Sculpey (often misspelled as ''Sculpy'') is the brand name for a type of

polymer clay Polymer clay is a type of hardenable modeling clay based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It typically contains no clay minerals, but like mineral clay a liquid is added to dry particles until it achieves gel-like working properties, and s ...

that can be molded and put into a conventional oven to harden, as opposed to typical

modeling clay Modelling clay or modelling compound is any of a group of malleable substances used in building and sculpting. The material compositions and production processes vary considerably. Ceramic clay Ceramic clays are water-based substances made f ...

s, which require a much hotter oven, such as a

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

. Until it is baked, Sculpey has a consistency somewhat like

Plasticine Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product category ...

. Its main competitor is the German brand

Fimo Fimo is a brand of polymer clay made by German company Staedtler (''STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG''). Fimo is sold worldwide. Its main U.S. competitor is the American brand Sculpey. The material comes in many different colors; there are many fin ...

. It is sold in many colors, but can also be painted once baked. Sculpey has become popular with modeling artists, jewellery makers, and other craft work. The primary ingredient in Sculpey is polyvinyl chloride, augmented with fillers,

plasticizer A plasticizer ( UK: plasticiser) is a substance that is added to a material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase its plasticity, to decrease its viscosity, and/or to decrease friction during its handling in manufacture. Plasticiz ...

s and colorants. Aside from the hazards of overheating and combustion, which can generate

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...

and other toxins, Sculpey is nontoxic both before and after hardening.

History

Sculpey is a brand of polymer clay made by Polyform Products in the United States. The compound was first created in the early 1960s, with the original idea being to use the clay as a thermal transfer compound which would conduct heat away from the cores of electrical transformers. However, the usage of the compound for this purpose turned out to be unsuccessful. The material was neglected for a period of time, until the late 1960s, when it was discovered that the compound could be molded, baked, sanded, drilled, carved and painted. It became a highly versatile medium for the craft industry. The clay was marketed directly to people at craft shows, street fairs and demonstrations in small art stores. Sculpey closely resembles

, another brand of polymer clay. Sculpey has a less rigid composition which better suits modeling, while Fimo is better suited for twisting into cane and bead making because the colors do not blend together as readily. The plasticity is controlled by the amount of oil suspending the polymers in the "clay". Today, Sculpey offers six variations of polymer clay: Sculpey Soufflé, Sculpey Premo, Sculpey III, Sculpey BakeShop, Super Sculpey and Sculpey Original. It also manufactures various liquid clay products and polymer clay tools.

Techniques

Many techniques exist for working with polymer clay. Caning is a technique borrowed from glass artisans, who used the name

millefiori Millefiori () is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). Apsley Pellatt in his book ''Curiosities of ...

, meaning "a thousand flowers". It involves making a picture from thick pieces of polymer clay, which are then extruded so the picture becomes smaller, and the cane much longer. The original picture can then be seen running throughout the length of the cane, though smaller. It can then be sliced, with the slices used to cover other objects or blobs of scrap polymer clay. Marbling is one of the simplest techniques used with polymer clay. It involves mixing different colors of polymer clay together to form a pattern. As the clay is mixed, the pattern becomes smaller and smaller, until the two colors are completely blended. Colors can be mixed by combining various colors of clay, alcohol inks, mica powder or paints.

Mokume-Gane is a Japanese metalworking procedure which produces a mixed-metal laminate with distinctive layered patterns; the term is also used to refer to the resulting laminate itself. The term translates closely to "wood grain metal" or "wood eye metal" ...

is a technique borrowed from metalworking. It involves placing several sheets of clay on top of each other and then pushing an object through it.

References

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External links

Official Sculpey web site
Handicrafts Sculpture materials