Gera Scott Chandler

The first time I ever used polymer clay was to make a funky pair of earrings to coordinate with a painting I had in a show at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1989. I have the earrings to this day but at that time my focus was on earth clays and I set the vividly coloured packages of fimo aside once the fashion accessory project was complete.

One day I needed to find a way to drill a hole through a pebble to add as an accent for a project I was working on. It came to mind to try to make a faux stone with polymer clay. My re-introduction to polymer clay was an epiphany.

I realized that I had found the perfect foundation medium for my approach. I was soon immersed in figurative sculpture, vessel-making and most recently collaging with clay on canvas. I've been a full time polymer clay artist for over twelve years now and my work is in collections in Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan.

Wherever I go, I'm collecting inspirational ingredients. It may be a  skein of wool, a piece of rusty metal, a handful of stones, or a tangle of  wire. If it won't fit in my pocket, it is captured by my camera.  My collections guide me as I mix clay colours and assemble wearable art or mixed media canvases, and bowls. I am intrigued  with dimensional effects, be it with carving, stamping collage or suspensions in resin. My BeachStone bracelets and pendants reflect the colour, texture and mood of the west coast shore.