A Pinch Here

Polymer clay is well-known for how well it plays with other materials. Pushing that mixing of mediums seems to be the next great horizon for the polymer community as a whole as we seem to see more and more crossover of mediums in polymer art.

Polymer artists have played with inclusions mixed into polymer nearly since the inception of polymer as a fine art material. In a kind of flipping of the tables, Melanie West brings a source of the fine arts to polymer clay when she works her inclusions into the clay. Melanie searches out and acquires high-grade dry paint pigments which she mixes into her polymer clay, creating these incredibly rich colors and densely grainy visual textures, as you can see here in this lovely bracelet.

Having dabbled a bit with natural paint pigments and polymer in the past, I have a fairly good idea of just how tricky it can be to mix in the right amounts as different color pigments have different grain and dispersion characteristics. Melanie shares her processes in her intense technique-driven classes and workshops so you may have a chance to learn about her pigment inclusions if you’re lucky enough to grab a spot in an upcoming workshop.

If you’re interested in joining Melanie for one of her workshops, keep an eye on her upcoming schedule on her website and follow her for workshop news and her fantastic inspirational artistic finds on her Facebook page.