The New Clay: Techniques and Approaches to Jewelry Making

by Nan Roche, Sue Roche (Illustrator), Chris Roche (Photographer)

A wonderful book, with over 100 color photos, on making intricate beads and jewelry using modeling clays such as "Fimo" and "Sculpey."

Genres: Reference, Crafts, Nonfiction, Jewellery Making

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

Reviews

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn the basics and set a great foundation for working in polymer clay. As much as you may want to throw yourself into making wild creations of clay, you really do just want to take baby steps with this book before moving on to other more complex books that may not walk you through in black and white all that you need to know.
In addition to giving you the building blocks to create in polymer clay, this book gives some examples of how ancient glass blowing techniques are preserved today in working with clay. There are also examples of how to make Persian style beads, which gets you in touch with something that is perhaps a primal part of yourself; the knowledge that you are making a style of bead that was created thousands of years ago, gets you in touch with history in a way that should be experienced rather than just read.
Further along in the book are examples of some very advanced pieces that I will probably never attempt, but which are amazing to look upon nonetheless as they are expressions of where you can go with the medium if you so desire.

I highly recommend this book for anyone starting to explore polymer clay.

[Wilma Rebstock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book several times through the past 20 years and see something new each time I pick it up. It's also lots of fun to make the jewelry and explore the techniques and find ideas of your own.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great resource to get started with polymer clay jewelry and button making