Pushing the Limits of Polymer: Cool, Weird Clay Creations

Polymer clay is an astonishingly limitless medium. It can be used to create the tiniest of picture-perfect objects. Miniature pies, with each berry glinting in the light, can be fashioned by expert artisans. Detailed animal figurines, looking just like the real thing, can emerge from blocks of polymer clay. Fine artists and playful worshippers of various television shows and comic genres can equally exploit the qualities of polymer clay to create objects to suit their fancy.

Here we check out a few unusual polymer clay creations. They might not be something you'd like to own personally, but then again, inspiration comes in all forms. These creations show off the possibilities of polymer clay.

Here's a mindblowing piece of artistry: A complex, twining set of octopus tentacle jewelry by Kaity O'Shea aka KTOctopus. Can you imagine wearing this? If so, what with? Something tells me that no matter what you wear with it, this jewelry's going to take center stage.

These Animal Cling Rings are by Japanese artist Jiro Miura, working under brand name Count Blue. Miura creates these exquisitely detailed animal rings as well as figurines; his designs have also been used to create mass produced phone plugs and rings. It's a lucky artist who sees his work become so popular.

Baby seal rings by Jiro Miura	An attention-getting ring for sure.

Low cost and ease of use make polymer clay an ideal choice for unorthodox one-of-a-kind creations. Above is My Little Batman and Robin by Jodi Moisan. Moisan's precision with these handcrafted My Little Pony-based superhero figurines is astonishing.The exact reasoning behind creating My Little Ponies dressed as various characters from comics and movies isn't quite clear, but they're nothing short of adorable.

Joe Fig is a man of many mediums, but this diorama comes from his series of table sculptures of artists' studios in their full splendor and disarray. This particular table sculpture shows the studio of April Gornik. These studio dioramas were gathered together into a book, Inside the Artist's Studio, which is introduced this way:

"Inside an art gallery, it is easy to forget that the paintings there are the end products of a process involving not only creative inspiration, but also plenty of physical and logistical details. It is these "cruder," more mundane aspects of a painter's daily routine that motivated Brooklyn artist Joe Fig to embark almost ten years ago on a highly unorthodox, multilayered exploration of the working life of the professional artist. Determined to ground his research in the physical world, Fig began constructing a series of diorama-like miniature reproductions of the studios of modern art's most legendary painters..."

Fig uses many materials to construct his unusual tributes to the artistic process, including polymer clay.

Another by Joe Fig, this one depicting the studio of Dana Schutz.

With its blendable, vibrant colors and translucent options, polymer clay works well for skin, even the delicate  rosy skin of weirdly tiny babies. Adorable? A little creepy? The talented Camille Adams creates these tiny polymer clay babies.

Some polymer clay artists test their skill-- and even make a living-- creating tiny lifelike foods in 1:12, 1:24, even 1:48 scale. The miniature polymer foods are purchased by collectors for well-appointed dollhouses. This fish spread was made by Stephanie Kilgast.

Last but not least, Afsaneh Tajvidi steals our hearts away with her beautiful polymer clay snails. ❉