I became a fan of Laurie Mika the minute I laid eyes on her wall icons and boxes.

When I heard she was producing a book, I waited with great anticipation for it to be released.

North Light Books have a flair for getting it right. The layout is creative and inviting and the step by step photos ensure you make no mistakes along the way.

The whole premise of creating polymer clay tiles that you later assemble into mosaic icons or shrines is one that appeals to me.

I love art methods that allow you to play and experiment as you create. I also like transformative art that can be used as a tool for self-knowledge and expression.

Laurie shows off lots of her work in the book and shares the personal stories behind six of her pieces. These touching stories lift the book out of the realm of ordinary and give us a welcome insight into the life of the maker.

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This book focuses on transferring images to polymer clay using blue or black toner-based photocopies. The appealing projects range from brooches to beads to book covers to home decor.

Five pages of copyright-free images are included. There is a bonus section on color mixing.

How did all this great content fit in a 35-page book? Amazing!

Barbara McGuire is a huge name in the world of polymer clay. She has a good sense of design and I like the way she combines the transfer images with stamped images for a montage effect.

This book is an excellent resource.

It’s published by Design Originals, 2002 (a CanDo Crafts booklet)

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This is one of those books you might call a classic in the world of polymer clay.

Most serious clay artists will have this one on their bookshelves.

There are step by step instructions offered for over 20 projects but the real value of this one is in the fact that McGuire draws our attention to the elements and principles of design.

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Near the start of this book there are sampler/sneak peek pages that provide a glimpse of the surface treatments explained in the book. These get your saliva flowing for what is ahead, and are a quick way to review techniques when you are down the track.

You learn lots of techniques and you are provided with instruction for using them in highly appealing projects – jewelry, accessories and home decor.

As you can expect with Sandra McCall, the step by step photos are large and clear. She likes color and embellishment.

I think all her brooches are marvellous. I particularly like the stained glass effect she shares.

The imitation bakelite buttons are super easy and look great on the fabric tote bag that she designed as a project for this book.

I intend to make the coaster and caddy set using her fun “polymer painting”! technique.

The question is: which one first? I’m inspired by everything.

Sandra’s writing style is relaxed and chatty and she sprinkles helpful hints throughout the book.  I’m partial to this author and for good reason. Once again, this book by Sandra McCall is a winner.

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A highly respected expert, Donna Kato has even formulated her own brand of polymer clay, Kato Clay. Her knowledge is apparent and I like her suggestions on health and safety.

For instance, if you must use your own kitchen oven to cure clay, place everything in a turkey roasting bag so the polymer outgassing residue remains in the bag and does not collect on your oven walls.

I pre-ordered the book sight unseen from Amazon. With my bookshelf already groaning from loads of polymer clay books, I was not sure that this one would have anything new to offer, but indeed it has!

It may not be appropriate for beginners and as the title would suggest, it has no information about canes or loaves.

But The Art of Polymer Clay certainly whets my appetite for new techniques, superb finishes and projects with an Asian flair like the inro boxes and kimono pins Kato is known for. The hollow beads on the cover of the book are to die for. The section on mica shift is also excellent.

Read more about this book at
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