What is Polymer Clay?
Polymer clay is artificial clay. It was developed in the 1930s in Germany by doll
maker Fifi Kruse Rehbinder because she could not find materials to make her dolls.
Polymer clay, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), consists of synthetic carbon compounds, with the addition of various color or metal pigments. It is free of toxic and health-hazardous substances.
The material has many possible uses.
When it came to the US in the 1980s and artists got their hands on it, it very quickly became the material of choice for many artists.
There are many brands of Polymer clay, with different properties, but they all produce:
- Compact PC
- Transparent PC
- Liquid PC with and without colors
- Metallic PC
In my work I use FIMO Professional and Premo clays.
The Racine Art Museum in the USA has a fine collection of the most famous polymer artists.