A Bit of Everything

Scrapbooking pulls from many other artistic sources, just as polymer does. Whereas we have heat restrictions, they have the solubility and fragility of paper to contend with. But that hasn’t stopped the scrapbookers from trying tons of materials from other art forms, even polymer clay. And then, here we come along and borrow from them as well.

I suspect Russia’s Victoria Mkhitarian borrows from just about anything in reach. Her polymer work includes yarn knitted backings, wire work of all kinds, spice inclusions and, most recently, a lot of scrapbook materials.  This reversible necklace–pretty cool design for a reversible, I have to say–uses embossing powders, rub-ons (similar to temporary tattoos),  and acrylic paint to decorate her polymer beads.

There really is no reason not to use just about anything available if it works for the design and effect you are after. Polymer’s versatility is one of its greatest characteristics, so borrowing from other artistic mediums is going to a pretty natural extension of working with polymer clay. I know some people feel such dedication to the clay that they want to work only with polymer and what it can inherently do. But I say, don’t let any one material restrict your artistic expression. Your vision comes first. Yes, a medium can be the inspiration for what you do artistically; but let what you do grow from that inspiration, not keep it confined there.

If you would like to explore more of Victoria’s work, check out the variety of work she has on her Flickr photostream.