Olga Ayala
HANDCRAFTS (HECHO A MANO)
Functional Art in Polymer
Olga Ayala is a polymer clay artisan specializing in original, fully functional home decor items and wearable art (jewelry) made of polymer clay. Each piece is individually handcrafted and is a unique piece of art.
Olga has worked in various fine art mediums all her life, but ever since she discovered polymer clay in 1997, She has not been able to put it down! Olga, mostly self-taught in this new clay, and she'd used some really good books as guidance tools such as; The Art of Polymer Clay by Donna Kato, Creative Clay Jewelry by Leslie Dierks, and The New Clay by Nan Roche. Being a "Nuyorican" who grew up in New York's Spanish Harlem with its pulsating rhythms, spicy aromas, and the diverse physical make-up of its inhabitants has proven to be a cornucopia on which she draws from artistically. Olga says "I don't believe art should be something you just look at. That's why most of my pieces have a practical function as well as stand alone as works of art." Even when Olga does a series on a theme, no two are exactly alike.
WHAT IS POLYMER CLAY?
Polymer Clay (Polyvinyl Chloride), also called The New Clay, is composed of microscopic particles of polyvinyl chloride in suspension with a plasticizer that allows it to be molded like a traditional clay. When heat is applied, the particles fuse together into a hardened product. It is generally sold under the brand names; Sculpey, Cernit and Fimo, and was originally developed by a woman in Germany as a doll making material.
