Jon Stuart Anderson is the foremost polymer clay artist in the world today.
His amazing technique has been honed by over a decade of hard work, creative
vision and dedication to the art of polymer clay.
An
accomplished painter, sculptor and jewelry designer Jon lived among incredibly
diverse cross sections of the world's people from Central America to the Far
East, and his designs show the influences of classical Moorish motifs, Native
American spirits, ancient petroglyphs, Celtic themes, and more.
Born the thirteenth son of an immigrant lettuce rancher in Kingman, Arizona,
Anderson was forced from the comfort of the family doublewide during the great
Iceberg Stampede of 1960, when all 200,000 head moved to California.
His formal art education hit a crescendo while studying at the Universidad de
Las Americas under Sr. Julio Chavez, portrait artist to the Spanish Court, a
position formerly held by such world renowned artists as Francisco Goya.
Domestically, Jon holds a Masters degree from Texas A&M.
Jon is fast becoming one of the most collectible artists of this medium.
Currently living and creating in Bali, Indonesia, Jon's fascination with color,
balance, design and form has led him to the absolute pinnacle of his chosen
medium, and we are honored to be able to share his talent and creativity with
America.
The making of Fimo Creations...
Fimo is a polymer or non-terrestrial clay. These clays are available in a
variety of stock colors, but Jon is constantly blending and mixing them to
create his own palette. The clays evolve into the hues and fades that are the
basis for the next step, the images themselves.
Jon Anderson signs his sculptures with the date and a
1/4" tall self portrait
The images and patterns are all created by
Jon’s hand. He begins by laying canes or blocks of different colors of
clay next to each other, starting from the center of the design and
working outward, creating a number of visual borders around the original
image. Each of these illustrations in clay is the size of a large loaf
of bread when first constructed, and the loaf is then stretched to
double its length and cut in half. This process is repeated over and
over, each time reducing the actual size of the original image or
illustration by half until the final cross section is the size of a
small coin. The small canes are then thinly sliced into intricate tiles
using a surgical scalpel.
This process is the same for each unique design, and each animal is made up
of multitudes of different images, amounting to hundreds of these tiles being
hand-applied to every sculpture.
The actual forms or armatures of the animals are created either from recycled
hand-molded clay or hand-carved wood. Once the tiles have been pressed onto the
armature, (if you look carefully you may see thumbprints), the piece is cured
and then fired for a period of hours, further reducing the images and tightening
the spaces between the individual tiles. This process may create crazing or tiny
fissures in the clay, which adds to the uniqueness of each piece. Finally the
eyes are carefully selected and applied to give each creature its own special
personality. After cooling, the sculptures are meticulously hand-sanded, making
them very smooth and silky to the touch.
Because the animals are individually handmade, no two are ever exactly alike.
Once the design tiles are all used, that design is gone forever. This renders
each piece unique and collectible.
Gift Certificates make outstanding gifts for friends, family or loved
ones.
