clay is NOT the same as the clays used to make pottery, ceramics, and other traditional clay items.  It is NOT a clay that comes from the earth, as traditional clays do.  Polymer clay is, in a word, plastic.  However, that is too simple.   Plastics have evolved enormously in recent decades and there are many different levels of plastic.  From “cheap” plastics, that dollar store items are made from,  to the super plastics used in medicine and space exploration, one can no longer equate the word plastic with something that is low-quality, unreliable and worthless.

Because polymer clay is NOT a traditional earth-based clay, it is no surprise that it is used for completely different applications than traditional clays.  Polymer clay

.....Continue reading What Polymer Clay Is