Karyn Kozak

b. 1948, Chicago, Illinois

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2002 Polymer Clay: Creating Functional & Decorative Objects, J. Gikow, Kruse Press
400 Polymer Clay Objects, Lark Press
2001 Creating with Polymer Clay, Dierks & Ford, Lark Press

ABOUT THE ARTIST

My work presents elaborate juxtapositions of pattern and color. In recent past lives, I have been a graphic designer and glass blower. My evolution into the medium of polymer clay was through the millefiori technique used in glass blowing. I transferred a two thousand-year-old idea into a modern material that conveys a similar, yet contemporary, result.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

One of my earliest exposures to art was watching my mother make traditional Polish Easter Eggs in was-resist method. It was close, exacting, detailed work. That attention to detail has stayed with me through my training as a graphic artist, glass blower and Fimo object maker.

As a glass blower I have made "murinis"–glass chips of highly patterned color. They are made by drawing out thin rods of colored glass, bundling them together into a pattern and fusing them into one large rod from which hundreds of chips with the same pattern can be sliced. Murinis are the basis of French millefiore paperweights and African trade beads. Millefiore means "a thousand flowers" in Italian. The process of making patterned components in Fimo clay is similar to the glass process except that I have the luxury of working in my own kitchen and if I drop a bar, it won't shatter.

Pattern and color are my fascination, be it raucous color, subtle changes in color, powerful color, risky combinations of color or dense color. I have drawn inspiration from fish at the Great Barrier Reef, rows of fruits and vegetables, pre-storm skies that are darker than the landscape, Russian lacquer boxes, Victorian mansions, and red-heads and their wardrobes.

ABOUT THE WORK

This work is made of FIMO, colored polymer clay that hardens at 275 degrees F. No paint is used in decoration. All elements are constructed using pieces of the different colored clays in the millefiori technique. The finished product is non-toxic, non-fading, and can be washed with soap and a sponge. It can be used in any climate–my preference is the tropics. Enjoy!