Gera Scott Chandler

Artist’s Bio

Gera has been an artist for as long as she can remember. After a rewarding teaching career she decided to rediscover her own creative processes and began studies in ceramics at Emily Carr College of Art and Design. Her formal studies paused when she had her children but the Internet gave her a chance to branch out to other mediums and to meet other artists both online and at conferences and workshops in Canada and the United States. These explorations as well as a tendency to collect textiles & fibers, ephemera and treasures from beach and forest walks have led her towards a passion for mixed media. A diversion into paper and book arts eventually led her to experiment with polymer which has proven to be the perfect foundation medium for her approach.
Each of Gera's creations have stories to tell of imaginary worlds, engaging characters and are a celebration of the beauty, colour and texture of the natural West Coast environment. Gera's studio is located in Victoria BC. Her work is in collections in Canada, the US, Europe and Japan and has been used in motion picture set design. She is a member of the Crafts Association of British Columbia, the Island Artisans' Association, the Oak Bay Community Artists and several online Polymer Clay and Doll Art Groups. She is a founding member of the Vancouver Island Polymer Clay Artist' Guild.

Polymer Clay is a synthetic material that fires at 275F. It is available in a myriad of mixable colours as well as a translucent version allowing 3 dimensional effects. It can be sculpted, stamped, carved and even turned on a lathe or potter's wheel. Adding acrylic paints, inks, micas, foils and inclusions results in amazing effects imitating natural materials such as jade, opal, turquoise or even rusted metal. Many traditional techniques from glass making, metal work and woodworking such as millifiori and mokum game have been adapted by polymer clay artists to achieve astonishing effects. Gera's polymer pieces require multiple firings as they are composed from the inner frame to the final surface. Her predominant technique currently involves painting a design on sheets of clay with an acrylic and mica mixture, adding inclusions, allowing it to dry before running it through a pasta machine to crackle and distort the image.

The polymer clay artists' community is innovative and dedicated to discovering new approaches and effects. There's always something new to discover!

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