Polymer Glossary
The following glossary was created with the help of "Webster's
Dictionary", Seventh Edition,
"The New Clay",by Nan Roche, "Color Harmony", by Hideaki
Chijiwa,
"PolyInformer" newsletter and conversation amongst polymer artists.
It is presented to help those unfamiliar with terms to understand information
regarding polymer clay.
- Achromatic
- Colors without color, black and shades of gray.
- Acrylic sheet
- a flat sheet of acrylic, variable size or thickness,
often used as a work surface.
- Analogous Colors
- colors next to each other on the color wheel.
- Appliqué
- applied on top of.
- Armature
- a skeletal framework used as a structural support.
B 
Top
- Bar
- a small 2 oz unit of FIMO clay, or other polymer clay.
- Brayer
- a roller tool that has a handle for leverage and increased
pressure. Acrylic Brayers are suitable for work with FIMO because an artist
can see the surface while rolling.
- Brick
- a large 13 oz. unit of FIMO®.
- Buffing Wheel
- a machine driven wheel that has a muslin or flannel
disk used for buffing. Also available are drill pads with muslin bonnets
which also work in shining polymer surfaces.
- Bull’s Eye
- a design of circles, increasing in diameter and graduating
outward from the same midpoint.
- Burnisher
- a tool with a flat blunt wand used to smooth or shine
an area using friction.
C Top
- Cane
- a cylinder or length (any shape) of clay (or glass) wherein
several rods or sheets of color have been placed together to form a design
running lengthwise through the shape
.
- Clay Extruder
- a hand operated tool that presses clay through an
opening to extrude the clay in a continuous shape.
- Conditioning
- the preparation of polymer clay before use. Polymer
clay must be kneaded or made pliable before use to allow the molecules
in the clay to align properly for stretching.
- Convection Oven
- an oven that heats with a continuous flow of air.
This is particularly favorable when even and exact heating is desired.
- Crimp Bead
- a tiny metal bead that clamps flat to hold wire by
pressure.
ETop
- E-6000
- Name brand of a silicate base glue, strong and water resistant.
- Embossing Powder
- powders used in stamping design and when heat
treated will become a shiny solid and rise slightly above the surface.
- Eye Pin
- a long straight rigid metal wire with a loop at one end
used in connecting beads or jewelry findings.
F Top
- FIMO® modeling material
- polymer clay modeling material manufactured
by Eberhard Faber, Gmbh, Germany.
- Findings
- components used in making jewelry usually referring to
the mechanical apparatus.
- Food Processor
- a motorized chopper intended for food but also
used to condition polymer clay.
G Top
- Glow in the Dark
- fluorescent or colors glowing under a black light.
- Gold Leaf
- a extremely thin sheet of imitation metal similar to
a foil. Leafing comes in several colors, gold, silver and variegated.
- Graduated Beads
- Beads that are increasing or decreasing in size
in equal proportions.
- Grit
- coarseness of texture in sanding papers or powders.
- Guild
- a group or association of kindred pursuits or having a common
interest.
H Top
- Harmony
- in color, an acetic arrangement of parts to form a pleasing
whole.
- Head Pin
- a straight wire pin with a nail head used in connecting
components of jewelry, usually an end unit that dangles.
- Hue
- the actual color.
I Top
- Inlay
- a decorative inlaid pattern.
- Intaglio
- an engraving depressed below the surface of the material
so that an impression from the design yields an image in relief.
L Top
- Lamination
- the process of making by uniting superposed layers
of one or more materials.
- Lacquer
- a surface coating that dries as a protectant film, gloss
or mat, over an object.
- Latex gloves
- Commercial or medical thin stretchable gloves used
to protect hands and to prevent fingerprints from imprinting on a piece.
- Loaf
- a cane, long square shape that will eventually be sliced.
- Log
- a cylindrical cane, or shape of clay.
M Top
- Marbleizing
- mixing of two or more colors of clay to produce a
streaked or marbled effect resembling stone.
- Millefiori
- refers to a process developed by Venetian Glass makers
where several rods of glass are fused together in a pattern (often star
or floral). Pieces of the resulting designed cane were then applied to
the surface of another piece of glass or used in lengths crosswise exposing
the design. This application literally translated from Italian means “Thousand
Flowers”.
- Mokume Ganè
- A Japanese metal smithing technique that is
currently popular in applying to polymer clay. Layers of clay (and leaf)
are altered by pushing up or sinking objects (or clay) into the layers
to create positive/negative special relations. When the layers are then
sliced horizontally, the “terrain”of the clay resembles rings or patterns
as the artist had altered the layered clay.
- Monochromatic
- Colors made from tints and shades of the same hue.
O Top
- Onlay
- The application of a piece of clay onto another piece of
clay.
- Opaque
- neither reflecting nor emitting light. Not transparent
or translucent.
P Top
- Parchment Paper
- Oven baking paper that is used when baking polymer
clay to eliminate "shiny spots" on pieces.
- Pasta Machine
- A mechanical device intended to roll pasta but used
in the polymer clay industry to condition, blend color, texturize and roll
the clay into flat sheets of varying thickness.
- Pearlescent
- Having a shimmering quality, clay that includes a
filler that reflects microscopic bits of light, soft sparkling inside the
clay, not metallic.
- Plasticizer
- the chemical agent that enables softness, or initial
consistency to polymer clay.
- Polymer
- A chemical compound of high molecular weight consisting
of many small molecules linked in a chain.
- Polymer Clay
- A modern modeling material composed primarily of
PVC resin, plastizer and occasional filler material. A colorful clay like
modeling compound that is cured at a temperature of 265°F, is permanent,
and water resistant.
- Polyvinyl Chloride
- Commonly known as PVC, a polymerized vinyl
chloride compound, thermoplastic resin.
- Pulver
- micro metallic powder used to coat polymer clay with a metallic
sheen.
- PVC
- Common term for polyvinyl chloride.
R Top
- Reduction
- the shrinking of a design pattern to a smaller scale.
Usually refers to a cane that is created in a large scale and then reduced
in proportion by various techniques.
- Resilience
- the capability of a strained body to recover its size
and shape after deformation by comparative stress.
S Top
- Spiral
- a "Jelly Roll" design in a cane where sheets
of clay are stacked and rolled to create a spiral design when sliced crossways.
- Stone Clay
- Common name for "LaDoll" mineral base, air dry clay from Japan.
- Stone Fimo®
- refers to the colors of a brand of FIMO® modeling
material simulating stone.
- Swap
- trade, an event popular amongst Internet members where a
large group of artists simultaneously exchange pieces of a particular theme.
T Top
- Tensil Strength
- strength relating to capability of tension.
- Tint
- Lightness of a color, the amount of white mixed with the
hue.
- Tissue Blade
- an extremely sharp smooth blade borrowed from the
medical industry that has the ability to slice thin precise layers.
- Toggle Clasp
- A clasp that has a "T" shape inserted into
an opening (round or otherwise) to catch and hold two strands.
- Translucent
- shining or glowing through. Admitting and diffusing
light so that objects beyond cannot be clearly distinguished. When referring
to FIMO® - 00 Art Translucent, the sheerest clay which when used in
thin layers or buffed, is almost clear.
- Transparent
- having the property of transmitting light without
appreciable scattering so that bodies beyond are visible. When referring
to FIMO® - it is similar to porcelain, having a soft depth but not
clear.
V Top
- Value
- The degree of lightness or darkness in a color.
- Varnish
- The coating, covering, or applied to an object - or protective
surface material.
X Top
- Xerox Transfer
- The transferring of an image printed on a Xerox
copier and then applied to polymer clay in a technique that transfers the
ink and subsequently the image to the clay.
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an "as is" basis, with no guarantee of its veracity or accuracy.
No liability is accepted for any damage caused by the use of this information.
Do you have questions about polymer clay? Feel free
to email Bryan Schaup, President Accent
Import-Export, Inc.