Polymer Clay Is Where It All Began!

If you have been following this blog you will know that all of my current work has been digital and of a more graphic design nature, and can be seen in my Zazzle stores, however, that is not where my art career began.


Since I was a child my passion for art has led me to the use of many different mediums. At the young age of 12 I took my first lessons in oil painting which quickly led me to acrylics. My adventure and exploration over the years took me through watercolors, charcoal, colored pencils, pastels as well as many others not worth mentioning.

Around the year 2000 I started playing around with Polymer Clay. I loved the colors and I enjoyed the flexibility of the product. I didn’t really have an interest for creating jewelry or figurines, which is what the product is traditional used for. Instead, I wanted to use the product to make something big like a wall hanging.

After years of experimenting I finally developed a method of creating Polymer Clay Fine Art wall hangings. From the development I was finally able to establish myself as a professional artist by having my Polymer Clay Fine Art accepted and shown in three different galleries in Las Vegas, NV.

Each piece of my Polymer Clay Fine Art is created by conditioning, color blending and then creating strands of clay. By using a pattern of my design I am able to cut, form and join the each strand of clay, one at time on glass to create the design. The vital step of curing the clay presented a unique challenge. Since the clay is cured by firing (or baking) it at a low temperature, finding an oven large enough to cure the entire piece all at once was not possible. This led to my developing a technique of creating the design in smaller pieces that could be fired and then assembling the pieces together to make the overall design.

The first successful piece of Polymer Clay Fine Art I created was “The Big Stud”. The gold, bronze, copper and black clay colors that I used to create this horse accents the beauty and grace of the horse through the abstract flowing lines used in forming the simplistic shape of the horse.

The Big Stud Polymer Clay Fine Art Wall Hanging

While working on “The Big Stud” I started creating my next piece. In my mind I could see the abstract shape and vibrant colors. Throughout the creation of this piece I could never figure out what to name it. Upon its completion I showed the piece to a friend of mine. She asked me where I got the design. I tried to explain to her that I saw it in my mind and then I drew it out on a piece a paper. She couldn’t understand that and she started calling it “Debi’s Brain”. Not being completely happy with the first making of the design, I remade it and called “Debi’s New Brain”.

(“Debi’s New Brain” has been sold, however if you are interested I can recreate the piece upon request. Please keep in mind that each piece is a one-of-kind original and that any recreation of the original will be similar yet not exact.)

Debi's New Brain Polymer Clay Fine Art Wall Hanging

My “Bird of Paradise” has been my most popular Polymer Clay design. It has been a featured piece in one gallery and it has been used in numerous gallery promotional publications. The vibrant colors of this piece are eye-catches and the abstract lay of the clay is fascinating and mesmerizing.

Bird of Paradise Polymer Clay Fine Art Wall Hanging

Progression through the making of “The Warrior” was quite an adventure for me. I like the initial design which was originally upside down from the finished piece.

As I started the piece it almost instantly started fighting back. It became very difficult for me to work on it and I could not figure out why. There were many times when I could only lay a couple of strands at a time before becoming so frustrated and tired that I had to take a break.

About half way through I was so frustrated with it that I would say, “I have to go work on the bitch”. Through the rest of the time while making the piece I referred to it as “The Bitch”. I knew that it was either me or “The Bitch”. I knew that only one of us could win this battle and I knew it wasn’t going to be “The Bitch”.

Once it was completed, I leaned it up against the fireplace to view it better. My husband finally walked over to it and turned it upside down. When he did I was shocked because immediately I saw the face of the warrior that I had been fighting.

The Warrior Polymer Clay Fine Art Wall Hanging

I have often been accused of living in La-La-Land and perhaps this piece is the most evident of that. I love the fable of the Genie In the Battle and all the magical things that the Genie can do.

My first intent was to just design a decorative bottle or vase. After I drew the bottle and then looked at it I was immediately reminded of the Genie’s bottle. Then instead of drawing the design on the outside of the bottle, I thought, what if the bottle is clear and what I am seeing are all the things that are inside the bottle.

Each design and color that you see is something different that the Genie has waiting for me. Now, if I could just figure out how to get all those things out of the bottle.

(“Genie In A Bottle” has been sold, however if you are interested I can recreate the piece upon request. Please keep in mind that each piece is a one-of-kind original and that any recreation of the original will be similar yet not exact.)

Genie In The Bottle Polymer Clay Wall Hanging

With the closure of so many fine art galleries due to the recession, all the Polymer Clay artwork is now being sold in the Debi Payne Fine Art Etsy store. You can view all the other Debi Payne Polymer Clay Fine Art pieces by going to Debi Payne’s website.