METAL CLAY TODAY MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 ISSUE

8/2/2019 METAL CLAY TODAY MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 ISSUE

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/metal-clay-today-magazine-spring-2010-issue 1/22

Jewelry

with Soul

Lorena Anguloexplores her

heritage

SPRING 2010



2 MetalClayToday.com • Spring 2010 Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday

Publisher’s Notepad

Arli WolfsonCo-Publisher,

Editor-In-Chief

Metal Clay Today

Dear Readers,

How quickly these last three months have gone by. Here we are, ready to launch our issue of Metal Clay Today, and an exciting and interesting three months it has been.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that the metal clay community of artists is an amgroup of extremely talented and generous people... creative people who are so givitheir time, their talent and their expertise.

And speaking of generous, we received word from Holly Gage about the ‘Charmsfor Charity’ Fundraising Event. Metal Clay artists will create handcrafted charms forbracelets and necklaces, which will be rafed to raise money for cancer treatment aprevention. This fundraiser is not afliated with any organization or guild, just indivartisans with a huge heart. The charities it will benet are the American Cancer Socand the Marrow Foundation. For more information on this very worthy cause, pleascheck Holly Gage at http://creativetexturetools.com/news/2008/03/28/m jewelry-on-a-mission-charms-for-charity/

We have received such positive feedback from our readers in response to the magaziIt is a great to hear that we are helping beginners to learn more about this wonderfumedium, offering inspiration and motivation to all metal clay enthusiasts, and provida venue for artists of all levels to display their creativity. It denitely made our collect

day to receive the totally unsolicited e-mail belo

Thank you, Toni, for taking the time to send usthese kind words.

We’ve been working fast and furiously onentering the great blogosphere.Check out Metal Clay Today’s blog athttp://metalclaytoday.wordpress.com/2010/03/

Thank you to all of our contributors, who inthe process of joinng us in the magazine, arbecoming good friends.

Enjoy this next issue of Metal Clay Today aremember...

a clay day is a great play day!

-------- Or ig ina l Messag

e --------

Su b jec t: Me ta l C la y Tod

a y

From: Ton i Semp le & lt;se

mp le [email protected]&g t;

Da te: Sun, Januar y 0 3,

2010 4: 2 2 am

To: ed i tor@me ta lc la y tod

a y.com

Gu ize:

I s imp l y ha ve to wr i te an

d te l l you ho w fa bu lous

Me ta l C la y Toda y is!

I ’m ne w to t h is endea vo

r bu t I ha ve been read in

g

a bou t i t vorac ious l y for s

e vera l mon t hs. T ha t as i

de,

your W in ter ed i t ion (m y

rs t) far e xceeds an y pr

in ted

pu b lica t ion in its in form

a t ion, la you t and des ign

!

I d id des k top pu b l is h ing

in i ts ear l y da ys and I c

an

we l l apprec ia te ho w mu

c h t ime, e f for t and crea ti

v i t y

go in to ma k ing e ven a m

ed iocre produc t. Yours is

so

beau t i fu l - and t he impr

o vemen t o ver t he Fa l l e

d i t ion,

w h ic h I la ter found, and

w h ic h is itse l f a grea t pro

duc t,

is p henomena l!

M y ha t is o f f to you gu ys

. P lease, p lease don ’ t e v

er

s top. I wou ld happ i ly pa

y a su bscr ip t ion pr ice to

keep

t he maga z ine com in

g and I ’ ve no dou b t o t he

rs wou ld,

as we l l.

T han ks for a ll your hard

wor k and a wonder fu l, be

au t i fu l

g i f t to t he me ta l c la y co

mmun i t y.

Bes t,

Ton i Semp le

Bro ken Arro w, O K



Lorena’s incredible jewelry is highly inuenced by herheritage, growing up living throughout Mexico. She told mesome of the happiest moments of her childhood were living

in Chiapas, Mexico and beingable to observe the “ El Dia delos Muertos” (Day Of the Dead)celebrations. These celebrationsare traditional throughout Mexicoon the last days of October andthe rst few days of November.They are lled with artistry andcolorful pageant. Through thisshe learned not to fear death, itis to be revered instead. Lorenareects this idea in her Calaveras

or skulls, insisting that they all must be smiling and notfrightening, each one of them ironically must “come tolife” and emote happiness. She was introduced to PMC in 2006; however, she was nostranger to jewelry making or art in general, because she’d

already had an extensive education and experience in traditional jewelry making.

6 MetalClayToday.com • Spring 2010

Artist Showcase

Lorena Angulo

by Lori Phillips

After Lorena’s rst PMC class, her te

insisted she was ready to get her certicthrough Rio Grande. Extremely reluctanfeeling inadequate when starting the clasgained condence when she noticed shekeeping up with her fellow students.

Yet even with this fantastic start, Lorensomething was lacking in her pieces. Shemaking jewelry that did not reect hervoice. She felt she was copying othersmaking jewelry became somewhat unfulLorena actually told me she had felt “likUgly Duckling” amongst her peers.

She essentially stopped making jewelralmost a year,till one day shedecided to take

another metalclay class. Her teacher caught a look at Lorena’s journal and encouraged her to use her own drawings

as inspiration.

This ignited the re thatLorena needed. She beganworking on a 5” highly ornateMilagro (heart) and becameexceedingly motivated, nowcapturing the essence of her unique personality and cunot someone else’s. She assured me after this turning ”she was no longer afraid of the clay!”

Lorena has the ability to feel the clay and “knows “whis the consistency she wants it to be. She told me tha “respects the clay” and that is why she rarely has cracher work. She never allows her clay to become dry unle

part of the building process. If the clay does not “feel“ she is not afraid to crumble it up and rehydrate it ratherrepair it.

She is capable of vi sualizing her drawings in three dimenmaking it easier to create her pieces. Her rst optto use silver clay, yet she will occasionally use tradit

Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday

The last words of Lorena Angulo’s credoare “jewelry with soul,” and what soul ithas! Not only does her jewelry have abeautiful soul, but so does she!

From the rst time I chatted with her onFacebook, I knew immediately I had comeacross a generous and talented spirit!

When I was given the opportunity tointerview her, I jumpedat the chance! Withinthe rst few minutes,I was assured that myrst impressions werecorrect.

Fl

Calavera

Mil

VenicNecklce

Het



her last was, “don’t allow yourself to get stutake risks, experiment. Make every ugly teach you something.”

She quoted her son’s

favorite person, AlbertEinstein: “Curiosity isthe key to learning.”

“So if you have a thousand questions, you will get a thousandanswers, maybe more.”

She ended our interview telling me,“ As a wife and a motherI am complete, but now as an artist, I no longer feel like anUgly Duckling! I believe I have found my wings!”

Lorena, I truly believe you have! You are an inspiration tous all!

jewelry making methods with it because she feels theycomplement each other. Whenever she uses silverclay she always uses a patina giving it an antiqueand organic look. Lorena absolutely loves bronze and

copper clays because of the warm and natural feelingsit gives to her pieces. When she uses copper, she onlyseals the area that touches the skin because she wantsthe copper to continue to age with the wearer, giving itmore character.

Lorena has gotten into the habit of taking pictures ateach step in the construction of every piece she makes.The reason why, is because she wants to remember

how she made the piece.

When she gets in herzone, she forgets whichway she did something because she is concentratingintensely. Hours can turn into minutes when she isdesigning; therefore recording the steps also allowsher to document how many hours are tied up in onecreation. This process also assists her to price her

items accordingly.

Anyone who has been following Lorena’s blog athttp://www.lorenaangulo.com/ can be assured sheis certainly not afraid of the clay! Almost every dayLorena adds another well crafted piece to her site. She

is involved in a challenge which started on Flickr in which 268 artists pledged tocreate a ring a day. I have been watching her rings and each one is better than the last.

However one ring which stopped me in my tracks wasa simple piece of paper wrapped around her nger withthe words “One Touch Control = Life” and a small dropof blood. With this posting she revealed her strugglewith diabetes. I highly encourage you to check out herblog to see this inspiring story.

I would say more but at this point in the interview sheand I went off on a tangent. Tangents can be fun! But

what I gleaned from it was something she said whichtouched my heart,” The only person who can control youis you.” I am a rm believer that we can become better artists through our strugglesif we keep on pushing.

I asked Lorena what would she say to a new metal clay artist? Her answers werethree don’ts. First, “don’t be afraid of the clay”, “don’t be afraid to get messy, “and

SunEins

Teef Life

Suviv

Nich C

8 MetalClayToday.com • Spring 2010 Spring 2010 • MetalClayToda

Lorena was born in Mexico where she had a rsthand opportunity to experience thediverse cultural and artistic expressions of her country while traveling around Mexico.

She lived in Chiapas, Mexico for the rst years of her life, a wonderful experiencecomplete with memories about the folk art and the amazing jewelry that native Indians

wore, and made, for special occasions.

Lorena initiated her studies in Mass Communication Sciences at the Universidad IberoamericaNoroeste in Baja California, Mexico and later continued with her major in Mass Communication

and Advertising at the University of Texas at El Paso.

After several years of graphic design, as well as managing the business side of her family’s printshop, she moved to Princeton, New Jersey to start her own family.

In 2003 Lorena and her family moved to San Antonio, Texas where her passion and love for art motivaher to study metals at the South West School of Art and Craft. It was in this school where Lorena had h

rst experience with metal clay through the hands of a wonderful teacher, Claire Holliday.

Lorena’s work is full of her culture and traditions from Mexico, every piece has a story to tell.

Lorena earned her certication from Rio Rewards and is a member of PMC Guild,

SNAG (Society of North America Goldsmiths) and MCASA (Metal Clay Artists in San Antonio)

Edit’s Nte: Len ws just infmed tht ne f he fbulus Clves wsselected t be exhibited t Pedue Univesit duin the 2010 PCM Cnfeence.

Way To go, LorENa!



Rising Star

My jewelry and metal clay addiction started in college during a break from biologyclasses. With the encouragement of friends, family and teachers, immersion in the jewelry world continued with a gemology certicateand attending traditional metalsmithing classes.

Creating whimsical pieces with metal clay is a way tobring parts of my imaginary world to life. Strengthand grace combined with a playful twist of fancy arecommon elements in my pieces.

I nd inspirationin aerial circus arts, mechanical toys, andarchitectural ligree among other things. WithCloudswing, the lampwork bird’s perch wasinspired by the aerial circus apparatus.

Exploring untraditional styles

of ring bands with the Neuronand Double Flower rings havebeen interesting constructionchallenges. Many of my pieceshave been torch red as it is aninteresting process to watch.


The Big Wheel bike was an experiment inmetal clay on either side of a pewter nEven though it wasn’t technically challeexperimenting with a torchwas entertaining.

Incorporating wine corkswith silver clay givesne silver an unexpectedtwist. It was a chanceencounter while on vacationthat a wine cork literally

popped out and said, ”Hi!.” Wine corks like metal clay arequite versatile.

Some have small artworks printed on them and some are canvases waiting for inspiration. I’ve been playing with differento decorate and set them into various types of metal clay piec

Having achieved Senior level Certicationwith Art Clay World recently, I look forwardto teaching and sharing my love of metal claywith others.

With the releases of the no-carbon re bronzeand copper clays, I am enamored with the idea

of making miniature copper and bronze aerialists as aerial silks(tissu) and hoop (lyra) are my favorite apparatus to play on.

Small horned crittershave been sightedlurking in my sketchesrecently too, so whoknows what will endup coming from theclay?

Contact: http://laloondesigns.com http://www.ickr.com/photos/laloondesigns

Class info: www.breabeadworks.com

Original pair of C

Cloudswing Hollow form cloud embellished withne silver akes.

Lampwork bird created by

Stephanie Sersich.

Big wheel bike – Mixed media bike nding withspinning silver clay ‘rims’.

Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday.

Double Flower Ring Girly brass knuckles in silver

Double Flower Ring side view

Michelle L oon

Neuron Ring

Copper clay bird with wine cork

Twine c

Honu at play brooch Ihonu turtle who had gotten tossed in

Time to Fly Necklace



12 MetalClayToday.com • Spring 2010 Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday.c

Filigree Hexagon Pendant

Materials for Hexagon Syringe

1 20 Gram Package Art Clay Silver1 9 Gram Syringe1 8 MM Dicro or fused glass cabochon1 Empty SyringeLiver of SulfurSanding Papers: 400, 600, 1200 and 4000 grit2 Templates cut from plastic sheets

(plastic template sheets can be found in the quilting dept of a fabric store)

Bezel:

1. Condition the clay by placing a small amount of clay onto pwrap, spritz lightly with distilled water, fold a layer of the plastic over the clay and knead the clay through the plastic wrap, turning

and kneading until the clay has a soft silky consiste

2. Using a spray bottle, lightly spritz the inside oempty syringe with water.

3. Place the conditioned clay into the prepared syrPush an open paper clip up through the openithe syringe pressing plunger downslightly to remove any air pocketsand compress the clay towardsthe point of the syringe.

4. Extrude a snake long enough to wraparound the stone and overlap. Spritz snakewith water and cover with plastic wrap. Allow

snake to sit for a minute under the plasticwrap before placing around the stone. (This

will help to prevent cracking). Overlap, cut and join seam withpaste, smoothing until seam disappears. Set stone aside to dry.When dry rene bezel.

Bail:5. Extrude another snake about 6 inches long. Spritzwater and allow to rest for a minute under plastic wPick up snake and make several wraps around a mesize straw. Be sure the straw is large enough to allowchain you plan to use to pass through. These wrapsmade much like winding wire around a mandrel to m

jumprings. Make sure that wraps are placed close together. Allow to dry.

Frame:6. Roll 20 grams of clay 6 cards thick. Place clay on a surface thatcan be transferred to a drying source without disturbing the clay.

This should be a surface you can work on throughout the makingof your pendant.

7. Place template #1 on clay and cut with an exacto knife orblade. To keep the edges crisp and even, don’t allow the blade todrag along the edges or around the corners. Make your cuts longand cut past the corners as you continue your cuts around the template.

Using syringe work as a background texture and as a foreground embellishment.

by Barbara Hance

Great syringe tips:

As a cake decorator, using the syringe took a little practice but when I applied cakedecorating techniques to the syringe the doors opened for many design uses. Onceyou learn to control the speed and pressure you use with the syringe, you can createeverything from ne bezels to backgrounds and drawings.

Much of the successful use of the syringe depends on the balance of the speed in

which you move the syringe over your work, and the pressure you use on the plungeras you pipe. An inexpensive way to practice your pressure control is to squeezetoothpaste right from the tube into an empty syringe and place one of the smalltips on the end. Practice your pressure control and movement of your syringe untilyou feel condent enough to work with your silver. Even though your silver lledsyringe will produce much more resistance than toothpaste it is an inexpensive wayto practice getting control of your syringe work.

To start your design, place the point of the syringe on the surface of your work,squeeze out a small amount of syringe just to attach the string to the surface. Liftthe point of the syringe slightly off the surface and continue to pipe. Working with thesyringe slightly off the surface and dropping your lines will offer you more control,your lines will be smoother and more rounded than if you were to drag the tip alongthe surface of your work.

To stop, touch tip back down to surface, reduce pressure, stop squeezing and pullaway. A damp paint brush can be used to smooth away points and uneven surfacesas well as coaxing wayward lines into place.

If the syringe line curls up as you pipe you can move the syringe faster over thesurface of your work or decrease the pressure you are using on the plunger.

If the syringe line is breaking as you pipe either slow down the movement of thesyringe or increase the pressure on the plunger to achieve a smooth unbroken line.

Filigree

Hexagon Pendant

21

Adjust the size oftemplates accordto the desired siz

nished penda




8. Center template #2 on clay cut from template #1, and cut outthe center to complete the frame. Allow the frame to dry. Whendry rene the inner and outer edges of the frame to prepare forthe ligree background.

Rening Facing of Frame:9. After rening the inside and outside edgeof the frame you will use 400, 600, 1200 and4000 grit sandpaper to make a mirror like

nish on the face of the frame. Start with 400 grit sandpaper andsand surface until smooth.Working in the opposite direction, use600 until smooth. Progress through 1200 and 4000 until surfacefeels very smooth. This process does not take a lot of sanding to

achieve a nice smooth nish. Work with a light touch, sanding onlyuntil the surface is smooth with each grit.

Molded embellishments:10. Roll tiny pieces of clay into a cone shape, push into prepared mold, remove and

allow to dry. When dry rene edges. Place aside. Setting the Stone and Creating SyringeBackground:11. Using painter’s tape, attach frame to aprepared work surface... I used a teon bakingsheet. The teon releases the nished pendanteasily.

12. Place the rened stone in the center of the frame. Use a smallamount of paste to glue the stone onto the teon surface so it will

not move as you work around the bezel withthe syringe.

13. Starting from the outer edge using theblue or thinnest nozzle randomly work fromthe edge towards the center. Work in cursivec’s and r’s allowing syringe to curl and touch,using a damp thin bristled paint brush to coaxlines into place as you work. Be sure syringework is attached securely to the frame and thebezel around the stone. 14. When the pendant is completely dry, turn it over and usingsyringe run a thin line around the back of the bezel to reinforcethe stone to the ligree work. A small line of syringe can be placedaround the frame work, blending well as you work. Use only asmall amount of syringe. You want to reinforce the stone and theframework to the syringe, but you do not wantexcess syringe to seep through to the front of

your pendant. Work carefully, pendant is very f ragile.

Syringe and Embellishments:15. Using the grey or largest tip place your design on top of theligree work. Swirls are made one side at a time, starting at thecenter curling down and around completing the line by attaching itto the bezel. Use a ne bristled damp paint brush to coax lines intoplace, and adhere design to ligree.


To see more of Barbara Hance’s beautiful work, go to:www.adornmentsbydiane.com

Using a pair of tweezers paste the small molded balls yoearlier onto the frame of the pendant.

16. When pendant is completely dry, rene any place pendant that looks or feels rough to the touch. A baby wipused to gently smooth the top of the large syringe work, ansmoothing around the embellishments.

17. If the frame itself needs more rening, use the sandin400, 600, 1200 and 4000 to gently remove any imperfections. Completing the Bail:

18: Remove the dry coiled clay from the straw. Using a pair of wirecutters cut the clay rings as you would wire jump rings. For this bailcut a ring in half, making a C shaped bail. Hold the bail and gentlysand the edges at using 400 grit sandpaper. The extra rings canbe saved in a container for future use.

19. Paste the bail to the back of the pendant.

20. To give a nished look to the back of the pendant, cutcircle of clay and paste over the back of the stone.

21. Rene and clean the glass cabochon with a cotton swain denatured alcohol (available at hardware stores).

Fire:

22. Ramp kiln at 1000 degrees per hour to 1200 re at 1200 degrees for 30 minutes. kiln off once it cools to 1000 degrees. The kiln door should remain closed until the

reaches room temperature. DO NOT PEEK!! If you open the kiln door during thisprocess the temperature change could cause the glass to crack.

Finish:

23. Patina with LOS, add a chain, and enjoy your pendant!




Classes in metal clays, Art Clay certification (bothLevel 1 & Senior level) and cross-over certification foPMC certified artisans are offered at Stan and Ann’s

studio, as well as other classes.

Contact Stan and Ann Rosier for more [email protected]

619-578-2075


METALCLAYARTS

IN - ABOUT - FOR METAL CLAY

LiL BeLLA

TOOLS - GLASSKILN SAFE STONES

LiL BeLLA Humidifier

HAND CRAFTED ART JEWELRY

WORKSHOPS CLASSESPRIVATE INSTRUCTIONGALLERY - LINKS - SOURCES

metalclayarts@gmail.comwww.metalclayarts.commetalclayarts.Etsy.comDonnaLewis.Etsy.com

San Jose, CA Classeswith Pat Evans

Senior Art Clay Silver Instructor (also Level III PMCC)

Join me for beginning through intermediate classes in

metal clay, fused glass, basic bead stringing & wire wrapping.

Art Clay Certication also available.Fun, creative private or semi-private classes

in my studio or your home...makes a great party activity for teens and adults.

Email [email protected] more information

Dynasty Creative Arts Studio

A warm, inspiring and relaxing environmentwhere you can design and create your own

one-of-a-kind jewelry designs.Novice to advanced, individual instruction to

group classes and private parties.

• Hand blown lamp work beads,

• Precious and semi-precious stones

• Chains, Accessories & Tools

• Unique hand-made jewelryworks of arts with emphasis onlocal and national artists

Visit, learn and make newfriends. From one-of-a-kind jewelry designs, to uniquecomponents for jewelry arts...

Dynastyis the destination.

27134B Paseo Espada, # 201San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Studio Phone: [email protected]



18 MetalClayToday.com • Spring 2010 Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday.

TOOLS:Beginning metal clay tools... separate sets, one for copper, one for silveror washed well in between usage of clay types

Water bottle with smooth sidesKiln

Dehydrator, hot plate of coffee cup warmer

Torch for copper

Charcoal block

Water and pickle for quenching and cleaning off re scale from copper

Brass cutters, 10 mm and 20 mm round

Jump rings, 16 gauge, (10) 4.0mm, (12) 3.5mm, (20) 3.0 mm

Brass brush for polishing

Hammer for texturing copper pieces

Heavy hammer for dapping

Wood dapping block

Art Clay Copper Clay

Art Clay 650 Slow Dry or 650 Slow Dry Low Fire Clay, 20 grams

Art Clay paste

Art Clay syringe

Pickle, sparex, or citrus pickle

Glass pyrex cup for pickle

Copper or plastic tongs to remove copper from pickle

Baking soda and hot water to neutralize the pickle

INSTRUCTIONS:

Copper Discs and Washer Shapes

1. Roll out the copper clay to a red slat depth, 1.5mm.

2. Using the 10mm round cutter, punch out 3 disc shapeUse the second cutter to punch out 3 washer shapes tocomplement the small discs. Set aside in dehydrator or hot plate to dry, turning when necessary (it tends to curdried too fast).

3. Once dry, sand top, bottom and edges smooth.

4. Fire with a torch for 3 minutes onthe charcoal block.

5. Immediately immerse in cold water to help remove re scale.

6. Continue with steps 3 through 5 for the remaining 2discs and the 4 washer shaped pieces.

7. Pickle the copper discs if all the re scale did notcome off in the water. If using pickle, then immersepickled items into very hot baking soda and water tohelp neutralize any excess pickle.

8. Using small hammer, texture the discs and washers in a cross hatch design, one of your choosing.

9. Once the texture is achieved on all of the discs and washgently tap the discs with a wooden dapping block in thesecond largest setting to gently curvethe small discs. Use a deeper setting todome the washer sections. Curving thediscs will enable them to sit correctlyupon the curved silver sections.

10. Set the nished washer pieces aside,until assembly, and the discs will be used in the next step.

Silver Sections

1. To create the silver sections, have all your toohandy: roller, spacer slats, cutter, coil roller, etc.

2. Roll out enough clay (about 25 cent size) to arectangle using the red spacer slats.

3. Place the rolled out clay onto your texture and

4. Trim the section to 20 mm wide by 30 mm lonthen place upon the water bottle to create the cushape of the bracelet sections.

Copper DiscsCaptured In Silver

By Carol A. Babineau



20 MetalClayToday.com • Spring 2010 Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday.

5. Press one of the copper discs slightly into your clayrectangle.

6. Roll out a tiny piece of clay into a coil with the coilroller.

7. Moisten the area around the copper disc and thenuse a line of syringe to adherethe coil to the backing, havingone end come up into a curl onthe top of the copper disc.

8. Create two more pieces following steps 1 through 7, in

this section.

9. Allow all to dry on the waterbottle form until completely dry.

10. Sand and nish the sectionswell.

11. Drill two holes in each end, in order to attach jumprings, using gradually-sized drill bits until you get tothe nal size... 1.70 mm is for large jump rings madewith 16 gauge wire.

Toggle and Bar

12. The circular toggle section is made from one of the copper washers.

13. The bar is made the same way the silver sections are made, (roll, texture, cut

out, etc.,) a jump ring is then attached to the back of the bar. The bar should be ¼” wide and at least ¼” longer from the center of the bar to its overlapping end.

14. Allow to dry the slightly curved bar shape on thewater bottle, just like the silver sections.

15. Attach a jump ring to the back of the bar usingsyringe. Just make a large ‘pile’ of syringe, set the jumpring into it at a slight angle and smooth around it.

16. Dry completely, adding more syringe if needed.

17. Clean copper discs of silver dust with alcohol before ring.

18. Fire all completed silver sections in kiln on a piece of ber blanket that has been shaped into a curved form.

Assembly

1. Attach 3.5mm size jump rings to each rectangular silversection, one at each corner.

2. Open (6) 4mm jump rings, attach (4 each) to twocopper rings and (2) to the toggle ring.

3. The sections now have a ring on each corner,and two of the rings also have corresponding jumprings. Open (4) 3.5mm jump rings and connect thebracelet sections to the washer sections.

4. Now you have a stripof connected parts.

5. Open (6) 3.5mm jump rings andconnect threeof them oneach end of the

silver section(in a straightline) ending upwith the last

one attaching to the toggle ring end.

6. For the bar end, open (6) 3.5mm jumprings. Attach two each to the silver section,then use one to gather the two rows of ringsand attach them together at this point. Addthe last ring, joining the toggle bar onto it atthe same time.

7. Tumble nish if desired.

Carol A. Babineauis an award winning

Art Clay Master Instructoand the author of

“Metal Clay Beyond the Bas

Her work can be purchasedthe League of NH CraftsmGallery, Littleton, Concor

and Meredith, NH.

For more informationvisit Carol at

http://www.artclaystudio.c

Carol A. BabineauArt Clay Master Instructor

art clay studio llc

Transform your ideas into realitySmall Classes Individual Instruction

Certification Workshops All Levels

artclaystudio.com • 603-560-5402

* 2 0 0 8 N A D C o m p e t i t i o n P r e s i d e n t i a l G r a n d P r i z e A w a r d

SILVER · GOLD · COPPER

CLASSES FOR ALL

LEVELS OF INSTRUCTION

METAL CLAY

[email protected]




Tips ‘N Tricks

Spring 2010 • MetalClayToday.c

Most everyone working with metal clay has experienced that sinking feeling of nding an opened package of clay that has turned rock hard... or looking ata piece you’ve been working on, but just before you re it, deciding that youhate it.

I tried crushing the hardened clay, wetting it, rolling it, smashing it... hatingit enough to consider throwing it away. But, silver clay is way too expensiveto just toss.

Then someone told me about using a Dremel to grind the clay back into powder.I tried that and found it remarkably easy to disintegratethe hardened clay, but got turned off by the powder that ew everywhere.

Edit’s Nte:I’ve discovered that the neck of the bottle ts snugly over the straight-edged

chuck of my small Dremel, but I’ve had to wrap a piece of tape around the neck to hold it on when using it on my larger Dremel. It might be worth checking the

supermarket drink aisle for a wider-mouth bottle.

Reconstituting Dried Clay

Handy little tips to remember:

1. Drink all the water before cutting the bottle in half :-)

2. Leaving the main side of the shield a little bigger androunder funnels the powder straight on down.

3. Make sure you hold onto the hardened piece of claywith tweezers or vice grips... the grinding wheel can be alittle rough on your ngers.

Remembering something that I haddone years before, I took an emptyplastic water bottle and cut the tophalf off.

I slit the sides at almost the centerpoint, leaving one side a little bigger

and rounder than the other.

Sliding the neck of the bottle up over the Dremel’s grinder, open side facdown, made a shield which funneled the powder into a neat little pile runderneath. The clear plasticmade it easy to see exactlywhat I was doing.

It was such an easy and cleanprocess. I found I could grindthe hardened clay directly ontoa piece of saran wrap, add afew drops of distilled water,wrap it up and quickly knead itback into usable clay.

This is also a handy little device for polishing your silver pieces without spewyour polishing compound all over the place or back up ino your face.

I cut the smaller section outup at the neck of the bottle.



Instructions:

1. Lubricate work surface, domes, roller and straw. Draw awith permanent marker around the dome, about 2/3 of thedown, to serve as a placement guide. 2. Using approximately 1/3 of the packageof clay, roll a piece 3 cards thick into arough rectangle at least 3 1/2” long by 2” wide.

3. Use tissue blade to cut at least 14 strips the length of theclay, each about 1/8” wide. If you want to be precise, use aclear work surface and place a piece of graph paper underneath

for a guideline. However, irregular strips can be an interesting look, too. If you enough clay, cut a few extra strips to have as backup.

4. Remove alternate strips and reserve for weft strips, le7 strips in place. Trim ends evenly with tissue blade. Tstrips will be your warp strips.

5. Fold back alternate weft strips slightly more than halPlace one of the weft strips horizontallyacross the center of the warp. Flip thefolded strips back up.

6. Fold the warp strips that weren’t folded in step 6 down, closeto the weft strip that is already in place. Place another warp stripacross and ip the strips back in place.

7. Repeat Step 6, alternating warp strips and moving from abovethe center weft to below it, until all 7 warp strips are in place. Trim

excess strips about ¼” from the weave. Spritz woven mat with water and coverplastic wrap for a minute to let the clay absorb the water. Thhelp keep the woven piece from cracking in the next step.

8. Carefully peel the clay off the work surface. Work gso as to avoid disturbing the weave. Center the weave odoming form and gently shape to theform.

9. Use the craft knife to trim the clay inan even circle around the dome. Refer

to the placement line you drew. However, since all weavesare slightly different, you may choose to cut slightly above orbelow the line to get the best shape. Just be sure to have an

edge that is mostly even. You can cleanup small imperfections later on.

10. Roll a long strip of clay 3 cards thick. Cut 2 strips,

about 3/16” wide. Keep one strip covered with plastic working with the other. Wrap the strip of clay around the eoverlapping at the join. Cut through the overlap (being canot to cut the woven strip below). Seal the join with paste(I found that the forms I used could take the heat from mywarmer. If yours isn’ t heat stable, dry until you can lift the from the form, and then nish drying on your heat source

WovenQuick FireBronzePendant

Intermediate Levelby Pat Evans

Materials:100 g quick re bronze clayLavender oilOlive oil or Badger Balm®

Basic metal clay tool kit:

• Roller• Nonstick work surface

The Easy Rolling Sheet from the MCT Winter Issue is perfect for this project

• Graduated slats or playing cards• Tissue blade• Craft knife

• Small round tipped paint brush• Color shaper - optional, but nice

• Straws• Emery boards and sanding pads• Diamond les

Since I teach metal clay, I keep hoping for alternatives tosilver for my students who can’t afford the cost of silver orwho want to practice with a less expensive material. The

long rings of the rst bronze clays just didn’t work well for my classes, and werehard on my kiln. As soon as I tried the new quick re bronze clay, I was in love. Atlast I could eliminate the long rings, have a reliable bronze for my students to playwith, and add a lovely warm golden color to my metal palette.

I’ve gone through several hundred grams of the new bronze clay now. I’m usingPrometheus from Turkey. Hadar Jacobson also has a quick re bronze available, whichI have not yet experimented with. Either one should be suitable for this project. Inmy work, I’ve learned a few tricks for working with the clay that have made my lifea little easier (see Sidebar).

Along with metal clay, I love basket making and weaving. I found that this clay is sosupple and relatively slow drying that it was a natural for a woven technique.

Tools:Container for paste

Doming formsI used the bottoms of twosmall plastic Easter eggs

Texture wheel

Mist bottle with water

Plastic wrap

Empty syringe or coil roller

Mug warmer or dehydrator

Kiln

Tongs, long tweezers

Shallow stainless steel pan or ber blanket

Activated charcoalMetal or ceramic quenching container

Brass brush

Optional: rotary tool or ex shaftwith sanding discs andextra-ne ber wheel




11. Make lavender oil paste by mixing a lump of clay with water to a smooth, thickpaste. Then stir in two to three drops of lavender oil. Fill any cracks or pits with thepaste, using a small paintbrush or color shaper. Dry again.

12. Repeat steps 1-12 to make a second woven dome.

13. Make bail: roll a strip of clay 3 cards thick and at least 13/4” long. Fold around lubricated straw. Press ends togetherand trim the leftover tab to ½” from the straw. Trim corners of tab at a 45 degree angle. Dry.

14. Sand edges of domes at and even.The bronze clay can be tough to sand.I like to start by using a sanding wheel

with my rotary tool, then nish by placing the dome on ablack emery board and rotating to get a level edge. Fill anycracks or pits and dry.

15. Make a thin coil: Fill an emptysyringe with water and empty it. Theninsert a log of clay in the syringe and extrude. Poke a paper clipor needle tool in the extruding end of the syringe as you depressthe handle in order to remove air bubbles. Then extrude a longcoil of clay. (I use Lorraine Davis’s idea, a large metal washer,to give me extra leverage while extruding. Commercial syringehelpers are also available.) If you prefer, you can make a thincoil with a coil roller. I like the evennessof extruded coils.

16. Dampen the edges of one dome. Place the coil aroundthe edge. Dampen edge of the second dome and place on

top. Squeeze gently to join the two halves. Clean excessclay from seam, smoothing with adampened color shaper or paintbrush.Since you will be covering this seamlater, it doesn’t have to be absolutelyperfect.

17. Use a craft knife to open a slot the width of the bail tab in theclay between the two halves. Insert tab of dried bail in the slot. Secure the tab and llany openings around it with lavender paste.Dry.

18. Extrude a long coil of clay. Place it in a straight line on your worksurface. Use the texture roller to make a design in the coil.

19. Dampen the join around the wovenpendant and place the decorated coil on top.

Use a damp paintbrush to tap the coil in placeand smooth the join. Dry.

20. Take a last look at your pendant for cracks, pits or roughedges. Fill with lavender paste as needed and sand or le anyrough spots. I found that a triangular diamond le was perfect forgetting in small crevices of the weave.

21. Put about 3/4” of carbon in a shallowstainless steel pan. Lay the pendant on

the charcoal. Sprinklemore charcoal overthe pendant, letting itsift in to the center of the pendant. Cover thependant with cover withanother 1/2’” to 3/4” of carbon, mounding overthe dome of the pendantso that a fairly even layercovers the entire piece.

22. Fire at 1530 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours. (I use a Paragon SC-3. Firing schedules forother kilns may vary.In particular, if you usea brick kiln instead of a mufe kiln, you maywant to reduce thetemperature by about50 degrees.) I start mypieces in a cold kiln.

23. When ring isnished, you can openthe kiln to cool slightly.However, it is best toremove your pendant while it is still fairly hot.Be sure to use appropriate safety precautions,

including heatproof gloves, long tongs, etc. Uselong tweezers to sh your pendant out of thecharcoal. Shake as muchof the hot carbon out backinto the ring pan, thenimmediately drop the piecein a container of water toquench.

24. Brush the pendantwith a brass brush, or foran even nicer and easiernish, with a ber wheeland rotary tool or exshaft. If you nd parts that

are cracked or unsintered, you can repair withlavender paste and re-re. (The second ringshould take only an hour.)

25. Hang your pendant on a cord or chain andenjoy!

Tip: To make matching earrings, simply followsteps 1-12, re and nish as above, and attachto an earwire with a bronze jump ring.

Tips for Working with Quic

Bonz ClNow that I’ve gone through severagrams of quick re bronze clay, I’some ways of working with it thateven easier.

1. Bronze clay dries hard enough thaand ling can be difcult. I like to ustool if I have a lot of clay to le. Whenby hand, I’ve found that diamond coarser grits of sandpaper or emerthan I would use for a similar pusilver clay are necessary to make prosmoothing or shaping the clay. The is that the greenware, although breless fragile than silver clay.

2. Because of the hardness greenware, it works best to work aas possible during the wet stage—edges with a little water, make neetc. As an added advantage, thisthe amount of dust you’ll create dlater sanding or ling.

3. I had some trouble with plain padhering well to the green warlavender oil paste solved the problea paste with a lump of bronze clay aThen add a couple of drops of lavand stir in. I use this both before for making post-ring repairs.

4. I was able to make scraps of claas supple as fresh simply by spritzwater, tearing, stacking and re-rollintimes. This process, especially for have refreshed more than once, to more pitting in the nished projebest used for textured pieces.

5. I like kiln ring in a small amcarbon because it is the most reliof getting a golden bronze color. blanket method that comes with gave me more of a coppery color, more issues with sintering, as well.

6. Using a ber wheel on my romade post-ring cleanup and pobreeze.

7. Always be aware of safety Wear a mask when creating dusanding or nishing. Use appropria

eyewear, both when using power twhen looking in your kiln. Wear globarrier hand cream when working clay, especially if you have a senthe metal. Your may not see immeffects if you work carelessly, but yterm health could suffer!





Guest Blogger B l o g


Walking Through LifeLinda Stiles Smith

Metal Clay Today Blog Post – March 2010

I say this with the growing conviction that that is just what I’ve been doing, walkingthrough life. Maybe sometimes it’s a stroll, but a lot of the time it’s a power walk. I

don’t jog. Or run. I just keep on walking. Not always in a straight line, and there issome pausing along the way.

I wasn’t among the rst to work with silvermetal clay. That’s a good thing for me because if I had been, I might have lost patience with theprocess and never gotten past my rst piece. Ilike to let others work out the technical bugs ina product so I can concentrate on creating.

Even so, that rst piece was a disaster! I tooka workshop even though I don’t work verywell in the classroom. I’m easily distracted byother people and what they are doing, trying toabsorb EVERYTHING at once.

Usually I can’t design off the cuff and therewasn’t a lot of direction to the class. I had to

beg to borrow tools to work on my unnishedpiece at home, but when I took it out the nextday the clay had melted into the wet papertowel it was wrapped in! Rule #1; don’t wrapmetal clay in wet paper towels. It’s ok if it dries out in between work sessions.

Ultimately I really wanted to work with this new silver material, so I sought out theanswers and grew my knowledge any way I could.

I love to read. Reading is my main method for learning anything. Since most of thebooks at the time (2002) were in Japanese and there wasn’t anything like YouTubeyet, I kept devouring the information I could nd from other artists in magazines.

I also don’t travel a lot. I really like living in the Midwest, so my class experienceswere restricted to what was available in my area, which hasn’t been much. But I justkept on walking: teaching myself and MAKING as much as I could.

When certication classes became available, I took them. I am a Senior Certied

Instructor with Art Clay World, USA and have completed the Rio PMC Certicationcourse, and am now working towards my Level 1 Master’s Registry.

My initial plan though was to make jewelry I could sell. So that’s what I did, creatingan occasional show piece here and there, if I had time. All the while I kept on walkingand learning and MAKING.

Do you see a theme?

With any craft, art, trade or occupation, you just have to keep on working to leFortunately, the jewelry I make does sell. I love what I make, but I make what plike to buy and wear. And I really like to MAKE things. And as I learn, I keep rathe bar on the quality of my work.

After a couple of years while I was just walking along doing my own work, pestarted asking me if I would teach them how to make jewelry with metal clay. not? I was certied to teach wasn’t I?

My goal was not just to teach, but to help others realize a faster start than Iworking with metal clay. For example, I had to teach myself how to torch rpieces because I could only nd one or two paragraphs on the topic, it wasn’t tain the classes I took. Now, every beginner in my classes learns how to torch they can go right home and do it.

Pulling the best information I could nd for my students I realized that there wplethora of how-to’s but not a lot of quality overall basic information (the brand

seem to inuence this). So I gathered up my and tips and all the knowledge I had acquired the years and wrote a book for students: MetaBasics & Bench Reference released in 2009.

It’s all been great fun learning and workingMAKING something both beautiful and useful. my journey in metal clay is walking me downpath of tool invention and writing.

It’s amazing to me that I actually invented ato use that hadn’t been developed by anyone Linda’s Lid Metal Clay Syringe Holder is still a soafter tool for metal clay artists.

And there are more ideas on my bench, as welgrowing list of topics to write about!

Staying receptive to opportunities, keeping trmyself and ideals, spreading the joy of MAKINGwalking forward are what it’s all about for me.

It’s an interesting journey...

will you join me?

Check out Metal Clay Today’s blog athttp://metalclaytoday.wordpress.com/2010/03/




L o r i

Hi everyone, a couple of inspirational sites are in my focusthis time around. I say this because after you have seen theextraordinary creations of these metal clayers you will beinspired to produce your own. (P.S. never copy! That’s notgood claymanship!)

With these sites you need to grab your favorite beverage, sitback, kick up your feet, assuming you have a laptop! Otherwise,you will knock over your monitor, spill your drink… stop, Lori,you’re rambling! Anyway, what you will experience is endlesshours of ooooo’s and awwwws.

Ok, with this in mind, we will start at the Mother Load, punintended! http://www.etsymetalclay.blogspot.com is asite where you may not nd how-tos or step by steps; insteadyou will be treated to posting after posting of eye candy. Yum!Yum! These are some insanely talented artists! Yet the best part is, if you enjoy what yousee, you are able to click on the artist and visit their etsy store to make a purchase. I highlyencourage you to do this and support your fellow artists. Somebody has to help them supporttheir habits. After all, we all know how addicting metal clay is!

Another blog came to us through a recommendation... keep those coming by the way! I wasalready familiar with this site and was going to tell you all about it because of its hamster.Huh? Its what? There is the cutest little hamster in a cage that you are able to feed and play

with. What does a hamster have to do with metal clay? Who cares! I played with it for about5 minutes till I could tear myself away to maneuver through the site. The site is http://www.joyfunnell.blogspot.com. Joy Funnell is a wonderful enameller and a senior Art Clayinstructor. She lls her blog with great pictures and stories about her current pieces. This isanother perfect place for a budding artist or a seasoned veteran to receive a creative nudge.

Elsewhere in this issue we welcome Linda Stiles Smith’s Guest Blog, offering her perspectiveon personal creativity. We can learn new methods, new ideas, and play with new clays. It allcontributes to our inspiration to create!

So there you are for now. I hope you glean some fresh perspectives.

Don’t forget to visit our Featured Artist Lorena Angulo’s fabulous blog athttp://blog.lorenaangulo.com/

Check out our blog at http://metalclaytoday.wordpress.com/2010/03/

Then come and visit our fan page on Facebook! If you do, you’ll be the rst to know aboutthe new contests, the winners and anything else we decide to leak out to our awesome fans.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/MetalClayToday/288344465863?ref=mf

Happy Blogging!

Best of the Blogs

by Lori Phillips

B l o g Trends, Forecasts & Predictions

The designers’ dresses for thissummer show some very femininedetails. Offer your own uniquedesigns to complement thesebeautiful and elegant gowns.

Trend — Big, Beautiful Bows

Many designers highlighted their gowns with a large, simple bow accentinthe waistline, sometimes in stiff white satin, sometimes as a thin belt in contrasting ribbon, but always super chic.

Trend — Lots and Lots of Flowers

Often gowns can be seen nearlycompletely covered in 3-dimensionalowers, bursting into bloom from top

to bottom, or as a virtual corsage atthe neckline.

Trend — Lace

Not your Grandmother’s lace gown,these have contemporary lines, butare often lled with lots of layers of soft rufes.

Trend — Wink at Color

Brides are not just looking to whitepearls and clear crystal for theirwedding day, but playing with littlehints of color in their gown and jewelry. Pretty pastels and brightsorbet colors are popular for thissummer.

Hapy Designing!

BlushingSummer Brides

by Lori Delisle

“Silver Lace

TheLovelyO

“Garden Party” by DaisyJaneDesigns.etsy.com

“Lotus Blossom Earrings” By TZTUDIO.etsy.com

“Green Cherby missemo

“Thechocolateands

“Brown Paper Packages” by J2Jewelry.etsy.com

“Forever Forget Me Not” by artisticcreations.etsy.com




Book Review

I was thoroughly charmed by Thornton’s imaginative approach in Enchanted Adornments. Thorntonbelieves that objects can hold magic, and her book centers around this theme. Part inspiration, partmodern fairy tale, and part how-to book, this volume is both whimsical and practical.

Like most books of this genre, this one begins with a ‘Basics’ section. However, what Thorntonconsiders to be basic is nding and harnessing inspiration, and so that is the focus of her rst chapter.She gives specic ideas for grabbing inspiration, such as deconstruction (breaking down the elementsof a design for study) and symbolism.

Next Thornton looks at ‘Essentials’ - materials and methods. While she does a nice job of discussingsafety issues and organization, some of her other information is awed. The author says, for example,that “adding pieces to a preheated kiln can cause bubbling and surface defects.” The only time I’ve

ever heard of a problem with putting silver metal clay pieces in a preheated kiln is when the piecesare not thoroughly dry. The directions Thornton gives for determining the length of a toggle clasp arevague. And in listing types of metal clay and polymer clay, she completely omits any mention of somewell-known brands, although in the project instructions themselves, she is brand-neutral. The sectionredeems itself with some solid techniques, including an in-depth discussion of how to make a pouredsilicon 3-D mold, a texture sheet technique using liquid polymer clay, and more.

The heart of the book lies in the twenty multi-media projects, each introduced with a fanciful storyabout the mystical creature that inspired the piece. Reading this section, my own imagination tookwing, itting around ideas based on my own set of imaginary friends. I loved the concept of writinga story to nd your way in to a piece. The projects that accompany the pieces are intriguing intheir variety and skillful use of multimedia techniques. The styles range from vintage chic to nature-inspired to whimsical and modern. A hinged locket with resin-embedded image and a tiny hollow eggwith a watch crystal window were two of my favorite projects, although nearly every one spoke tome in some way. I was even captured by many of the projects that have no metal clay included atall. The directions are not as fully illustrated as in some step-by-step books, but there are sufcient

photos to clarify tricky steps, and the written instructions are thorough and easily followed, even withchallenging pieces. The book concludes with a gallery that provides further inspiration.

If you are looking for a book to make you utter your creative wings,

Enchanted Adornments has just the magic you need!

by Patricia K. Evans

Enchanted Adornments:Creating Mixed Media Jewelry withMetal Clay, Wire, Resin and More

by Cynthia ThorntonInterweave, 2009

The MCT Challenge!

Send us your 4” x 6” 300 ppi photos along with your name,the project’s title, and your contact information

to [email protected] by May 1st, 2010.

We will post your submissions at www.metalclaytoday.comand your peers will vote to decide who wins.

Voting will take place from May 7th to May 21st.Winners will be announced on May 25th.

Projects must include at least 50% metal clay.

First Place Prize - $100 Metal Clay Findings Gift Certicate

Second Place Prize - ArtClay Coppr Kit

Third Place Prize - 25 grams of your preferred Silver Clay

exploring new directions, new interests,

new relationships, new materials,

new friendships, new motherhood, etc.

All entries should be named, and must be

accompanied by a caption, in 25 words or

less, dening how your piece represents

a new beginning.

Y o u r c h a l l e n

g e i s . . .

New Beginnings



The Spirit of Giving We thank all of the artists who participated

in Metal Clay Today’s Winter Challenge.

Check out the new challenge at www.metalclaytoday.com


Check out the new challenge at www.metalclaytoday.co

Mad Hatter Colleen Wilson

GinkoBarbara Spong

Christianede Haes

Large MagnetClasp Pendant

Barbara Hance

Silver ShieldCarol Faith

Fish LocketCarol Faith

Pam Annesley

CornucopiaRush

Ardis Bartle

PurpleLake

SherryStone

EarringsBarbara Spong

Angel FishCarol Faith

Ginko Leaf Barbara Spong

Celtic KnotBarbara Hance

Tears of JoyRonald Taylor

GracieGail Moriarity

JessicaConnie Williams

CoiledRobin BethFaulkner

NautilusBarbara Spong



The Spirit of Giving Our readers have voted... and here are the results!

First Place

Mad Hatter by Colleen Wilson

Colleen received a set of Dynasty Rubber Stamps

Second Place

Tears of Joyby Ronald Taylor

Ronald received50 grams of Silver Clay

Third Pla

Polymer

Inlayby Pam Ann

Pam rece

25 grams ofClay


Check out the new challenge at www.metalclaytoday.com


“Life is good! In my retirement I’m nally able to pursuartistic inclinations whole-heartedly. I believe those inclinato be hereditary, for my father’s hobby was oil painting, buI like to think that it was primarily the artistic talent of mymaternal grandfather, who was an accomplished coppersthat was passed to me.

I’ve been creating jewelry for t wo years, and I’ve takencourses from some of the nest j ewelry artists in bead & pstringing, lapidary, silver fabrication, and silver and coppeclays, and I hope to take many more. I nd it surprising,but also most gratifying, to nd myself being referred to anintroduced as a “jeweler” and an “artist,”and to now have won my second prizein a jewelry contest. My rst win wasa second place prize in the 2009 San

Diego County Fair in the SouthwestJewelry, Modern category for a pieceinvolving cuttlebone casting.

I have been hoarding all my pieces,still unwilling to sell or give away asingle piece, but I recognize thatthis is going to have to change. My jewelry has become a rather expensivepassion, and, in the future, onegeneration of pieces is going to have t ofund the next.“

Colleen Wilson of (Riverview, MI *) has had a career as a dental ceramist for over 25 years.Her art of crown and bridge “sculpting” took her to a love of creating one-of-a-kind jewelry. Shehas been working with PMC for ten years and has recently expanded to Bronze Clay.

Colleen credits her grandmother for inspiring her to becreative even as a child. She has explored many mediaover the years such as china painting, photography,ceramics, but always returns to her love of beading and jewelry.

Colleen’s a certied artisan/instructor (Rio Grande) whoteaches from her home studio. Her creations are availableat local art & craft shows and at a boutique in Tucson, AZ.

She is a member of t he Downriver Arts and CraftsGuild, Downriver Council for the Arts http://downriverarts.org, and the PMC Guild.

You may contact Colleen at [email protected] or on www.facebook.com./colleenwilsonpreciousmetalclayjewelry

Check out the new challenge at www.metalclaytoday.co

“I have a compulsion to be creative. I feel I have to express myself throughdifferent mediums such as the contemporary clays and bre arts. I have hadaspirations to be an artist all my life. I can remember as a child of ve I wasconstantly drawing or making something.

I spent much of my youth exploring several mediums, including drawing,painting, sewing and bead making. I chose art teacher as a profession, while

continuing to explore other mediums, such as photography and bre arts. My artexperience has been rich, not with any one medium,but in adding up what t hey all have to offer. Eachhas added to my sense of design and l ove of colour.

Life to me is an adventure; there is so muchto do, to see and to try. I am constantly exploring,innovating, and continuing to share through myartwork and teaching.”

- Pam Annesley

Pam studied Art, Painting and Photographyin England. She taught Art in High Schools beforemigrating to Australia.

Her jewellery can be found on sale atnumerous galleries around Perth. Pam was a nalistin the mixed media section of the USA 2006 NationalPolymer Clay Guild’s International Juried Exhibition.She was placed fourth at the 2005 Fashion FantasiaExhibition with a spectacular garment embellishedwith Polymer Clay textured beads. More recently

one of Pam’s exceptional screenprinted Polymer Clay Journals was featured inUSA author - Sue Heaser’s “Polymer Clay Techniques” Book.Pam enjoys sharing and encouraging her students to experiment and ask the

question... “What if?”



PMC Southwest Florida, is the southwest Florida chapter of athe national PMC Guild. The soutFlorida chapter meets in the southern half of Florida at least part of the year. We look forward to meyou. Contact Helene K. [email protected] for more information.

The Miami Metal Clay Artists, which is the local chapter of Art Clay Society, USA, meets onthe second Thursday of the month at 6:00 p.m. for social and 6:30 for meeting and project. Wewelcome all metal clay enthusiasts. Contact chapter leader Bernadette Denoux 305 [email protected] for more information.

IllinoisSuburban Silver Society meets the second Friday of each month, all metal clay artists are i nviteare a hands-on group, we work on a project at each meeting. New techniques and demonstrations apresented. For more information contact Deb Wojnorowski at [email protected].

KansasThe Kansas City chapter of the PMC Guild is an eclectic group of artists from the great KansCity metropolitan area with a common interest in metal clays—PMC, ArtClay, Copper, Bronze. We mthe 3rd Tuesday of each month to share a hands-on exploration of a technique or media. Dues arecurrently $10.00 annually. Contact chapter president Lynette Fisk at [email protected] or check our website www.kcpmcguild.org for current meeting information.

MassachusettsGreater Boston Metal Clay Guild meets every 4th Sunday of each month at Metalwerx, 50 GuiStreet, Waltham, MA from 7pm - 9pm. Each meeting we discuss new topics, ideas, have a demo, andiscuss our current month’s challenge. For more information visit t hem at http://bostonmetalclay.comhttp://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=130525423846

New HampshireThe Merrimack Valley Metal Clay Collaborativemeets every third Sunday of the month,except holidays from 11 a.m. until ?at Art Clay Studio, llc,99 Factory St., Ext., Nashua, NH 03060Contact Carol at 603-560-5402 No dueswww.freewebs.com/artclaysocietynewengland/

New YorkPMC Guild-Syracuse/CNY Chapter meets the 3rd Sunday of the month at3:00-4:45 at the Manlius Public Library,1 Arkie Albanese Way, Manlius

Upstate New York Metal Clay GuildStudio 34 Creative Arts Center and Gal-lery, 34 Elton St., Rochester, NY 14607.Contact Marilynne at [email protected] or call 585-737-5858 for more infor-mation.

OhioThe Northeast Ohio Chapter of thePMC Guild meets monthly in ChagrinFalls, Ohio. For more i nformation pleasecontact the chapter representative [email protected]


Class Listings, Show Schedules, Organization News

Calling all Guilds!Tell the world where and when you meet.

Send information about your class listings, show schedules...and meeting times and locations of your

metal clay, artisan or jewelry making organizations.

Please include your name, where and when, name ande-mail address of the contact person.

We believe that it is important for all metal clay enthusiaststo have a forum for networking and promoting their work.

International — AustraliaThe First International Chapter of the PMC GuildThe Victoria, Australia Chapter, based in Melbourne.Meetings are held alternate months. For Information contact [email protected]

United States —CaliforniaMetal Clay Alchemists Society of San Diego CountyMeets quarterly at the Continuing Education, West City Pt. Loma Campus, room 127., 6:00 pmThe address is 3249 Fordham St, San Diego 92110.Contact Stan or Ann Rosier for more information. All Metal Clay Enthusiasts are welcome!

San Diego County Chapter of the PMC GuildMeetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:30 pm5654 Mildred Street, San Diego, CA 92110Blog: www.sdcpmcguild.blogspot.com http://www.pmcguild.com/chapters/sandiego/about.htmlContact Person: Melissa @ [email protected]

San Diego GuildContact Louise Shadonix, Oversight Director San Diego PMC Guild for more information.

ColoradoThe Western Slope Metal Clay Artisans Chapter aka Grand Junction Chapter of the PMC Guild and the Art Clay Society.We serve metal clay enthusiasts on the western slope of Colorado and in eastern Utah. We meet inGrand Junction, CO on the third Saturday of every month from 10 am to 2 pm where we have studioexploration time lead by our members as well as several seminars each year presented by nationallyknown metal clay artists. We are a ‘non-denominational’ group dually chartered by both PMC Guild(PMCG) and Art Clay Society (ACS) with interest in all types of metal clay. We have no local dues, butmembers are required to join both the ACS and PMCG after attending one meeting.

Contact Cindy Holst Chapter Leader [email protected] for more information.

FloridaFlorida Suncoast Chapter of PMC Guild (Sarasota and Bradenton),meets at 6:30 on the third Wednesday of each month at the Reinemeyer Studio, 2550 26th St., WestBradenton, FL. Contact Wendy Traver or visit http://www.pmcguild.com/chapters/oridasuncoast.html for more information.

Beta testerThe Artists Gallery is an online Gal

devoted to Metal Clay Artists who deto have a web presence, but do not w

the expense of developing a webs

We are currently looking fobeta testers for this program

If you would like to participate, [email protected]

with your name and contact informa

W a n t e d




METAL CLAY CLASSESLearn to work with themarvelous medium of metal clayat the Bravo School of Art.

No previous experience in jewelry making or metalsmithing is required.

To register, contact the Bravo School of Art2690 Decatur Road, San Diego (619) 223-0058

www.BravoSchoolOfArt.com

Visit the BravoSchoolOfArt.comwebsite for information on upcoming classes

Don Butler - The Carv ing Glove Guy

5 small Dockyard Micro Carving Tools

These tools are G2, G15, V15, 75V, SK 15...the smallest of the tools

that Dockyard manufactures.

www.thecarvinggloveguy.com

by Michela Verani

The Greater Boston Metal Clay Guild was organized by PMC instructorMarissa O’Brien in the fall of 2009. In the short time the guild has beenmeeting, there has been great interest in the group, with membershipgrowing monthly. While the group is a chapter of the PMC Guild, itwelcomes metal clay enthusiasts of all persuasions.

Group members currently include both PMCand Art Clay users who are metal clay novices,potters, silversmiths, metal clay instructorsand Master’s candidates. This makes for adiverse and wide range of knowledge andskills, all of which is shared freely with the

other members. Such a varied group of members makes formeetings where conversation ranges far aeld of the demosor challenges, but the group leader Marissa O’Brien, does awonderful job of gently reining us all in and back on topic.

In the short time since the group’s inception, members havegiven demos in areas of interest to the group as a whole,

including polymer clay tear-aways, photo polymer plates,Viking knit and colored pencil on metal clay.

The group also has a monthly challenge with themes such as making a piece to acceptcolored pencil, name tags or natural inuences. The naturalinuences theme saw results ranging from one memberusing 2-part silicone molding material to make molds of rocks, trees and other organic material from her yard, tobronze leaves, an silver metal clay acorn box and a tree-shaped sleeve pendant.

Plans for the future include scheduling ‘play-dates’ whenmembers will gather for a day-long marathon of clay andcamaraderie, as well as continuing the monthly demos andchallenges. Members of the GBMCC will be exhibiting piecesat the PMC conference, and the theme will be New England.

The group currently meets the last Sunday of each month at Metalwerx in Waltham,Mass from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For further updates on the group’s activities you

can check out the Greater Boston Metal Clay Chapters’ Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&viewas=0&gid=130525423846

or visit www.bostonmetalclay.com.

The Greater BostonMetal Clay Chapter

Amy Bruch

Michela Verani

Karen Karon




Gale Schlagel

Larry Sanders,Photographer

Gallery

Advertising Rates

*FullpagesandCovershavetheoptiontobleedto8.5”x11”outeredges

Quarter Page3.75” w x 5.25” h

1 issue = $502 issues = $80

4 issues = $140

Business Card3.5” w x 2” h

1 issue = $352 issues = $60

4 issues = $100

Full Page*7” w x 10” h

1 issue = $1402 issues = $2404 issues = $440

Third Page7.5” w x 3.25” h


Half Page7” w x 5.5” h


Inside Cover P7” w x 10” h


SpringIssue-Deadline:February15

SummerIssue-Deadline:May15

FallIssue-Deadline:August15

WinterIssue-Deadline:November15

Formoreinformationaboutplacinganad

inMetalClayToday,pleasee-mailusat:

[email protected]

Instructors areeligible for a25% discount

coupontowardstheir ads

Editor’s Note:

We, at Metal Clay Today,were very impressed with

Gale’s work.

Look for more about her

in an upcoming issue.

METAL CLAY TODAY MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 ISSUE

Documents

Transcript of METAL CLAY TODAY MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 ISSUE