Sarah Shiver: A Polymer Clay Master - Essay Example

Her first inspirations were a polymer beads necklace of her boss and traditional textiles, such as old ethnic fabrics and rugs. In a way, following the ideas of old masters, Sarah’s beads are incredibly bright, though harmonious and fresh. Such an effect is achieved mainly through a very rich set of patterns.

The first works by the author were, as she admits, “generally graphic repeat patterns with simple color contrasts” (Shiver, 2009). With time, however, she started using special color-blending techniques to make the beads more colorful. Nature, their imagination, or works by other authors are the sources of Sarah’s creativity. They devote much attention to color combinations to use them in the blended sheets of clay.

The material itself - polymer clay - is a pretty simple means to work with. It is a pliable and bendable polymer compound - fine particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) suspended in a plasticizer (DeVoto, 1997). Among the advantages of working with this material is the great number of colors and shades provided by the manufacturers. Furthermore, these colors can be blended just like those of painters, to create new, personally designed shades and patterns.

There has been developed a great number of special techniques for working with polymer clay, among which some have been inherited from glasswork, textile arts, and sculpture. Such practices as caneworking, marbling, millefiori, and others give artists plenty of opportunities to create endless variations of color combinations and even textures. In addition, this kind of clay, unlike traditional ones, does not dry out on air, so an artist has no time limits for completing the work.

When the colors are blended and the items are shaped, he or she has to just fire it. Firing polymer clay requires low temperatures, so it can be done even in an ordinary home oven. This allows anyone willing to work with the material to try one’s abilities in this art, and probably for that reason polymer clay is continuously becoming more and more popular among artists. Though polymer clay is most known as a material for making jewelry, it can also be used for covering various surfaces or items, such as tins, purses, photo frames, lamps, or vases. It is also possible to use it for making sculptures or elements of home décor (McCrorey, 2009).

As for the works of Sarah Shiver, her major specialization is jewelry beads. The process of their creation is frequently quite long since she spends a few weeks just developing a detailed set of colored drawings for the future beads. Then much time is devoted to forming the canes, which are about 8 lbs and 4-5 inches in diameter. Most of the time is taken by mixing and remixing sheets of color blends. Then the cane is cut into pieces that contain a variety of graphic content and colors. She calls this technique of hers “kaleidoscoping”. It calls for mirroring the image on all of the new canes, so that they become related, though, in many cases, differ from each other. Finally, as the canes are ready, Sarah chooses the most related and appropriate for the project. So, she morphs one cane into different designs.

Kaleidoscope canes are one of the signature elements of Shiver. In addition, she manages to create very price, clearly geometrical forms in her patterns of clay. Clear lines and diffusing colors create a feeling of some unreality in her works. This accuracy of lines and color combinations makes her works look incredible.

Another interesting aspect of Sarah’s work is her techniques of mixing colors. Blended, colors flow one into another becoming united through the thinnest shades.