We’ve been collecting links to helpful resources for artists for a long time. You’ll be able to locate many items that are hard to find, together with a vast array of educational resources. (Of course, we are not responsible for the business practices of people that we recommend. Once you leave our site, you’re on your own.)
See also:
Art Business
- Americans for the Arts An organization for arts research and advocacy, with a search engine and a catalog of helpful publications.
- ArtSupport Although this page refers specifically to establishing oneself as a photographer, many of its sections, such as “How to Find Exhibition Spaces” or “Potential Exhibition Locations” are equally applicable to other sorts of artists.
- Association of Lifecasters International An organization for those of us fascinated with the artistic use of parts molded from nature.
- Broad Foundation One of the rare foundations that still uses its money to collect and loan out contemporary art.
- Copyright Myths FAQ Ten big myths about copyright explained. The ArtLaw Blog features a succinct clarification of some of copyright’s puzzling aspects, and many short articles on various other intersections between art and the laws.
- Cornell’s Legal Information Institute on Copyright Where to find out everything you always wanted to know about protecting your art, short of hiring a lawyer.
- FindLaw Do legal research online.
- Homestead Free web sites and they even seem to offer some help in setting them up!
- Meditations on carving for a living From Bill Judt, who does just that.
- Nolo Press Nolo Press has a self-help philosophy about the law and legal issues. They sell a range of material useful for artists, including sample contracts, and information on intellectual property issues.
- Patent Avoidance A contrarian view on patent protection.
- Public Art: Call for Visual Artists Hillsborough County Florida seems to be an exceptionally supportive place for public art; here’s the ordinance that made it possible.
- ScamBusters Learn about the Nigerian Advance Fee scam, that’s commonly practiced on artists.
- Score Retired executives volunteer to counsel small businesses (including art-related ones) for free—many local chapters.
- Selling Your Art Online An excellent page by Chris Maher with some very useful ideas for those of us trying to make a go of it on the net. Don’t be fooled by the compactness of the presentation—there’s a lot here, including some extremely useful links.
- StudioNOTES Support for Artists/Ideas and Information. Based in Benicia, California, this publication has some useful articles on art/career issues. Some of their best advice has now been collected into a book—the “StudioNOTES Treasury of Information and Ideas for Ar
- The Art Deadlines List A list of various competitions, commissions, and cattle-calls around the world: for visual artists, film-makers, performers, and writers. Not complete by any means, but sometimes you see things here you don’t see anywhere else.
- The Corporation of Yaddo Who knows, it might be time for your residency…
- The Dactyl Foundation Sponsors of an art essay contest and artist exhibitions in their New York headquarters.
- The Foundation Center Your gateway to philanthropy on the World Wide Web While you’re up, get you a grant!
- WorkingArtist—The Artist’s Business Software Tool A piece of software that’s supposed to keep track of all your art. Sounds good, but I haven’t tried it.
News and Information
- ARTtalk—Free Art Materials Newsletter for the Visual Artist An online magazine with a focus on technical information for artists. They have now put up their back-issues, which makes them an even more valuable resource.
- Deja News—The Source for Internet Newsgroups Have questions or comments that relate to sculpture? Through Deja News (now part of the Google search engine), you can read and participate in the discussions happening in alt.sculpture, a new worldwide forum, better than with most ISP’s news servers. Jus
- Lindsay Publications Lindsay Publications has a line of books dedicated to specialized creative activities, like Gingery’s notorious “Build your own…” series.
- Museum Security Network A good source for bad news about art—find out about vandalism, rip-offs, etc. and maybe even what to do about them. Ironically, they are now the subject of a multi-million dollar libel lawsuit for forwarding an e-mail to their listserve.
- The Graphic Artist’s Guild News Among other topics, this organization reports on some of the thorny issues surrounding on-line republication of art content. Food for thought—or perhaps indigestion…
- The International Sculpture Society The International Sculpture Society’s webpage has reprints from their magazines “Sculpture” and “Macquette”, plus opportunities listings, classified ads, individual sculptor’s portfolios, and discussion forums on various aspects of sculpture.
- Yahoo Groups Hosting an amazing variety of discussion groups, including some art-related ones.
Art Online
- “Stuckist” Manifesto Artists who are proudly stuck in their rather silly ways
- Anfiteatro—Lucca on Internet Some of the artists residing in Lucca, Italy are showing their work here. One of the nicest things about the net is being able to see what’s going on in other places with artists who aren’t necessarily famous.
- Anvilfire Emile’s Blacksmithing Links and other things for lovers of hot metal.
- Art and Science Collaborations, Inc. The home page of an art and technology interest group based in New York, featuring collaborations between the rarely intersecting worlds of artists and scientists.
- CeramicsWeb A lot of information on ceramics, including a glaze database.
- Cyber Art Gallery Eindhoven
- Grounds For Sculpture: Collection In New Jersey This sculpture park has collected some very impressive work from a number of living artists. Not to be missed is Isaac Witkin’s large multi-part granite piece; definitely one of the best modern stone sculptures I’ve ever seen.
- Internet for the Fine Arts As well as their ambitious effort to establish the largest catalogue of available works of art on the net, IFFA has a fairly lively art-related “community” going.
- Pat’s Big List Of Metalwork Links
- Philadelphia Tri-State Artists Equity Association Dedicated to championing the rights of artists in the Delaware Valley area—a model for the rest of us…
- Professional Organization for Precious Metal Clay Artists
- SITO Artchives and Collabspace This site started in 1993 as OTIS, but a lawsuit reversed that. They still accept just about any kind of art capable of being shown on the web, and provide one of the most painless ways of getting your work shown in cyberspace. Although e-mailing compress
- The Artist-Blacksmith Association of North America ABANA has many helpful resources for those interested in forging ferrous metals. The site includes a list of suppliers for all kinds of metalworking needs, not just blacksmiths, also book reviews and a gallery.
- The Puppetry Home Page Information on how to make and use puppets, plus festivals, theaters, and free classifieds
- The Woodcarvers Web Wood Carving and Sculpture.
- World Wide Arts Resources They are trying to make a comprehensive list of artworld links, and are doing a pretty good job of it. Now featuring “chat rooms”.
Education
- Art City Studios Supplies, tools, and now classes in Southern California. This Southern California site sells sculpture and stone furniture as well as various carvable stones and supplies for stonecarving.
- Learning Stone Portland, United Kingdom, Sculpture Trust Workshops
- Temple University CAD CAM Program The CAD CAM program at Temple University, under Stanley Lechtzin, sounds fascinating.
- The Crucible A facility equipped for metal-casting, welding, forging, and other hot metal arts in Berkeley, California, offering an interesting mix of classes. An educational collaboration of arts, industry, and community.
Newsgroup FAQs
- Glass Beadmaking FAQ Also contains general bead FAQs and a good set of art and craft-related links.
- PeterCat’s Furry InfoPage Informative art materials and art conservation FAQs. Furryness is optional.
- rec.crafts.glass FAQ From rec.crafts.glass, advice on stained glass, glass-blowing, and sandblasting techniques, considerations, and suppliers.
- rec.crafts.pottery FAQs Basic information on clay and its use, plus books, journals and other resources.
- rec.woodworking tidbits Information on working with wood gleaned from the newsgroup.
- The alt.sculpture FAQs Much hitherto hard-to-find information on sculpting in materials like Wax, Plaster, Steel, Stone and more.
- Wood Carving Forums Woodcarving Illustrated hosts these informative discussions.
Ceramics
- American Art Clay Company (AMACO) Makers of a wide range of ceramic and sculpture-related products, AMACO is one of the oldest companies in the business. Equipment and supplies for enameling and crafts.
- American Ceramics Retail and wholesale ceramic supplies.
- Bartlett Instruments More automatic kiln controllers.
- Big Ceramic Store Ceramic and pottery supply store; handles Skutt controllers as well as general supplies.
- BNZ Materials, Inc. Suppliers of refractory board and the mortars used to assemble it into kilns, etc.
- Brent Potters Wheels Slab rollers extruders and carts.
- Ceramic Arts Community The Net’s best ceramic discussion group.
- Ceramic Industry Magazine Ceramic and glass business and manufacturing.
- Clay People Full-line ceramic supply in Richmond, California, also handles a range of USG plasters.
- Clayart Discussion Archives An archive of the Clayart group arranged by subject.
- Claynet This site includes scholarly articles, technical hints, a gallery of featured artists, a discussion group, “virtual ceramics”, and, of course, lots of links.
- Corby Kilns Used equipment as well as kiln and oven maintenance; located in the United Kingdom.
- Digitalfire’s Glaze Calculation Software Helps you apply Ceramic Chemistry to Formulate and Maintain Glaze Recipes. Also see their book, The Magic of Fire.
- Do-it-yourself Pottery Kick Wheel Plans On Mother Earth News, home of lots more DIY info.
- FireRight (Warner Instruments) Controls for kiln, furnaces and test chambers.
- Georgies Ceramic and Clay Ceramic supply in Oregon
- Glaze Simulator Create glaze recipes using this online application.
- L and L A manufacturer of ceramic kilns.
- Leslie Ceramics The SF Bay Area’s premiere ceramics supply house, with raw materials, clays, glazes, tools, books, kilns and a great collection of local ceramic art.
- Master Wholesale Tools for tile setting, stoneworking and masonry.
- Morgan Thermal Ceramics Refractory materials and high-temperature insulation manufacturer.
- Omega Process measurement and control including kiln controllers.
- Paragon Paragon is a major supplier of electric kilns and has a content-rich site.
- Ram Presses The way to make tiles that don’t warp as they dry.
- Tero Lindfors’ Sculpture Tips and Instructions A guy in Finland has posted some helpful instructions for those wishing to start making sculptural items in ceramic.
Jewelry
- Allen Guitar Abalone and other inlay materials in convenient forms.
- American Art Clay Company (AMACO) Makers of a wide range of ceramic and sculpture-related products, AMACO is one of the oldest companies in the business. Equipment and supplies for enameling and crafts.
- Briolettes Cutters of faceted gemstones in matched and single pieces
- Castaldo Latex and silicone vulcanizing rubbers for wax injection.
- Caswell Plating Non-cyanide electroplating-forming and anodizing equipment and solutions.
- Conquest Manufacturers of equipment and supplies for spincasting pewter and zinc, plus machinist’s and woodworking tools.
- Deco-Coat Products UV curable resins.
- Diamonds.net Rappaport’s site has diamond market prices, discussion groups, a show calendar, news, and more relating to the jewelry industry.
- Gemology and Lapidary Pages Information on crystallography and gemstones: their properties, how they are classified, cut, and valued.
- Gold Touch, Inc. 24 karat gold plating systems and supplies.
- Hoben Davis Ltd Troubleshooting charts for jewelry casting, vulcanized molds, and wax injection. Based in Los Angeles, California.
- J.F. McCaughin at Arizona Sculptors J.F. McCaughin waxes and clays.
- Jewelry Things Findings plus services for jewelry manufacturers; located in Providence, Rhode Island.
- Jewelry.net A portal to retail jewelers, jewelry manufacturers, and suppliers.
- Kernowcraft Gemstones and crystals for homemade jewellery; located in the United Kingdom.
- Lacy West Jewelry tools and supplies in the United Kingdom.
- Lapidary Journal—now Jewelry Artist Many articles about shaping stones and incorporating them into jewelry.
- Legend Clay Graphite and Sicarb Crucibles in Reno, Nevada.
- Let’s talk Diamonds Buy or sell diamonds using a silent-auction format on this United Kingdom-based site.
- Metal Suppliers An A to Z list.
- Micro Fasteners Hobbyists source, locknuts, washers, machine screws, fasteners, rivets, and wood screws.
- Micro-Mark Micro-Mark model making tools and hardware, including hobby tools. Distributors of an epoxy-based modeling material that is supposed to work like clay, as well as tools and supplies for small-scale model making.
- Modelexpo Modelmaking tools by Proxxon; supplies and kits.
- Monsterslayer, aka 550 Silver and Supply A New Mexico supplier of silver, gold, brass and nickel silver stock and findings as well as the tools to manipulate them.
- New Era Gems Rough cab and facet material.
- Ney Metals Pewter and also other casting and powdered metal alloys.
- Orchid Jewelry Discussion Group Archive This archive on the Ganoksin site is an excellent source of technical information on various processes and materials.
- Otto Frei Jules Borel jeweler’s and watchmaker’s supplies in Oakland, California.
- Paleoart Sells fossils from Russia.
- Pearson’s Rock shop Lapidary and Jewelry-making tools and supplies.
- Photopolymer Plates Make raised lettering and even moldable originals from graphics.
- Plating Instructions General plating procedure instructions for nickel, gold, silver, and rhodium; along with the necessary equipment and supplies, plus 20,000 other products.
- Plating Technologies Plating and antiquing on various metals.
- Precious Metals West Precious Metals West, in downtown Los Angeles, sells gold alloys, grain and sheet, as well as special de-ox alloys, and offers custom casting and refining services. Some technical tips as well, and they will give advice by phone.
- Reactive Metals Studio Owner Bill Seely procures and distributes the “reactive metals” titanium, tantalum, and niobium to jewelers and other artists in sheet and wire form for use in jewelry, plus supplies and advice for producing permanent irridescent colors on them.
- Rio Grande This well-known source of jewelry tools, supplies, and materials, based in Albuquerque New Mexico, has some how-to information posted on this site that does not appear in their fairly comprehensive catalogs.
- RMan Lights and pumps.
- Robin Materials Exotic metals like tantalum, hastelloy, titanium, columbium, etc.
- Sculpt Nouveau Patina and finishes for all metals; metal finishing products. Offers information and products for sculpture, as well as a line of metal coatings.
- See Jane Draw Jewellery Design Canadian jewelry designer Jane Parker shares tips, trade shows, gemlabs, links to tool and equipment suppliers, and other valuable information and resources.
- Sun Country Gems Semiprecious beads.
- Techform Platinum casting for the jewelry industry.
- Techniques of Jewelry-Making by Peter W. Rowe Some comments on many aspects of the trade by the very knowledgable moderator of the Usenet group rec.crafts.jewelry, archived here at United Artworks.
- Tekcast Spin-casting equipment for pewter and zinc alloys.
- The Scrimshop Fossil walrus and mammoth ivory from Alaska.
- The Society of North American Goldsmiths SNAG publishes Metalsmith Magazine and holds periodic conferences on metal arts.
- The Vacuum Wand Vacuum Tweezers, Pumps for Jewellers, Camera Watch Repair, Scientific Experiment.
- Thunderbird Jewelers’ Supply Beads, findings, chains, etc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Tips from the Jeweler’s Bench Ganoksin online has got some very well-presented and detailed information on the techniques used by fine jewelers. They also offer an e-mail forum focussed on jewelry, and presentations of member’s work.
- Tricor Metals Suppliers and fabricators of titanium, zirconium, and tantalum.
- Tucson Show Guide The greatest gem, bead, mineral and jewelry show on Earth!
- Turbo Carver II High speed rotary tool for wood carving and engraving.
- Tuthill Vacuum Systems Makers of Kinney pumps, recommended as one of the best for vacuum investing.
- Wood Hazards Article Species of wood known to be problematic when used in jewelry.
Metal
- Adolf’s Pattern Shop, Inc. Bringing innovative mold alignment and metal filtering systems to you!
- Alliant Metals Stainless remnants one dollar a pound.
- Anodizing Info Or how to get that nice black finish on your home-made telescope parts.
- Artisan Plating A company specializing in small-lot decorative electroplating in gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, and nickel for artists and others. Some FAQs and articles on the site help explain the history and practices of this useful technique.
- ArtMetal Village An outgrowth of the Artmetal site with more emphasis on showing the finished work in categories like jewelry, furniture, sculpture, etc.
- Artworks Foundry The premier art bronzecasting facility in the SF Bay Area, Artworks handles big and small jobs using the ceramic shell method of lost-wax casting. Look for patination and conservation advice here, as well as a gallery of artists working in bronze.
- Ashland Chemical Makers of Linocure and other binders for sandcasting.
- Atlas Metal Metals for sculpture in Denver.
- Beaumont Metalworks Belt grinders, belt sanders for custom knife making and wood working.
- Birchwood Casey Makers of patinas for steel and non-ferrous metals and purveyors of metal-finishing systems as well.
- Blacksmith’s Gazette Sample information from the publication which was discontinued in December 2006.
- BMG Metals, Inc. Metals of various types.
- Bonny Doon Engineering Makers of hydraulic presses used for metal-forming applications in jewelry and sculpture. Some how-to information, examples of work done using this technique, and links to classes and workshops.
- Bright Works Inc. Metal polishing and buffing supplies. A comprehensive collection of sanding and polishing accessories.
- Budget Casting Supply For crucibles, tongs, and other casting needs.
- Casting Industry Suppliers Association Check CISA for metal casting, foundry machinery, and supplies.
- Chicago Extruded Metals Odd shapes in brass rod, bar, etc.
- CMX Metals Brass and bronze casting alloys in ingot form.
- Columbia Coatings Powder coating, powder coat, power coating equipment supplies and systems.
- Cupola Furnace Videos and CDs If you want to build your own cupola furnace for melting iron and bronze, this Washington-based foundry and machine works has invented one that is easy to construct. They also offer a book that shows you how, with chapters on other subjects of interest to
- Dalmar Plating A site for rectifiers, suppliers, electroforming and electroplating kits, featuring non-cyanide solutions.
- Eastern Alloys’ Technical Literature Library Papers on casting with high-strength zinc alloys.
- Evans Manufacturing — Peelcoat Melting tanks for wax and low-melt metals.
- Finishing.com The home page of the finishing industry and more than you probably need to know about metalfinishing.
- Investment Casting Institute Review the proceedings—for a price.
- J and L Industrial Supply 155,000 metalworking and industrial items.
- Johnson Gas Appliance Industrial furnaces and burners.
- JW Harris High silver brazing alloys for joining all sorts of metals.
- Machinist’s Books and Supplies Guy Lautard, author of the popular “Machinist’s Bedside Reader” series of books, branches out, selling plans for tools, instructional videos, and the odd tool itself.
- Metal Mart Home page of Metal Express.
- Metal Suppliers An A to Z list.
- Metal Web News An outgrowth of rec.crafts.metalworking with illustrated articles on metalworking topics, machines you can build, and other metalworking topics. Links to r.c.m. faq.
- Metco Supply An online hardware store.
- Micro Group 1-800-ALL-TUBE for metal tubing products.
- Midvale Foundry Products Surface preparation, coating removal, foundry, and metal finishing.
- Mini Lathe A site dedicated to Asian 7× metal lathes.
- Nimba Anvils Double-bick all flat tip to tip.
- Old World Anvils Blacksmith forges, swage blocks, and tools.
- Online Metals If you need to buy smallish quantities of metal rod, bar, sheet, or other shapes in steel, stainless steel, brass, copper, aluminum, or even titanium. Online Metals will, for a reasonable price, cut and ship exactly what you need to your location.
- Perry Supply Foundry and general industrial supplies.
- Petrogen Oxy-gasoline cutting torch system.
- POR-15 Rust Preventive Paint Claims to stop rust permanently
- Purity Casting Alloys Purity Casting Alloys specializes in medium to low-temperature alloys ranging from bismuth to babbit, pewter, zinc, and aluminum.
- Reactive Metals Studio Owner Bill Seely procures and distributes the “reactive metals” titanium, tantalum, and niobium to jewelers and other artists in sheet and wire form for use in jewelry, plus supplies and advice for producing permanent irridescent colors on them.
- Remet Casting products, waxes, binders, crucibles, ceramic shell info.
- Robin Materials Exotic metals like tantalum, hastelloy, titanium, columbium, etc.
- Ron’s Forge Page You can build your own forge using the info presented here.
- Safety Online Articles as well as items for safety
- Sculpt Nouveau Patina and finishes for all metals; metal finishing products. Offers information and products for sculpture, as well as a line of metal coatings.
- Shop Outfitters Metal fabrication equipment.
- Society of American Silversmiths Some tips on silverworking (under “shop talk”) and a supplier’s list—a useful page if you want to work silver.
- Tekcast Spin-casting equipment for pewter and zinc alloys.
- The Artist-Blacksmith Association of North America ABANA has many helpful resources for those interested in forging ferrous metals. The site includes a list of suppliers for all kinds of metalworking needs, not just blacksmiths, also book reviews and a gallery.
- The Guild of Metalsmiths Lots of good metal links from this Minnesota group.
- TM Technologies Little Powerhouse air hammer for chrome, plating, chrome moly applications.
- Tricor Metals Suppliers and fabricators of titanium, zirconium, and tantalum.
- Welders Direct Welders Direct carries the Hypertherm Powermax 600 Plasma Cutter.
Plastics
- Aircraft-Spruce Originally selling the materials for building kite-like airplanes, they have branched out into the light but strong fiber-reinforced plastics.
- Alumilite Distributors of a quick-setting low viscosity urethane casting system popular with hobbyists for casting into rubber molds.
- Buy Sign Letters 3D raised letters; metal, wood, and plastic letters.
- Deco-Coat Products UV curable resins.
- Demand Products Accurate Tracker hot wire machine for foam cutting, plus other tools and supplies.
- Eastwood Fiberglassing tools and supplies.
- Industrial Polymers Corporation Water absorbant expanding urethanes, good for scaling things up, plus other resins that shrink.
- Magic Sculp Epoxy putty for sculpting directly.
- Photopolymer Plates Make raised lettering and even moldable originals from graphics.
- Polymer Plastics Corporation Info on plastics, plus stock.
- Polymeric Systems, Inc. A range of products designed for repair and caulking, including some epoxy putties that are suitable for freehand sculpting.
- Polytek Development Mold making materials, castable and sprayable urethane plastics. Liquid rubbers and plastics for molds and flexible molding or resin casting applications.
- Reynolds Advanced Materials Silicone, casting materials, resin, rubber mold compounds from Reynolds Advanced Materials.
- Sign International Plastic letters.
- System Three Epoxy resin products.
- West System Epoxy products.
Sculpture
- Alumilite Distributors of a quick-setting low viscosity urethane casting system popular with hobbyists for casting into rubber molds.
- American Fine Arts Foundry Klean Klay has been discontinued but here’s an alternative: no-sulphur silicone-compatible modeling clay from Van Aken.
- Arrow Springs A supplier of the tools and equipment used in flameworking glass, with some tips on their use.
- Art Glass World Your Stained Glass Connection some resources for stained glass work—not a lot of technical help, but a good list of suppliers.
- Ball Consulting Ltd. Forton MG materials, GFRC, Clay, sundries, etc.
- Bare-Metal Foil Co. With molding and casting supplies as well as foils.
- Big Ceramic Store Kiln Controllers Convert your manual kiln to automatic ramping control.
- Broco, Inc. Tactical cutting torch—oxygen lance. Okay I haven’t actually heard of these being used for sculpture, but it would sure make short work of something…
- Bullseye Glass A manufacturer of colored glass frits of equivalent COEs, suitable for kiln casting in any combination.
- Burman Foam Foam latex, special effects makeup, molds, clays, special effects supplies.
- C and R Loo, Inc. Glass, kilns, and supplies.
- Castcraft Molding and casting videos and books.
- Centre DeVerre—Jen-Ken Kilns for Glass and Ceramics This is a place to find kilns specifically intended for glass slumping and the firing on of pigments. Some come equipped with the computer controls that make annealing a lot easier.
- Chavant, Inc. Clays, tools, and info.
- Cole Sonafrank’s Page Cole has put a lot of work into researching such issues as high-strength cementitious mortars and leadfree soldering. He shares his results with the rest of us on this highly informative site.
- Delphi Stained Glass A stained glass supply in Michigan which has a considerable amount of technical information on the subject posted, and an 800 number in case you need more help.
- Douglas and Sturgess, Inc. Art Supplies My favorite local sculpture supply place. An amazing array of stuf (not a typo—their URL is http://www.artstuf.com, one “f”—or 1-888-ARTSTUF) is represented in their online catalog—clays, mold rubbers, waxes, books, sculpture tools, resins—you name it. Th
- Evans Manufacturing — Peelcoat Melting tanks for wax and low-melt metals.
- Evenheat Kilns Manufacturers of electric kilns for ceramics, pottery and glass.
- FireRight (Warner Instruments) Controls for kiln, furnaces and test chambers.
- Freeman Supply Distributors of machinable wax and pattern-makers supplies.
- Gemini Saw Company Manufacturors of diamond “ring-saws”, like bandsaws for glass. They also cut stone, tile, and thin slabs of other difficult materials.
- Glass Australia Australia Workshops, gallery and basic information on many hot glass processes, collected from student research projects, listed on this site under “technical data and resources”.
- International Guild of Glass Artists A huge list of suppliers is now available online from this membership organization, although you do not need to be a member to gain access. Many links.
- Micro-Mark Micro-Mark model making tools and hardware, including hobby tools. Distributors of an epoxy-based modeling material that is supposed to work like clay, as well as tools and supplies for small-scale model making.
- Mike’s Stained Glass Four years of monthly articles. A stained glass artist who offered some helpful tips on his processes.
- Olympic Color Rods Colored glass rods, and the highly-regarded Exact Torches U-GS32 197,000 BTU burner.
- Omega Process measurement and control including kiln controllers.
- Pascal Rogier Le site de la creation et du moulage—a moldmaking site en Francais, with les videos.
- Perfect Touch Small modeling tools.
- Perma-flex A manufacturer of mold rubbers.
- Pinkhouse Studios In Vermont, Mark Prent has built a company around lifecasting, offering moldmaking and casting supplies-including some specially designed for casting live models. He also has some videos on the process.
- Plansee Materials Glass and ceramics—quartz glass, corundum, exotic metals.
- Polich Tallix Polich Tallix is a fine art foundry in New York.
- Polytek Development Mold making materials, castable and sprayable urethane plastics. Liquid rubbers and plastics for molds and flexible molding or resin casting applications.
- Price Driscoll Makers of the Parfilm family of mold releases.
- Puma Polymers A product line which includes rubber moldmaking (Por-a-Mold) and casting (Por-a Kast) urethanes.
- Rayzist Photomask, Inc. Supplies and sevices for making sandblast stencils from line art, also blanks and custom blasting.
- Remet Casting products, waxes, binders, crucibles, ceramic shell info.
- Resources for Sculptors A collection of links to sculpture-related sites spanning museums, galleries, schools, suppliers, and more. Especially strong on the emerging interface between computers and sculpture.
- Reynolds Advanced Materials Silicone, casting materials, resin, rubber mold compounds from Reynolds Advanced Materials.
- Robert Fida Bob Fida’s moldmaking and casting videos.
- Sculpt Nouveau Patina and finishes for all metals; metal finishing products. Offers information and products for sculpture, as well as a line of metal coatings.
- Sculpture House Casting, Inc. This venerable sculptor’s supply house now has a home on the web—and here it is.
- Shellac.net High-grade flake shellac, by mail-order.
- Smooth-On The makers of a popular urethane mold rubber demonstrate its use in molding a reconstruction of Leonardo’s famous unfinished horse, among other things.
- Special Effect Supply Corporation Special effects supply house with more than 400 documents on physical effects.
- Special FX makeup kits, sculpting videos, and supplies. Resources-110 | Glass
- SSS Patina Chemicals and concrete stains.
- The Compleat Sculptor, Inc. Online Catalog General sculpture supplies, from stone-carving chisels to mold rubbers.
- The Johnson Atelier Sculpture and casting and scaling services in New Jersey, a service bureau for sculptors.
- Thermal Ceramics Refractory materials manufacturor.
- Tiranti Catalogue of sculptors’ tools, materials and studio equipment in the United Kingdom. Tiranti sells tools and supplies for traditional sculpture, including stone and wood carving, moldmaking (mould-making), casting, modeling, etc.
- Unicast Development Company Ceramic-based core mix for foundry work.
- William Kreysler and Associates Based in American Canyon, California, this company has brought the art of sculptural enlargement, or “pointing up”, to the computer age. Using laser scanners and giant milling machines, small sculpture can be scanned in and carved out of plastic foam, ret
- Winterstone Premixed concrete products for casting or direct sculpting.
Wood
- All Righteous Woods Exotic hardwood burls domestic burl.
- American Smoking Pipe Company Briar blocks and kits.
- B and B Rare Woods Veneers.
- Bell Forest Products 70 species of exotic and domestic woods as turning squares, blocks, dowels, etc.
- Berea Hardwoods Exotics in small pieces, mostly for pen-making.
- Cape Forge These folks make carving knives and chisels by hand, the old fashioned way. And if they don’t have exactly what you want, they will custom-make it.
- Chip Carving
- Dan’s Woodshop Blog The “Scary-Sharp” system for sharpening using sandpaper and glass.
- Dieter Schmid Fine Tools Japanese chisels and how to sharpen them.
- Eisenbran Exotic hardwoods.
- Fine Woodworking Getting an edge with oilstones, waterstones, and sandpaper.
- Flexcut Tool Co Carving tools.
- Full Cycle WoodWorks The natural home of sustainable lumber products in Rogersville Tennessee.
- Harbor Freight Tools Cheap Tools at Low Prices
- Hida Tool Also has a good assortment of Japanese wood tools, plus some for gardening too.
- Hut Products Custom game calls, wood finishes, wooden pen kits, lathes, wood craft supplies.
- Itasca Wood Products Carving blocks and thin lumber in Deer River, Minnesota.
- Japan Woodworker An extensive on-line catalog of Japanese hand tools, and books on their traditional use.
- Logs to Lumber Portable sawmill service and kiln dried hardwood lumber sales.
- Michael Dresdner Start to (wood) finish.
- Microplane Grate the wood away!
- Middlebury Essays on wood tools and techniques.
- Mountain Heritage Crafters Wood tools.
- Penn State Industries Pencarving supplies.
- Popular Mechanics Magazine Sharpening tips.
- RecoFOR Maple burl blocks stabilized for use as knife scales.
- Relief Woodcarving by W.F. (Bill) Judt Wood carving, carver sculptor artist. Some valuable tips on woodcarving from Bill Judt, a professional carver and carving guru.
- Right Tool Woodworking power tools and epoxies.
- Sustainable Solutions How to sharpen tools, and lots of other advice.
- System Three Epoxy resin products.
- The Electronic Neanderthal Woodworker This site is dedicated to centralizing resources for traditional wood-working practices on the web, and includes lots of places to find old tools and new reproductions of them, as well as linking carving groups, show information, wood suppliers, recommend
- The Musical Instrument Maker’s Forum For fifteen years, the place to pick the brains of luthiers.
- The Tool Peddler Over 15,000 Tools from Delta, Jet, Porter Cable, Makita, etc.
- The Tool Peddler—Vacuum Cleaner HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner from Dustless Technologies.
- Turbo Carver II High speed rotary tool for wood carving and engraving.
- Typhoon Burs Structurally aligned carbide teeth remove material smoothly but fast. Featured on the Foredom flexshaft site.
- West System Epoxy products.
- Windsor Plywood: World of Fine Woods A search engine with info on many different wood species, also Windsor wood and finishing products.
- Wood Answers Answers to your wood-related questions; a bureau staffed by experts.
- Wood Online Wood magazine’s electronic woodworking service for woodworkers has some woodworking tips, wood-related classifieds, links to tools and supplies, and other woody goodies.
- Woodcarver’s Supply
- Woodcraft Supply Corp. A fairly comprehensive catalog of woodcarving equipment, from one of the oldtimers in the business.
- Woodworker’s Hardware and Supply Sharpening service for woodworking cutting tools.
- Woodworker’s Supply Misc woodworking equipment and supplies.
- Woodworker’s Supply—Flexshaft Power Carver A cheap quarterhorse flexshaft.
Stone
- Anthon Engineering Diamond hardfacing wear, abrasion, erosion brazing rod with embedded diamonds—this might be just the thing for facing a custom tool.
- Art City Studios Supplies, tools, and now classes in Southern California. This Southern California site sells sculpture and stone furniture as well as various carvable stones and supplies for stonecarving.
- Bob’s Rock Shop The first zine for mineral collectors and rockhounds. Not an actual rock shop, but a collection of links to rockhound pages online.
- Colorado Alabaster Supply A direct source for this fine carving stone.
- Elliott Diamond Blades and core drills.
- Findstone.com A portal for the stone industry.
- Gems and Precious Stones Jill Banfield’s online gemology course, now at UC Berkeley, focuses on gemology and geology as it relates to precious stones.
- Kaufman Rare gems, cut and rough.
- Knappers Anonymous A page dedicated to the art of chipping flints and other stones, even how to make arrowheads from old bottles—the defining post-apocalyptic art form.
- Marble and Sculpture Studios in Pietrasanta Italy The Mecca of marble-carving.
- Renaissance Stone A good source of stone and tools if you’re in the SF Bay Area, but sorry—no mail order.
- Rock and Gem Magazine Talking about stones since 1971.
- Stone Sculptors Supplies Carving stone, sculpture supplies, sculptor’s tools, stone carving tools, rifflers, rasps, chisels from Milan.
Colors
- Alchemist Paints and Varnishes These folks claim to have rediscovered the lost secret of dissolving real amber in oil, which is not only the varnish Stradivarius used on his violins but is supposed to have been used by the Old Masters for oil painting as well. This stuff is definitely
- Art Express Art supplies.
- Art Supplies Direct Discount Art And Craft Supplies Online
- Dick Blick Art Materials Art supplies.
- Ebonex Corporation Manufacturers of burnt bone black pigment and charcoal products, originally made from bison bones.
- Egg Tempera Supply Sources Everything you need to rediscover this ancient technique, with a forum where you can share tips with other eggheads.
- Enkaustikos Focused on encaustic art supplies. Start painting in colored wax with their way-cool hot tools—have you ever heard of hot brushes before?
- Gamblin’ Colors Gamblin’s well-known oil colors.
- Jerry’s Artarama! The Encyclopedia of Artist Materials!
- Kremer Farbpigmente This German/American company sells pigments, dispersants, resins, tools, and books that are difficult to find at your average art supply.
- Liquitex The manufacturer of the well-known line of acrylic paints, with product information.
- Mister Art Art supplies.
- Modern Options Patina, rust, and metallic solutions; antique finishes. Modern Options is a manufacturer of materials that allow one to give a verdigris or rust patina to any paintable surface.
- Nova Color Artists’ Acrylic Paint Excellent quality paint, sold factory-direct for big savings.
- Ott Lights Manufacturer of daylight color-balanced flourescent lighting systems.
- Paint and Coatings A paint and coatings portal site;
- Sculpt Nouveau Patina and finishes for all metals; metal finishing products. Offers information and products for sculpture, as well as a line of metal coatings.
- Sinopia Pigments and Materials Detailed how-to information on making paints and grounds of various sorts from casien to oils and encaustic. A source for traditional artist’s pigments and materials like colored marble powder and slaked lime that are hard to find elsewhere.
- Studio Products “Hand-selected” art supplies.
- The Italian Art Store Discounts on art supplies—mostly 2D.
- Watercolor Web Tips, tricks, and instructions on how to work with these difficult painting systems.
Bases and Pedestals
- Baja Marble and Onyx Marble and calcite bases for sculpture and trophies from Baja, California.
- Pacific Pedestals Art stands, pedestals, and platforms. A supplier of pedestals plain and fancy.
- The Base Shop, Inc. Custom sculpture bases. Pedestals. Woodworking. Artifacts.
Candle-making
- Campbell Candles in Australia All you need to get started making your own candles.
- Candle Resources Waxes, dyes, pigments and used equipment.
- Candlemaking.com Candle and soapmaking supplies.
- Candles.org The official National Candle Association website.
- J. Edwards International Natural waxes including beeswax granules, candelilla and carnuba.
- Lone Star Candle Supply Online catalog. Supplies and equipment for candlemaking, including beeswax and sculpture wax.
- Nature’s Garden Candles Candle and soapmaking supplies.
- North Valley Candle Molds Metal candle molds in various shapes.
- The Candle Cauldron Aims to be the definitive candlemaking resource on the web.
- The Wickstore Wholesale wicks for candles, oil lamps, whatever.
- Wax Melters Professional equipment for melting and pouring wax.
- Yaley Enterprises Soy-based wax and candlemaking supplies.
Concrete
- BASF Info on Melment superplasticizer.
- Ferrocement Educational Network Classes Resouces; archived forum on matters concrete.
- Florida Lite Weight Cement Matrix 400 formula 40 per cent lighter.
- Gemite Gemite’s list of concrete additives.
- LaFarge Makers of high-alumina cement in the US.
- Norchem Makers of silica fume and Norad superplasticizer.
- Trelleborg Fillite Microspheres used for concrete lightening.
- W.R. Grace Leading maker of concrete additives, admixes, reinforcement, and curing agents.
Knifemaking
- Beaumont Metalworks Belt grinders, belt sanders for custom knife making and wood working.
- Sheffield Supply Florida-based supply company.
- Stout Knives Johnny Stout’s Handmade Knives has a good collection of knife-making links.
- Texas Knifemakers’ Supply A source of blade blanks, abrasives, tools, and materials like fossil and synthetic ivory.
- The Knife Network Forum.
Fiber
- Lacis Online Catalog From Berkeley, California, everything for needleworkers, milleners, and other artists who work with fabric or thread. An online catalog, instructional books, and links to the needleworld online.
- Paula Burch’s Hand Dyeing on Fabric A page dedicated to the art of coloring material, including batik, tie-dye, hand-painting and other processes.
- The Caning Shop A source for caning and basketry supplies.
- Victorian Hairwork Hair art enthusiasts want to buy your hair! Or buy some yourself, if you want…
Gourdart
- American Gourd Society With calls for artists, a photo gallery, and sources of supplies listed.
- Using Your Gourd Newspaper article shows how easy it is to make art from dried gourds.
- Wellburn Gourd Farm Has gourds, an art gallery, kits, supplies, and a free e-book: The Beginner’s Guide to Gourd Crafting.
Mosiac
- Mendel’s Mosaics A source of ceramic and glass tile for use in mosaic work, as well as craft supplies in general.
- Mosaic ColorKey The primary US importer of Italian glass mosaic tile provides a color chart online.
- Tabularasa Mosaic and sculpture supplies
- The Joy of Shards The Indirect Method of Mosaic an unintimidating introduction to mosaic technique.
Safety
- Arts and Crafts Hazards Sobering information from the National Institute for Health.
- Arts Crafts Theater Safety Free art/theatre safety info and consulting from Monona Rossol.
- Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology Art hazards resources.
- Metal Working Patina Hazard The hazards of patina chemicals.
- MSDS Solutions Here’s a source of MSDS info that’s searchable by the substance and the company that makes it. It’s free, but you have to fill out a long form to register, and remember your password.
- MSDSonline MSDS hazards statements.
Chemicals
- Lab-Pro Inc. Lab products and chemicals in Sunnyvale, California.
- Skylighter A supermarket for pyrotechnics professionals and fireworks making.
- The Chemistry Store Serving the hobbyist, student, school and industry.
Miscellaneous
- American Science and Surplus Located in Skokie, Illinois, American Science and Surplus is a supplier of lots of strange stuff, from odd tools to plastic skeletons, solar cells, and tank telescopes. Some great deals on things you never knew you wanted.
- Art Cove Craft supplies.
- Burman Foam Foam latex, special effects makeup, molds, clays, special effects supplies.
- ConservArt Associates Inc. Art restorers online: if your art gets damaged, who you gonna call?
- Cotronics High-temp adhesives.
- Dealer’s Electric A wide selection of electric motors.
- Enviromold System Mouldable biodegradable packing material.
- Golden West Manufacturing A variety of plastic materials used by designers, pattern makers, machinists, sign and model makers.
- Inlay.com Home of wood marquetry info, intarsia pics, inlay images, and pietre dure inlay stone work. Hosts a forum dedicated to the art of fitting pieces of various materials together somewhat precisely. There’s an interesting article on building a CNC router to f
- Lab-x A place to buy surplus lab equipment at auction.
- Marv Klotz’s Utilities Home shop, mathematical and utility software. Some handy stuff here, if you’re ready for it…
- Mechanical Parts Sources A compendium of suppliers of odd pulleys, gears, etc.
- Meteorite.com The meteorite clinic.
- Micro-Mark Micro-Mark model making tools and hardware, including hobby tools. Distributors of an epoxy-based modeling material that is supposed to work like clay, as well as tools and supplies for small-scale model making.
- Nbond Adhesive PolyBond33 Polypropylene and polyethylene bonding glue for stuff that’s hard to glue.
- RMan Lights and pumps.
- SoLux Task Lamp Natural daylight from a lightbulb? These are supposed to come as close as any.
- Steve’s FoamCoat Apply this to raw styrene or urethane foam to prepare it to be painted.
- The Carving Consortium A page dedicated to the art of carving rubber stamps from erasers—an artform I confess I never even knew existed.
- The Industrial Erector Set Aluminum extrusions and fittings.
- The Science Store A place to get skull models and other anatomical curiousities.
- Thomas Registe The online version of the classic print resource, with search tools to find the manufacturer or supplier of just about anything made in the USA.
- WAAC An art conservators association on the web.