Polymer Art Archive

Polymer, polymer clay, FIMO, Sculpey, Premo, Katoclay, Cernit?   Have you ever wondered how and why this colored, synthetic modeling material got its common name?   Prior to 1990 both artists and publications describe the material using a brand name like FIMO or polyform with a modifier such as “modeling compound”.  There is no mention of either [...]

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Kathleen Amt. Heart/Butterfly Pin, 1997
Polymer, closed dimensions, 3.75″ x 1.5″  x .25″

Just today I received this belated valentine from Kathleen Amt. For those unfamiliar with her work, Kathleen was an early pioneer in the field. Around 1999 she decided to return to her first love, art books and  ephemera.  Here’s what Kathleen’s valentine message said:

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I’m on the road delivering works from the collection to their new homes in museums on the east coast. More details to come later this fall.

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City Zen Cane (aka Ford/Forlano), Earrings, circa 1996
Early in their collaborations, the team of Steven Ford and David Forlano worked under the name City Zen Cane.  Here are a few early examples of their work which illustrate why this name was so apropos and which provide a window into the nature of their collaboration.

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Gwen Gibson, Fractured Traditions (Vessel Pendant), 1999
Polymer, silk screen, gold and silver acrylic paint
Between 1999 and 2001, Gwen fully explored screen printing on a wide variety of formats including cuff bracelets, inro, lentil beads and other jewelry forms.  Gwen chose black polymer as a foil to her Japanese inspired patterns because it polishes to a [...]

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Gwen Gibson, Polymer Wall Piece, 1997
Between 1996 and 1997 Gwen created about 20 wall pieces before returning to jewelry.  Gwen writes,” Having abandoned much of what defined my work as jewelry, I felt free to experiment with scale and function.  This wall piece combines several techniques as well as two and three-dimensional treatments.”

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Gwen Gibson, Bead-framed Pin, 1995
Aficionados know Gwen Gibson for her expansive exploration of image transfer techniques on polymer.  This brooch from the collection represents some of Gwen’s earliest work in the medium as she made a transition into polymer through beading from her previous work in painting.

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After spending an intense week in New Jersey working on the polymer collection project, several things came into focus.  While examining, cataloging and organizing about a thousand pieces of work, it was very exciting to view the progress of the medium. 

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Tory Hughes, Orrery Neckpiece, 1992
Polymer and mixed media
Why are we artists, anyway? For me, this career is the most flexible and marvelous -as in ‘full of marvels’- I could imagine.
What other way of life encourages me to make such a marvelous thing as this?
There’s a spinning comet in the upper left, mounted on miniature [...]

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Pier Voulkos, Star Fruit Bead Necklace, 1996
One more from my collection to enjoy while I’m away.

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