David Urso has eluded my radar by using "hand tinted resin" to describe his work. Correct me if I’ve been led astray but I believe what we have here is polymer clay. And nice polymer clay it is.
I admire how artists cleverly use words to elevate their work. In fact I envy their ability to make me wonder if I’ve misunderstood something. "Isn’t this polymer clay?" I ask myself sheepishly. I have to stop and think….and that’s the point, isn’t it? It’s not exactly easy to make something named "fimo" sound hifalutin.
Ultimately it’s the work, not the medium, that speaks the loudest. The trick is to force us to look closely at the work and Urso’s done that.
Nope, it really doesn’t look like he is using polymer clay… the resin that he’s describing sounds like the clear gel that my husband uses when making boats. I never thought to translate his messy boat work into jewelry… I wonder if you could make your molds and shapes with polymer and then use resin for other parts, kind of like a stained glass effect.
Resin is a clear substance that can be tinted, have inclusions added, and poured into small molds or shapes and will dry clear (or colored if you’ve added pigment). Depending on how you mix the resin it can “kick off” and harden quickly for more delicate work or harden slowly for more liquid effects if you’d have to work with the inclusions or images imbedded into the resin.
His site is fantastic for the shapes and designs that he’s making! Thanks for finding him…
Barbara Forbes-Lyons ,
Jewelry resin is not polymer clay. It is an air-cured product that takes pigment and inclusions very well.
There are ‘professional’ resins out there and some that can be used for home use, like EasyCast Resin from the Enviro-tex people.
Certainly one of the most fantastic aspects of PC its ability to take on the characteristics of so many other mediums. Sorta the tofu of the craft world!
Cruising around yesterday I found the work of another artist – Ariana Delphino. Much of her work looks like fused glass or ceramics that have been glazed. She freely combines different materials into her peices I love that she has used my two favorites – Fimo & Fiber!
http://flickr.com/photos/pendentifs/