Polymer Art Archive

This bibliography is a selection of favorites from our own personal bookshelves.  The list below will provide countless benefits for those seeking inspiration to create their own polymer art, or just information about the medium itself.

This first group includes books written by our contributors, others of historic interest, and yet others showing polymer works of artistic interest.

Adams, Dan and Toops, Cynthia. beads and more, 2008. An in depth view of Cynthia’s and Dan’s masterful work.

Aimone, Katherine Duncan. The Art of Jewelry: Polymer Clay, 2006.
High quality, fairly recent “how to” volume that presents projects and images by Jeffery Lloyd Dever, Lindly Haunani, Wendy Malinow, Sandra McCaw and others.  It also has gallery images by: Judy Kuskin, Steven Ford/David Forlano, Kathleen Dustin, Elise Winters, Cynthia Toops, Margaret Regan, Barbara McGuire, and others.

Allen, Jamey D. Five Artists-Five Directions: Working in Polymer Clay, 1994.
Focused view of 5 well respected early polymer artists including Pier Voulkos, Jamey Allen, Michael Grove, Ruth Ann Grove and Martha Breen.

Ashcroft, Pierrette Brown and Haunani, Lindly. Artists at Work: Polymer Clay Comes of Age, 1998.
Gallery type book rather than a “how to” that includes work by: Jamey Allen, Kathy Amt, Kathleen Dustin, Steven Ford and David Forlano, Michael Grove and RuthAnn Grove, Lindly Haunani, Victoria (Tory) Hughes, Margaret Maggio, Nan Roche, Sarah Shriver, Cynthia Toops, Pier Voulkos and Elise Winters as well as many others.

Carren, Rachel, Curator, Masters: Polymer Clay, Major Works by Leading Artists, 2011
A meticulously curated collection of some of the finest work that’s been done by polymer artists to date.  The book profiles the careers of 42 polymer artists, both past and present; Each artist is represented with a portfolio of up to 12 large gorgeous images.

Carren, Rachel,  Bruce W. Pepich and Lena Vigna, Terra Nova: Polymer at the Crossroads, 2011
Accompanying the exhibition Terra Nova, the 140-page hardcover combines illuminating text and ideas about polymer, both past and present, with images and details on key artists. Beautifully illustrated with more than 130 photographs, this publication offers different frameworks for understanding the innovations of polymer in artistic expression.

Cormier, Dan and Tracy Holmes, Relief beyond Belief, 2011
This 140 page ebook teaches decorative deforming, the debut volume in a new series, MasterClass Library for Polymer Clay. Masterful use of the medium as well as of the latest digital technology.

Dewey, Katherine. Creating Life-Like Animals in Polymer Clay, 2000.
A “how to” for sculpting animal figures with an especially well done introduction.

Diffendaffer, Grant. Polymer Clay Beads, 2007
A “how-to” book which seeks to take many artists outside of the normal practices of hand rolling and creating beads, by using small lathes and mandrels to form and shape a huge variety of beads.

Ford, Steven and Dierks, Leslie. Creative Clay Jewelry, 1994.
A better than average early “how to” with good gallery images of work by: Kathy Amt, Kathleen Dustin, Steven Ford and David Forlano, Ruth Ann and Michael Grove, Lindly Haunani, Victoria (Tory) Hughes, Donna Kato, Nan Roche, Sarah Shriver, Cynthia Toops, Pier Voulkos, Elise Winters and others.

Haunani, Lindly and Maggio, Margaret. Polymer Clay COLOR INSPIRATIONS, 2009
Heads above the typical polymer how-to books, this volume offers instruction and inspiration that focuses on polymer clay as a learning tool that readers can use to explore their own color instincts and preferences and develop their own palettes.

Hughes, Victoria (Tory). Polymer, The Chameleon Clay, 2002.
Lovely “how to” book on how to achieve faux effects using clay by the person who mastered many of them.  Most of the images are of Victoria’s work but the book also includes images by: Nan Roche, Gwen Gibson and others.

Kato, Donna. The Art of Polymer Clay: Creative Surface Effects, 2007.
This is an entire book about creating surface effects.  Lots of projects as well as gallery images by Donna Kato- author as well as Katherine Dewey, Kathleen Dustin, Lindly Haunani, Judy Kuskin, Margaret Maggio, Nan Roche, Pier Voulkos, Elise Winters, and others.

Lark Books. 500 Brooches, 2005.
Showing works by polymer artists, Jeffrey Lloyd Dever and Cynthia Toops as well as other art jewelers.

Lark Books. 500 Necklaces, 2006.
Showing works by polymer artists, Ford/Forlano, Wendy Wallin Malinow and Judy Kuskin as well as other art jewelers.

Markowitz, Yvonne, Artful Adornments: Jewelry from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2011.
Highlights over 100 works of the jeweler’s art selected from more than 11,000 in one of the most comprehensive jewelry collections in the world. Including ornaments from 2000 BC Egypt, this volume covers 4 millennia and closes with a piece of 21st century polymer jewelry.

Masters’ Invitational Polymer Clay Exhibition: The Cutting Edge in Polymer Clay, 1997.
Out of print catalog of the MIPCES exhibition held in New Jersey with images and artist’s comments about their work.  Most of the content has been posted on Polymer Art Archive under MIPCES Exhibition.

McGuire, Barbara. Foundations in Polymer Clay Design, 1999.
“How to” with images of work by: Jody Bishel, Martha Breen, Dan Cormier, Kathleen Dustin, Steven Ford/David Forlano, Gwen Gibson, Michael Grove, Lindly Haunani, Victoria (Tory) Hughes, Donna Kato, Margaret Maggio, Sandra McCaw, Barbara McGuire, Margaret Regan, Nan Roche, Sarah Shriver, Cynthia Toops, Pier Voulkos, Elise Winters and others.

Meilach, Dona Z. Art Jewelry Today, 2003.
Showing works by polymer artists, Cynthia Toops, Barbara Sperling as well as other art jewelers.

Roche, Nan. The New Clay, 1992.
The first comprehensive book published on polymer clay. Both an informational and a “how to” format.   This volume was the basis for many people’s early experiences and knowledge of polymer.  Images of early work by: Jamey Allen, Kathleen Amt, Martha Breen, Kathleen Dustin, Steven Ford/David Forlano, Michael and Ruth Ann Grove, Victoria (Tory) Hughes, Lindly Haunani (Miller), Nan Roche, Marie Segal, Sarah Shriver, Pier Voulkos and others.

Snyder, Jeffrey B. Art Jewelry Today 2, 2008.
Showing works by polymer artists, Elise Winters, Cynthia Toops and Judy Kuskin as well as other art jewelers.

These are selected favorites of general interest on topics including aesthetics, the creative process, general design, and art jewelry design.

Aimone, Steven. Design!: A Living guide to Design Basics for Artists, 2004. On design with explanatory text, many illustrations and thoughtful exercises.

Audette, Anna Held. The Blank Canvas: Inviting the Muse, 1993. Inspirational reading for artists about the process.

Bayles, David and Orland, Ted. Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaiking, 1993. About the process of making art.  Inspirational in nature.

Bothwell, Dorr and Mayfield, Marlys. Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design, 1991. More design principles, this time through the inter-relation of light and dark, positive and negative space.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, 1996. A discussion of Creativity, with a capital  “C”.   Fascinating read but not specifically about artists.

Dissanayake, Ellen. What is Art For?, 1988. On mankind’s need to create and the whys from an anthropological point of view.

McCreight, Tim.  Design Language: Interpretive Edition, 2006. Simple and visual approach to the various elements of design.  Concise and to the point.

Olver, Elizabeth. Art of Jewelry Design:  From Idea to Reality, 2002. A wealth of visual options for different approaches to jewelry design.   Olver takes a given idea along the lines of simple, more involved, complex.

Olver, Elizabeth. Jewelry Design: The Artisan’s Reference, 2000. A conceptual approach to jewelry design though elements such as form, color, geometry, abstraction, etc.

Pye, David. The Nature and Art of Workmanship, 1968. Pye’s book is a classic that explores the nature of workmanship and the perpetual possibilities of hand made work.

Jean Reist Stark & Josephine Reist Stark. Classical Loop-In-Loop Chains, 1997

Trilling, James. Language of Ornament, 2001. An overview of the idea of ornamentation and its history.

Untracht, Oppi. Jewelry Concepts and Technology, 1982

Zwimpfer, Moritz.  Color, Light, Sight, Sense, 1985. A comprehensive book about the complex phenomenon of color which integrates the physical, physiological and psychological through the use of extensive illustrations.

Selected articles of interest about polymer artists in major periodicals:

American Craft Magazine, Aug/Sept 1996, profile article on Pier Voulkos
American Style Magazine, Summer 1999, survey of the medium
Metalsmith Magazine, Vol 30, No 1, 2006, cover and feature article on Ford/Forlano
Ornament Magazine, Summer 1997, cover and feature article on Kathleen Dustin
Ornament Magazine, Fall 2006, cover and feature article on Ford/Forlano
Ornament Magazine, 1989, cover and feature article on Tory Hughes
Ornament Magazine, Winter 1997, cover and article on Dan Adams and Cynthia Toops
Smithsonian Magazine, May 2000, Kathleen Dustin
Ornament Magazine, vol 34.4, Polymer Clay: A Modern Medium Comes of Age a timeline