Ten on Tuesday: Ten Male PC Artists

It's not quite Tuesday, yet, but since it's New Year's Eve (and there's no telling when I'll wake up tomorrow morning, or how long it would take me to remember that it was Tuesday), I thought I'd post this a bit early. :o) I hope everyone has a happy, safe New Year's Eve!

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Maybe it's because so many polymer clay artists make jewelry, which tends to interest more women than men. Or it could be that more women are "into" arts and crafts to begin with, so there are simply fewer men . Whatever the reason, the majority of polymer clay-obsessed people you meet online are women. However, there are men active in the world of polymer clay. This Tuesday, I thought it might be fun to focus the spotlight on the male component of the polymer clay art scene.

Ten on Tuesday: Ten Male Polymer Clay Artists
(in no particular order)

1. Steven Ford and David Forlano. (Technically, that should count as two men, but since they work collaboratively, it makes sense to group them here, I think.) They're big names in the polymer clay world, so you've probably heard of them before. You'll find various articles by googling their names (or simply "Ford Forlano"), but for starters, you might try their own website.

2. Dan Cormier. He's half of a design and teaching duo. (The other half is his partner, Tracy Holmes.) Check out their bio and a few photos on the NCPG website, then head over to this polymerclayworkshops.com press release to learn more about their latest class, Beyond the Blend, coming in February. You can find more photos here and there throughout the web, such as this one on Grant Diffendaffer's blog.

3. Dinko Tilov. He sculpts amusing characters with lots of personality. He has a book, if you're interested in his style of sculpture, or you can try out one of his free tutorials. Chess enthusiasts will love his chess sets, too. (He writes that he and his brother Boris both make the "critters" for sale at claywizard.com, by the way. So there's yet another male pc artist for you. (g)) Dinko writes about the process of making the chess sets on this blog.

4. Alan Vernall. This English polymer clay creator works works with canework and sculpture-- often combining the two. You can find photos of some of his work here. There are several tutorials and articles by Alan here and there on the web and in print. Here's one. Here's another. And another. (You can find more by googling his name.)

5. Jeffrey Dever. He creates jewelry and vessels, often combining organic, podlike shapes with fanciful colors. Check out some of his work here. (There's also a link to a little biography, near the bottom of that page.)

6. James Lehman. Visit his website, Painting in Space, to see a gallery of his vividly colored, glasslike bowls and other decorative objects. You can also read Deirdre Woodward's 2001 interview with Lehman over on the Polyzine archives.

7. Garie Sim. We go to Singapore to find our next "polymer clay man". Garie teaches children to sculpt with polymer clay. He also seems to have a scientific mind, which is good news for the rest of us, as he's always experimenting with new ways to use polymer clay. Browse the "Clay Creations" portion of his website for samples of his work. Visit this page (or the pages linked at the bottom) for some of his polymer clay experiments. He's also published a book of twelve projects for children (or the young at heart).

8. Bob Wiley. (A.K.A. "FimoBob".) Take a look at his clay gallery, then pop on over to HGTV for a closer look at how he does his faux wood inlay. (Or see his faux wood inlay tutorial on the Polyzine.)

9. Wes Warren. He's a master of millefiore canework. There's a blog, a flickr account, and his website. (He also has a new tool coming out around April 2008. I'm still not 100% sure what the tool is or how it'll work-- either it's a bit of a secret or I'm just out of the loop (g)-- but it's supposed to help with the caning process.)

10. Grant Diffendaffer. He describes himself as a "contemporary jewelry artist, author, and teacher". You'll find his portfolio here. In addition to a 2005 DVD on mica shift (aka "ghost imaging"), he has a new book coming out just about now-- January 2008. (That link takes you to the listing on Amazon. You can also order it through his blog.)

Of course, this is just a list of ten. There are many more, I'm sure. If you'd like to give a little recognition to another "pc man" (particularly one with an online presence, so we can admire some photos of his work), please feel free to mention him in a comment. You can also find a list of male pc artists on this page of Glass Attic.