Opal & Tourmaline Birthstone of “OCTOBER” A step to Yourself By: Mettlle Designer Handmade Jewelry
Step by Step Jewelry~Polymer, Ceramic, and Metal Clays - Winter 2007
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Transcript of Step by Step Jewelry~Polymer, Ceramic, and Metal Clays - Winter 2007
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paint your polymer!
BONUS! Polymer and Metal Clay Guides
Winter 2007
add silver tocopperbeads
links of style
capture the
allure of gold
add silver tocopperbeads
links of style make a metal clay bracelet
capture the
allure of gold
paint your polymer!
make this
memorable necklace
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December 2 & 3, 2006Chase Center on the Riverfront
Wilmington, DE
ETSF ewelryJ
Admission: $5.00 Jewelry Fest registered students
receive free Expo admission!
Shopping Hours:
Saturday, December 2: 10 AM 6 PM
Sunday, December 3: 11 AM 5 PM
Shop for spectacular finished jewelryor come and make your own.
Shop for spectacular finished jewelryor come and make your own.
Perfect timing for your holiday gift giving!
Brought to you by Step by Step Beads, Step by Step Wire Jewelry, and Lapidary Journal magazines.
Check www.jewelry-fest.com for a $2.00 coupon off the Expo admission price
and for class photos, descriptions, times and to register for classes. Free Parking!
Beginners welcome
Leave class with a finished piece
to keep or give as a gift
Taught by Editors of Step by Step Beads,
Step by Step Wire Jewelry, and Lapidary
Journal magazines and nationally
published jewelry teachers/designersPhotos show a
selection of the
pieces you can buy
or learn how to make
at Jewelry Fest. See more
of our class offerings at
www.jewelry-fest.com
~ Gemstones, silver, artisan pieces & more ~
Classes - Just 3 hours each
Pendant provided
by India Gems
LJMS-060067-CN2 10/5/06 10:21 AM Page CN2
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+DYH\RXHYHUPDGH\RXURZQSXUHVLOYHUMHZHOU\"
)LQGVWDUWHUNLWVHYHU\WKLQJPHWDOFOD\DW30&6XSSO\FRP
3HERRI(AAB 3HERRI(AAB 3HERRI(AAB
LJMS-060067-003 10/2/06 2:25 PM Page 3
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4 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
Beginner: Someone just starting out cancomplete this project and be happy withthe results.
Beginner/Intermediate: Someone whohas had experience with the material canhappily complete this project, but willalso learn something new by doing it.
Intermediate: A comfortable project forsomeone who has a good workingknowledge of the material.
Intermediate/Advanced: A project forsomeone who is ready for a more chal-lenging approach to a material they haveworked with repeatedly.
Advanced: A good project for someonewho is confident with the material andhas had a lot of experience with thetechniques.
P R O J E C T S K I L L L E V E L S
7
45
6 AlchemyBy Leslie Rogalski, Editor-in-Chief
7 Bamboo Metal Clay Earrings Combining PMC with 18K gold wire and beads.By Kathleen Bolan
14 Bearded Iris Polymer clay brushstroke technique.By Barbara Sperling
21 Silver on Copper Beads Getting more out of your metal clay.By Marc Kornbluh
24 Double the Pleasure Two glass cabochons with movement and style.By Arlene Hildebrand
contents
polymer, ceramic & metal clays polymer, ceramic & metal clays
Winter 2007
21
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50
More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 5
Patricial Kimles Pastel Lentil Bead , page 34.
O N T H E C O V E R
14
www.stepbystepjewelry.com
C H E C K U S O U T O N T H E W E B :
63 Bead Shops
65 The Next Step: Classes Near You
A D V E RT I S E R S S E C T I O N
28 Link Bracelet PMC chain fired in one piece.By Hadar Jacobson
31 Folded Raku Bead Necklace By Sue Ki Wilcox
34 Pastel Lentil Beads Painted polymer takes art to new heights.By Patricia Kimle
40 Fracture Patterning TechniqueBy Helen Breil
44 Fracture Patterned Sheet Patterned polymer clay.By Helen Breil
45 Patterned Polymer Pendant Tempera paint crackle effect for polymer clay.By Helen Breil
50 Rio Oro River of Gold Pendant Metal clay and Aura22.By Lorrene J. Davis
55 The Complete Guide to Metal ClaysBy Suzanne Wade
60 Polymer Clay HintsBy Kathy Weaver
62 Clay Web Resources
31
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6 Step by Step Clay Jewelry 2007
polymer, ceramic & metal clays polymer, ceramic & metal clays
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Leslie RogalskiArt Director Kevin Myers
Projects Editor Denise PeckAssociate Editor Jane W. DickersonAssistant Editor Kristen L. Gibson
Sara E. GrahamAssistant Art Directors Karen Dougherty
Robin HayesCheryl L. Long
Editorial Director Merle White
BUSINESS
Publisher Joseph BreckBusiness & Operations Manager Donna L. Kraidman
Marketing Director David WeimanSundry Sales Manager/
Office Manager Michele P. Erazo(610) 232-5710
Promotions Designer Karen A. DoughertyWeb Site Editor/Developer Tricia Gdowik
Office Coordinator Kathleen A. McIntyreEvents Manager Karen Keegan
ADVERTISING
Sales Director Joseph Breck(610) 232-5701; Fax (610) 232-5750
National Sales Manager Art Dulac(619) 668-0136; Fax (619) 668-1034
Advertising Representatives Evelyn McIntyreBeth VanOstenbridgeKatherine Wiggins
Classified Advertising
Representative Scott StepanskiProduction Manager Scott Tobin
Advertising Coordinator Jay BonfadiniAdvertising Designer Daniela Glomb
Founder, Creative Director Linda LigonCEO Clay B. Hall
President Marilyn MurphyCFO Dianne Gates
Vice President, Sales & Marketing Linda StarkVice President, Human Resources Suzanne DeAtley
BOOKS
Publisher Linda StarkCFO Tricia Waddell
Art Director Paulette LiversManaging Editor Rebecca Campbell
For questions regarding our book program,call (970) 669-7672
MondayFriday, 8:00 A.M.5:00 P.M.or email [email protected]
Step by Step Jewelry: Polymer, Ceramic & Metal Clays is published by InterweavePress LLC,201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655. (970) 669-7672.
Step by Step Jewelry: Polymer, Ceramic & Metal Clays is published at 300 Chesterfield Park-way, Suite 100,Malvern, PA 19355.
Copyright 2006 Interweave Press LLC, All rights reserved. Reproductionof this copyright-ed material in any manner without the express writtenpermission of Publisher is strictly forbidden.Step by Step Beads is notresponsible for manuscripts, photographs or other material, whetherso-licited or not, unless a signed, prior written agreement is executed.All manuscripts, photographsor other material submitted will beconclusively presumed to be for publication unless accompa-nied by awritten explanation otherwise. Once accepted by Publisher, materials become the soleproperty of Step by Step Jewelry: Polymer, Ceramic & Metal Clays, who has the unconditional-right to edit or change material. All manuscripts, photographs or othermaterial accepted by Pub-lisher will be paid for at a rate solelydetermined by Publisher unless a signed, prior written agree-ment isobtained. No payment is owed until and unless work is published.
Step by Step Jewelry: Polymer, Ceramic & Metal Clays is not responsible for any liability arisingfrom anyerrors, omissions or mistakes contained in the magazine and readers shouldproceed cau-tiously, especially with respect to any technical information,for which Step by Step Jewelry: Poly-mer, Ceramic & Metal Clays does not warrant the accuracy and furtherdisclaims liability therefrom.
AlchemyWorking in clay appeals to a deep instinct in an artist. Call it a
primal urge. Every culture has a legend about creating some-
thing from clay and bringing it to life. There is an archetypal aura
about sinking your fingers into malleable materials, feeling the
medium respond to your every touch,
and then, usually with fire and heat,
transforming your creation from tran-
sient to permanent. Its very empower-
ing and very magical to change a lump
of clay into a work of art.
Clay artists today are our modern
alchemists. Imagine what ancient pot-
ters would think of metal clay, the way
it becomes pure precious metal. Arthur
C. Clark said, Any sufficiently ad-
vanced technology is indistinguishable
from magic. How true! And how
privileged we are, to have such tech-
nology empower our creativity.
Technology has transformed our
lives as artists. It brings supplies to our
doorstep with the click of a button, en-
ables us to use colors historically re-
served for kings and popes, and im-
proves the very mediums we cherish by making them easier to
work with, faster to process, and more enduring.
As you create the projects were proud to present here, re-
member that as you transform the raw material into a beautiful
piece of jewelry, your creation will go on to affect someone else.
Wearing your art will transform them into someone special.
Like magic.
Merle White, Editorial Director
Leslie Rogalski, Editor-in-Chief
www.stepbystepjewelry.com
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 7
STeP bySTeP
Bamboo Metal Clay EarringsCombining PMC with 18K
gold wire and beads.
BY KATHLEEN BOLAN
PMC offers myriad possibilities in surface texturing and combining it with
other jewelry elements. The earrings pictured here were made by cutting two
shapes from a hand-drawn template, texturing them with a rubber stamp, and
embellishing them with 18K gold, sterling silver, and handmade lampwork
glass beads.
Half of a 28-gram package of PMC+
Work surface of glass or smooth
plastic
PVC roller: 1" diameter x 8" long
Manila folder or other heavy paper
Pencil
X-Acto knife with new blade
Cutting mat
Jewelers shears
Bamboo rubber stamp
(All Night Media)
A piece of Teflon paper: approxi-
mately 6" x 6" (available from cooking
supply stores)
Cellophane tape
Badger Balm or olive oil
Saran Wrap
Small pointed brush
Sandpaper: 320- and 400-grit
Salon emery boards: medium and fine
4 playing cards
Needle files: flat and round
Pin tool or long needle
Toaster oven
Ceramic tile
Round sterling tubing: 3.84mm O.D.,516" long
Square sterling tubing: 4.5mm O.D.,116" long
Tube cutting jig
Jewelers saw and 3/0 blades
Flat nose pliers
Chain nose pliers: 1 pair bent tip and
1 pair straight
Round nose pliers: 1 small pair and 1
large pair
Wire cutters
20-gauge soft 18K gold wire, 7" long
20-gauge dead soft sterling silver
wire, 12" long
2 small lampwork glass beads
2 small sterling silver accent beads
Bench pin
Metal mandrels to make jump rings:
2mm and 4mm
Soldering torch
Soldering pick
Burnisher
Silver solder: hard, medium, and easy
Paste flux
Soldering pick
Fire brick
Bowl of water
Sparex or other pickle of choice in a
crock pot
Rotary tumbler with mixed stainless
steel shot
Burnishing compound
Kiln capable of holding 1650F for 10
minutes
Kiln shelf
Tongs
Liver-of-sulfur
Tweezers
4/0 steel wool
Sunshine or other polishing cloth
What you need
Skill level
Photo
of fin
ishe
d p
iece
by
Frank
DeS
ant
is; all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f th
e aut
hor.
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8 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
STeP bySTeP
I have an affinity for Asian motifs, and selected
a bamboo design for the PMC imprint. The 18K
gold straws on the top complement the 22K gold
leaf and red enamel beads that dangle from the
bottom loop. I strive to create a traditional look us-
ing contemporary techniques for designs that tra-
verse time.
As an option to simplify the project, freshwater
pearls could be substituted for the beads, which give
the earrings a slightly different traditional appeal.
Draw a curved rectangle shape for the earrings
on a piece of manila folder approximately 1" long,
slightly less than 1" at the top, and narrowing to
about 916" at the bottom. Place it on a cutting mat,
and cut it out with the X-Acto knife. Hold the knife
perpendicular to the template, and score the manila
folder lightly for the first cut. Repeat the cut three or
four more times using a little more pressure until it
cuts through. Leave a 34"1" border of manila folder
around the cut-out shape on all sides. Smooth any
rough edges of the template with 400-grit sandpa-
per. Mark a T for top in the corner on one side
of the template. Apply a light coat of Badger Balm
to the bottom side of the template and set aside
with the Badger Balm facing up. A flatter, gentle
curve along the top rather than a more rounded
curve is easier to solder onto the round tubing for
the bail. Keep in mind the PMC+ will shrink 10-15
percent when fired.
Tape a piece of Teflon to your work surface. Rub
a small amount of Badger Balm on your hands.
Place a piece of Saran Wrap over the clay as you
roll it out to help keep it moist for a longer time. Roll
out half of a 28-gram package of the PMC+ to a
height of two cards on the Teflon or an oiled sur-
face.
Tip: Turning the clay over every two to three rolls will prevent
it from sticking to the Teflon.
Put some Badger Balm on your fingertip and rub it over
the rubber stamp to prevent it from sticking to the PMC+.
Press the stamp fairly hard into the clay to get a deep image.
Position the template with the oiled side down on top of
the clay. Hold it in place, and use the pin tool perpendicu-
lar to the clay to cut around the shape. Let the earrings dry.
Tip: To speed up the drying, you can heat them in a toaster
oven. Carefully pick up the Teflon, gently lift the earrings
off with your fingers, and put them on a ceramic tile. Place
the tile in the toaster oven, and heat at 250F for about 15
minutes. Do not use the aluminum tray that comes with the
toaster oven; the PMC reacts adversely.
1
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4
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 9
When dry, hold the two pieces together, and carefully
sand the edges with a salon emery board, 320- or 400-
grit sandpaper. This smoothes the edges and assures that
the shapes are exactly the same. Also, check the back of
the earrings to make sure the surface is smooth. Sand, if
needed. Handle the leather-hard clay very gently because it
is fragile and can break easily. Tip: File and sand over a
clean sheet of paper to collect the filings, then add them to
your jar of PMC+ slip.
Place the earrings on a kiln shelf and fire for 10 minutes
at 1650F. When the cycle is completed, crack the door
open. After 1015 minutes, carefully remove the earrings
with tongs and cool on a ceramic tile. Tumble with the mixed
stainless steel shot and burnishing compound for 23 hours.
Use a jewelers saw and tube cutting jig to cut two 516"
long pieces of the round sterling silver tubing. Cut two 116"
long pieces of the square sterling silver tubing. File the ends
of the round tubing with the round needle file to remove any
burs. Sand the round and square tubing with 320-grit sand-
paper on a flat surface. Saw off one side of the square tub-
ing slices. Hold each with flat nose pliers and sand the
bottom edges flat.
Wrap the 20-gauge sterling wire around a 2mm mandrel
by hand about 56 times. Repeat to make two 5.5mm
O.D. jump rings using a 4mm mandrel. Remove the
mandrel, hold one of the coils against a bench pin,
and use the jewelers saw to cut the coil and sepa-
rate the jump rings. Repeat for the other coil, then
saw two 5.5mm jump rings in half. I like to make a
few extra of both jump rings in case they are need-
ed, and a longer coil is easier to hold for sawing.
Hold a 3.5mm jump ring between the flat nose
and bent tip chain nose pliers, and bend side to
side until the ends butt tightly together. Then hold it
with the bent tip or flat nose pliers along the top
edge with the seam side facing down, and sand the
bottom flat on 320-grit sandpaper.
Solder a 3.5mm jump ring to the top of a square
tubing slice. Cut a tiny pallion of hard solder
with the jewelers shears. Center the jump ring on
top of the square tubing slice, flux, solder, quench
in water, then pickle. Repeat for the second one.
5
6
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8
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10 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
STeP bySTeP
Solder the square tubing with the jump ring on it
to the round tubing. Cut two tiny pallions of hard
solder for each earring. Carve a depression in the
fire brick the depth of half the diameter of the round
tubing. I use the back end of my tweezers. Check so
the midline of the tubing lines up with the square
tubing slice when placed next to each other on the
fire brick. Center the slice of square tubing on top
of the round tubing, flux, solder, quench in water,
then pickle. Repeat for the second one. If the
square tubing is not centered, sand the round tubing
to make the sides equal. Make sure the tubing is
the same length on both earrings.
Solder a half jump ring to the PMC+. Burnish
the bottom edge of each earring. Mark the center
of the earring along the bottom edge with a pencil
line to help center the half jump ring. Cut two tiny
pallions of hard solder for each earring. Do the sol-
dering on the back side of the earring to make sure
solder does not flow into the stamped texture on the
front. Center the half jump ring, flux, solder, quench
in water, then pickle. Repeat for the second earring.
Burnish the top curved edge of the earrings. Cut
two to three small pallions of medium solder for
each earring. Use the carved depression again, so
the midline of the tubing lines up with the top edge
of the earring. Mark the center of the tubing and the
earring along the top edge with a small pencil line to
help center and align them. Center the tubing along the top,
flux, solder on the back side, quench in water, then pickle.
Repeat for the second earring.
Ball one end of the 7" of 18K gold wire. Dip the end of
the wire in flux. Hold the wire with tweezers, so it is hang-
ing downward. Bring the tip of the torch flame up to melt the
end of the wire into a ball and quench in water. Make sure
the balls on the ends are small, so three will fit through the
tubing together. Cut the balled wire 78" long and pickle it.
Hold this wire with tweezers so the cut end is hanging down-
ward again, and melt the other end into a ball the same size.
Make 3 more of this size for a total of four. For the next two,
repeat melting a ball on one end, cut these 118" long, then
melt a ball on the other end. Each earring uses one long and
two short 18K wires.
Solder three of the gold wires together. Lay one long wire
on the fire brick with one short wire above and below it.
Center the wires so they are equal on each side. Solder
them together in the middle with two tiny pallions of medium
silver solder. Flux, solder, quench in water, then pickle. Heat
just enough to tack the solder in place, so the solder does
not flow down the length of the gold wires. Repeat soldering
the other 3 wires together.
Solder the gold wires to the inside of the tubing. Push one
end of a three-wire bundle through the round tubing on top
of an earring. You may have to bend the two outer wires to lie
on top of the middle wire to get them through the tubing. Cen-
ter the wires so the amount of wire extending out on each
11
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 11
side is equal. Splay the wires on each side, so they are
evenly spread apart. This helps hold them in position. Blind
solder them to the inside of the tubing with one to two small
pallions of easy solder. Flux the inside on the center of the
wires, solder, quench in water, then pickle. Make final adjust-
ments to the wire spacing. Repeat for the second one.
Make two headpins. Cut two pieces of 20-gauge sterling
wire 112" long. Dip one end of the wire in flux and heat it
in the torch. Hold the wire with tweezers, so the cut end is
hanging downward. Bring the tip of the torch flame up to
melt the end of the wire into a ball, quench in water, and
pickle. Make sure the ball is large enough to hold the lamp-
work bead on the wire.
Make two hook ear wires by cutting two pieces of 20-
gauge sterling wire 214" long. Dip one end of each wire in
flux, and heat the end of each to melt it into a small ball.
With the small round nose pliers, hold the wire about 14"
from the tip of the pliers at the base of the ball with the
balled end pointing up. Make a small loop by bending the pli-
ers away from you until the ball touches the long
end of the wire. Hold the loop facing you with the
long end of the wire hanging down. Position the
widest end of the large round nose pliers below the
loop; bend the wire away from you, going up around
the jaw of the pliers. Use the flat nose pliers to
make a slight bend at the long end of the wire by po-
sitioning the end of the wire so it is flush with the
side of the pliers; bend out away from the loop. File
the end smooth with a flat needle file.
Patinate the earrings, headpins, and ear wires
with liver-of-sulfur. It is best to do this outdoors to
avoid inhaling the noxious sulfur fumes. Use one cup
of hot tap water. Pour the water into a small glass or
ceramic bowl used only for this purpose. Add a small
pea-sized piece of liver-of-sulfur to the water and stir
with tweezers until dissolved. Hold the earrings un-
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der the hot water faucet to warm the metal. Im-
merse the earrings and wires into the solution until
they turn a dark steel gray. Remove them with tweez-
ers and rinse in cool, clean water to stop the chemi-
cal action. Wash in hot soapy water and baking
soda, then rinse again. Buff the silver with 4/0 steel
wool to remove most of the liver-of-sulfur. The re-
cessed areas remain dark. Polish with a
Sunshinecloth for a soft luster.
Wire-wrap the lampwork glass beads to the bottom
loops on the earrings. Put one of the lampwork
beads and small silver accent bead on a headpin.
Hold the headpin about 18" above the beads with the
small round nose pliers about 18" from the tip of the
jaw. Bring the wire above the pliers down and over the
outside jaw of the pliers. Maintain your grip and bend
the loop toward you with the pliers while holding the
tail of the wire against the bead with your other hand.
This movement is done with your wrist. Reposition the round
nose pliers so the top jaw is at the top of the loop. Bend the
tail at a right angle, and bring it across the bottom of the
loop. Use the straight chain nose pliers to open the base of
the loop enough to slide it on the loop at the bottom of the
earring. Position the straight chain nose pliers across the
loop, and use the bent tip chain nose pliers like fingers to
wrap the wire around the stem between the loop and the
beads two times. Cut off the excess wire. Squeeze the cut
end with the pliers, so it is flush against the wraps. Repeat
for the other earring.
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STeP bySTeP
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 13
Attach thehooks.Use the flat nosepliers to bend the
small-balled loopon the topof the earwire to oneside.
Hook theearring onto it, and close the loopby bending it back
to the center of the earwire. Repeat for the other earring. Your
newearrings are nowcomplete and ready towear.
Kathleen Bolan creates mixed media jewelry using preciousmetal clay, metal, polymer clay, and her hand-made lampwork glass beads, which she sellsat fine art fairs and in select galleries. Hercompany, Born To Bead, is in Trenton, Mich.
21
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I absolutely love the color choices and
brushstroke technique of Van Gogh. To
me, the iris was a natural choice for this
brushstroke look. When I think of doing
a millefiori cane, I usually start with a
subject matter that I really like, and then
the technique or look comes into play.
With polymer clay there are limitless
choices to be made, leaving only the
imagination to discover them.
I was demonstrating the polymer clay
millefiori cane work technique for a shop
when I first thought of doing the iris with
the brushstroke technique. There was a
break in the action, and one of the shop
clerks came out to visit. I imagine I was
staring pretty intensely, because she asked
what I was doing. The wheels were turn-
ing and I was trying to envision how I had
to break down the design to accomplish
the look I was seeking. That is how it
starts for me. I view the image as a puzzle;
breaking down each design, making all
the little parts, then piecing it together. I
am self-taught in polymer clay, but my
background in numerous mediums has
developed my eye for color and design.
Experimentation comes naturally to me
and I like the challenge of figuring things
out. I learned very quickly that with poly-
mer clay there are a few rules one must
obey, and no matter how forgiving it can
be, you have to know its limits.
Instructions are for technique versus exact
coloring or amounts of clay. This project also
requires an understanding of gradational
shades, conditioning, and mixing of the clay.
bearded
IRISPolymer clay brushstroke
technique.
BY BARBARA SPERLING
14 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 15
Conditioning the clay.
Place the clay in a food processor dedicated for clay work.
Turn the motor on, chopping the clay into small pieces.
The heat from the motor will also help to soften the clay,
making the conditioning process a little easier. After remov-
ing the clay from the processor, combine the clay pieces into
a ball. Roll the ball out, recombine into a ball, roll out, re-
combine, and roll out for a total of 15 or more times. If you
dont have a food processor, then the rolling and recombin-
ing process has to be done more. The clay will be smoother,
softer, and more elastic when it is conditioned properly.
Mixing colors and making gradations.
Petal: I used a mix of purple and cobalt for the petal, and
chose to make nine different shades to achieve a nice
brushstroke effect. Roll the blended purple into a log, then
cut off one section to retain for the darkest shade (length de-
pends on amount of clay used). Add 1 part white to the re-
maining purple log. Cut off another section equal in length to
the first. Add 1 part white to the remaining purple log. Cut off
a section equal in length to the first and add 1 part white to
the remaining purple log. Continue this process adding 1 part
of white each time to the purple log to equal nine shades. (In
the directions and diagram for building the petals, the grada-
tions are numbered 19, 1 being the lightest.)
Beard: Mix ochre and golden yellow for the base color. Fol-
lowing the process above, add white for a total of three gra-
dations. Now mix yellow and golden yellow for a base color
and mix with white to equal three shades. This will give you a
total of six shades to use in the beard.
Leaf and stem: For the base color, mix leaf green, green,
and turquoise. Add white for the first two gradations, then
begin adding yellow and white to equal three more grada-
tions, for a total of five shades of green.
Leaves, stem, and bloom covering: For a variation,
the leaves can be as simple as mixing the selected
colors together with some white and leaving mottled,
then shaping into a leaf.
Iris beard.
Form a tall triangle from the darkest shade of
ochre. On the #1 setting of the pasta machine,
make sheets out of the two remaining ochre/yellow
pieces and the three yellow pieces. Drape the
sheets of lighter shades of ochre, then the yellow,
over two sides of the triangle. Reduce the triangle in
size by stretching.
1
Polymer clay (I used FIMO
Classic)
Iris: purple, cobalt blue, white, yel-
low, golden yellow, ochre.
Leaves and stems: leaf green,
green, yellow, golden yellow,
ochre, white.
Background: dove gray, light blue,
navy blue, champagne, white,
ochre, purple.
Tissue blade or other sharp fine
edge
Brayer hard rubber or acrylic
rod
Food processor (optional)
Pasta machine (referred to as
pm) This helps when making the
sheets, but hand rolling is also
fine. Settings listed in the direc-
tions are for the Atlas brand pas-
ta machine. Any thickness for any
of the sheets of clay used is fine,
just keep proportion in mind.
What you need
Skill level
Photo
of
finis
hed b
ead b
y Fr
ank
DeS
ant
is;
all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
syof th
e aut
hor.
2
3
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Drape one sheet of each of the purple shades #4
then #3 (pm#1) over the ochre/yellow triangle on
the same two sides.
Beard veins.
Roll out a sheet (pm#6) of purple #8. Cut into
varying-width strips to be inserted for veins. Using
a tissue blade, starting at the bottom of the triangle,
make five to seven angled slits along the sides, and
one slit on the top of the triangle.
Insert the dark purple vein strips into the slits. If
you work the strips into the slits using a sideways
back and forth motion, it will help keep the clay from
sticking before you have it in place.
1. I use Fimo Classic for all of my complex
canes. It maintains color and design integrity
during the reducing stage. Its colors are true
and I like the matte finish after baking. It is a
much harder clay to condition and work with,
but that really is a plus when making detailed
millefiori canes.
2. Condition the clay well I cant say this
enough. Even before mixing the colors and
shades, the clay must be well conditioned.
3. Always mix extra clay; you will want to retain
some of each color and shade for additions
or later use. You do not want to have to try
and remix or match a certain color. Any extra
clay can always be used to make other
canes for accents or backgrounds when con-
structing jewelry.
4. When mixing the shades/colors for a flower
cane, leave striations in the mixed clay as this
gives the piece an interesting, artistic flair.
5. Reducing: I find that a slight wiggling of the
cane back and forth, while stretching at the
same time, makes the reducing easier. Not all
shapes can be reduced by rolling or brayering.
Beginning in the center of the cane and work-
ing out towards the ends helps to reduce the
waste at the end of the cane. Before assem-
bling the parts, be sure to make a clean slice
on the ends so you can view it while putting
the parts in their places.
6. No monster canes for me; I keep my canes
to a 34" length, with a 23" diameter. Detail
work becomes distorted if you try to make it
too big. The flowers are more forgiving if you
really need to go large, but anything with ex-
tremities would have a hard time staying
straight when reducing. Of course, this means
reducing each segment before constructing the
final cane.
7. Make sure that each segment of the cane is in
its correct place and is attached firmly to sur-
rounding canes before reducing the cane. I
hate to perform surgery on a cane after it
has been constructed.
TIPS
4
5
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Once you have
all the slits filled
with veins, press
the clay back to-
gether firmly. Set
aside.
Iris petals.
Roll the nine shades of purple into sheets (pm #2). Cut
ten 1" x 3" strips of all nine shades. Even though you may
not need all ten in each shade, its not only easier, but it
also allows variances in your brushstroke.
Looking at the cross-section (the end), lay out the strips,
following the diagram for the color order. Here is where
creativity comes into play mixing up the order and/or
adding small strips randomly of shades #1 and #9 (pm#5)
will make the petal more interesting and not so uniform.
After doing twelve layers, begin leaving out shade #2, then
#3, and finally #4. At the same time, begin stacking the
darker shades towards the lighter end.
Once the stack is complete, place a sheet of
dark purple (pm #4) over the stack, beginning at
the dark end.
After all the sheets have been placed, you will no-
tice that the middle is higher than the ends; this is a
good thing. Brayer over the whole stack, making
sure all the clay is adhered together. Do not flatten
the middle; keep it angling down towards the ends.
Start pushing the two ends towards each other and
continue stretching the cane, keeping the lowest lay-
er flatthis melds the brushstrokes. Continue to
stretch this stack out, retaining the shape; this log
is actually half of all the petals.
Back petals.
Cut off 13 of this log. This section will be used for
the three smaller petals coming up the back and will
show no beard. The remainder will be used later.
Reduce the 13 section you cut off then cut it in half.
Pinch the light end on both halves to form points.
Place a thin strip of dark purple along part of the
flat, lighter edge of one of the halves; this will be
the vein in the middle of the petal. Push the two flat
sides of the two halves completely together.
6
7
8
9
10
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Press the lighter end into a point and round the
dark end.
Stretch this petal log to 12", but have 8" of it
smaller than the remaining 4". Cut into three
equal lengths of 4" (this will be the length of my
cane, your length may be differentbe sure to make
adjustments to all lengths given from here on) and
set them aside.
Main petals with beard.
Take the remaining half of the petal-log stack, left
from Step 9, and reduce it a little, then cut it in
half. Pinch the light colored ends into points. Reduce
the beard to proportion and place it between the two
pointed, lighter edges of the halves before pressing
them together. Wrap a thin sheet (pm #6) of dark
purple around the log, leaving the beard edge ex-
posed. Cut this bearded petal log in half.
To make the sections for the two smaller front-
side petals, reduce one of the halves of this beard-
ed-petal log and cut into two 4" sections. Pinch the
beard end to make a point. Retain the other half for
the larger, round main petal. Set aside.
Stem.
Roll the five green shades into sheets (pm#1),
3" x 4". Stack the sheets starting with the dark-
est shade on the bottom. Brayer or stretch this
stack out, keeping one side at 4".
Cut a small section (approx. 12"x 4") of this stack
off and set aside for the stem. Cut the remaining
piece in half, retaining the 4" side.
Keeping the darkest green down towards the table, lay a
sheet of yellow clay along one side of the light green layer,
on one of the halves, then place the other half on top, keep-
ing the lighter shades towards the middle. Brayer together.
Shape into a leaf the leaves are just tall triangles with an-
gled bottoms. Place a thin layer of medium-dark green down
one side of the completed leaf and stem for shadowing.
Leaves.
Cut the leaf cane into two pieces, making one smaller
than the other. Reduce them to the appropriate size for
the finished cane. Remember to place the shadowed sides
down towards bottom
of the cane, to repre-
sent how sunlight
would cast a shadow.
Bloom covering.
Make a small tri-
angle of mottled
greens. Cut on the di-
agonal, and insert a
strip of ochre through
it to make the bloom
covering at the base of
the petal. Reduce.
Mosaic background.
I like the look of
the mosaic effect around my flower and leaves but there
are many options when it comes to filling in around the
flower design. Roll out the conditioned clays for the back-
ground canes to 1" diameter snakes. Combine the snakes
into a pleasing combination, forming one mosaic-like log.
Roll the log, bringing the snakes together and eliminat-
ing any gaps. Twist the log, recombine, and roll it out again.
Only do this a few times, at the most, for a choppy mosaic
look. Keep this log large, 23" diameter. When deciding on
background shades, remember that when the logs are re-
duced, the color appears darker. A good rule of thumb is to
always make them lighter than you think they should be. I
recommend testing
your background
cane before going
too far. Cut a small
section off the end
of the log as you
have it now, and
roll down to a
small snake to see
if it is what you
want. If not, add in
11
12
13
14
15
16
18 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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more snakes of lighter or darker colors to correct it.
Cover the outside of the log with a sheet of navy blue
(pm#5). Roll out into 14" snakes and cut the length of the
finished cane. Doing two or more different background logs
makes a nice effect. I usually use the lightest one right up
around the flower, then go darker towards the outside of
the cane.
Assembling the cane.
Tip: I use my canes for more than jewelry and like to keep
sections of the different parts, i.e., petals, leaves, stems,
for later use on 3-D items or relief work. Be sure to set them
aside before surrounding them with the background snakes.
Build your cane on a sheet of paper so it can be turned
easily while you work on it and then for compressing later.
Check all the part canes to be sure theyre proportional, and
reduce, if necessary. Place the petals so they are standing
up on your work surface and you are looking down on them
from above. Place the large petal in the center bottom, the
two small-bearded petals above the large petal to either
side, then the larger
non-bearded petal in
the middle top, with the
smaller non-bearded
petals to either side.
When theyre properly
placed, be sure to at-
tach them well to each
other.
Flip the cane over
every now and then to
be sure things are align-
ing on both ends. To
keep voids open around
the petals as your build-
ing your cane, place
rolled up paper in the spots until youre ready for the
snakes. Place the bloom covering under the large center
petal, then the stem and leaves.
Make some of the
snakes into triangles
so they fit into the V-
grooves between the
petals. Start placing the
snakes around the
flower, adhering each
snake to the next.
Dont put too many
rows of background
snakes around the
flower, or the flower will
be too small when it is
reduced too much background and not enough of
the flower is not a good thing.
When all of the components are together, check
both ends to be sure parts are in their right
places. Then,
press all the
parts so they
stick to each
other before re-
ducing. Grasp
the cane in your
hands and ap-
ply even pres-
sure on oppo-
site sides, all
the way around,
for the length of
the cane.
Now you are
ready to re-
duce. Remem-
ber: To start
the process,
apply equal
pressure
around the mid-
dle of the cane,
working out to
the ends. When
you get it
longer, wiggle it while stretching.
Because the cane is round, when it gets long
enough, you can also roll it. I cut off a part of the
cane and leave it large, so I can choose the diame-
ter later.
17
18
19
20
21
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Making a bead.
To make a bead similar to the one shown on page 14,
shape a lump of scrap clay slightly smaller than the shape
of the finished bead you want, allowing for the added dimen-
sion of the thin cane slices. Take the reduced iris cane and
slice off two to three pieces. Apply the slices around the
center of the bead. Add slices of complementary canes
around the larger flower slices, filling in the gaps and cover-
ing the entire bead. While retaining the bead shape, press
all the added slices gently, being sure theyre all adhered to
the base bead. Before baking, make a hole in the bead for
stringing or wiring. Bake in your dedicated convection oven (I
only use convection ovens as they hold their temperatures
much more true than a toaster oven) at the manufacturers
recommended temperature for 2040 minutes, depending
on the size of and thickness of the bead. I prefer a matte
finish and leave my work as is right out of the oven, but you
can bring your piece to a nice sheen by sanding with sand-
paper to 1500-grit or by sanding and then buffing with a
muslin wheel on a buffing machine.
There are many ways to use
the millefiori canes and
many more yet to be discov-
ered. What I hope really
comes through in my work is
my love of nature and art.
Frustration in the process
only puts up walls to cre-
ativity so enjoy, and re-
member to have fun!
Barbara Sperling is a Chatham, NH-based artist working withpolymer clay and Precious Metal Clay. She is aState Juried Member of the League of NH Crafts-men in Polymer Clay, PMC, and Non Metal Jew-elry. She was Chairperson on the LNHC Commit-tee to review and set the standards for PolymerClay, and presently serves as a Juror for theLeague in Polymer Clay, PMC, Non-Metal
Jewelry, and Multi-Media. Her work is carried in galleries through-out the United States, and can be viewed on her Web site. She liveswith her husband, George, in the White Mountains.
22
20 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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LJMS-060067-iris 10/5/06 9:33 AM Page 20
LJMS-060067-020.pgs 10.05.2006 09:20 BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN
-
6" length of 14" diame-
ter copper tubing
Tube cutter
28-gram package of sil-
ver PMC+
X-Acto or craft knife
Textured surface: silver-
ware pattern, rubber
stamps, etc. (for creat-
ing an impressed design
on the beads surface)
Fireproof tile
Bench-top mounted
torch
Bowl of water
Long nose tweezers
Liver-of-sulfur
Extra-fine steel wool
Metal teaspoon
Cotton swab
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Wire cutters
2 French ear wires
2 head pins
4 spacer beads
4 complementary beads
What you need
Skill level
Photo
of fin
ishe
d p
iece
by
Frank
DeS
ant
is; all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f th
e aut
hor.
Attention metal clay and glass artists! Ive created a quick, simple, and
economical way to make silver beads. All you need is a little metal clay,
copper tubing, a few tools, and a beadmaking torch. This technique really
stretches your metal clay, enabling you to create a larger bead using less
material.
Making the bead.
Cut a 14" piece of copper tubing using your tube cutter.
The thickness of the clay in
the package is about 18" thick.
This is a great thickness for this
project. If you are working with
metal clay that has already been
opened and is no longer in the
prepackaged dimension, roll the
lump out to about 18" thick but
dont use any oil as it will work
against your goal of applying the
clay to copper.
Using the craft knife, cut a
strip 18" wide and 34" long.
Wrap the clay strip around the
center of the copper tubing
piece, joining the clay ends to-
gether. Gently roll the clay cov-
ered copper tube back and forth
between your thumb and forefin-
ger until the clay covers most of
the tube. Youll finish covering
the tube in Step 5.
1
silver on copper beads
Getting more out of your metal clay.
BY MARC KORNBLUH
2
3
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Slip the tube snugly onto a pair of long, closed
tweezers. Tweezers work well to hold the bead
while you texturize it and later work it in the flame.
Dip your finger into the bowl of water. Rub your
finger on the bead, wetting it slightly. Smooth the
surface of the bead, working the clay from the cen-
ter to the edges, until all the copper up to the edge
is covered and the bead is smooth and uniform.
Choose a texture youd like to use for decorating
your bead, then lightly oil the surface of the tex-
tured tool. The oil will help prevent the clay bead
from sticking to the textured tool.
Gently roll the bead over the textured surface or
stamp the bead gently with the textured tool. Its im-
portant to work gently with the bead so the bond be-
tween the clay and copper isnt broken.
Light your torch. While your bead is still wet and
on the tweezers, bring the bead into the outer
fringe of the torch flame. Rotate the tweezers slow-
ly until the bead dries. Use caution putting the
bead directly into the flame before it is completely
dry might cause the clay to crack. The process of
flame-drying the bead takes about five to seven
minutes to complete.
After the bead has dried, it will ignite momentarily and
then go out, this is the organic binder burning off. Now the
bead is ready to put directly into the flame.
Turn the bead in the flame until it glows a light orange.
Keep moving the bead in and out of the flame to prevent it
from getting too hot (bright orange) too much heat will
melt out the detail of your design; maintain the light-orange
glow. After a few minutes, the clay will shrink and begin to
break out into a light sweat of silver its nearly done.
Continue turning the bead in the flame for a few more min-
utes more silver will appear on the surface. Using pliers,
gently nudge the bead off the tweezers onto a ceramic tile or
other fireproof surface. Let the bead cool to room tempera-
ture. Dont quench the bead in water; the two metals expand
and contract at different rates which may cause separation.
Adding the finish.
When the bead is cool, buff it using extra-fine steel wool.
The bead is now finished or ready for a patina treatment. I
like to apply a patina using liver-of-sulfur. When working with
liver-of-sulfur, be sure to have adequate ventilation, avoid
breathing the fumes, and wear safety goggles.
Add one or two crumbs of gravel (approximately 1 x 2mm
crumb) to 121 cup medium hot water. Dip briefly, then rinse
in cold, running water, repeating these steps until desired
color is reached. Stop the chemical action by rinsing in cold
water, then washing in soapy hot water and baking soda.
Using the extra-fine steel wool again, buff the surface of
the bead. The buffing will accentuate the raised area of the
bead, leaving the recessed areas of the design black.
4
5
6
7
8
9
22 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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Making a pair of earrings.
When using the silver beads in jewelry, I like to use spac-
er beads to hide the copper edging. Slip your pattern onto
a head pin,
With round nose pliers, grasp the wire of the head pin
above the last bead added and bend the wire to a 90
angle.
Using wire cutters, trim the wire to about 38".
Grasp the tip of the wire with round nose pliers and rotate
the pliers towards the bead, creating and closing a loop.
Slightly twist your head pin loop with chain nose
pliers to open. Thread the open end onto the bottom
loop of your French ear wire; twist the loop to close.
Youve completed your first earring. Repeat Steps
1012 for the second earring.
String a matching bracelet or necklace using all the
other beads youve made, then go back and make
more for your friends!
Marc Kornbluh
is a glass artist from Burlington, Vermont, built a hot glassstudio for the production of his one-of-a-kind fused glassand lamp worked glass jewelry. He has traveled overseasfor many years, informally studying art and culture. Muchof his work is influenced by Eastern design, which he in-corporates in his own contemporary style. Marcs artworkis available in museum shops and galleries throughout thecountry.
10
11
12
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2 glass cabochons
(I used one cabochon
about 2" x 1", the sec-
ond one is a bit smaller)
2025 grams of metal
clay (I used Low Fire Art
Clay Silver)
Acrylic roller
1mm thickness guides
Spoon tool (similar to
dental tools, except one
end is curved like a
spoon)
Plastic straw
Masking tape
Texture plates (optional)
Circle template
X-Acto blade
Food dehydrator, hair
dryer, or hot plate
Salon board or file
Denatured alcohol
Kiln
Steel brush
Optional: Tumbler and
stainless steel shot
What you need
Photo
of fin
ishe
d p
iece
by
Frank
DeS
ant
is; all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f th
e aut
hor.
I love the uncomplicated beauty of glass. I am a fused glass artist, and
to enhance the look and uniqueness of my fused glass cabochons, I use
the amazing medium metal clay. The low-fire metal clay now available,
particularly Art Clay Silver, is very compatible with fused or lamp-
worked glass. My approach to combining the two elements (glass and
metal clay) may be different from other artists, as I use the metal clay to
capture the glass, taking advantage of the clays shrinkage.
A few things to remember when constructing a piece: Take into ac-
count the percentage the silver will shrink. Work the clay around the glass
gently, but securely; any silver touching the glass must not be tight fitting
it should gently lie on, or just touch, the glass. If the silver is securing
the glass cabochon too tightly, the silver may crack at the tightest point
when fired. At the 1200F firing temperature glass will stay intact, so if
theres any give needed it will be in the silver.
Now the fun begins!
double thepleasure
24 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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BY ARLENE HILDEBRAND
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 25
Making the O-ring connector.
Knead 5 grams of clay into a pancake shape.
Using an acrylic roller, shape the clay into a 1mm-thick
round shape. Texture the clay, if desired.
Using a circle template as a guide, cut out a 7mm circle
from the clay.
Using the circle template, cut a 4mm circle out of
the center of the circle created in Step 3. This is your
O-ring connector.
Allow the connector to dry. Here are a few drying methods:
Place the connector in a food dehydrator or on a warm hot
plate; dry with a hair dryer; or leave it out to air-dry (which
takes about 24 hours, depending on your climate).
When the connector is dry, wrap a small piece
of masking tape around the top and another
piece around the bottom. The tape will prevent
the next layer of clay to be added, from sticking
to the O-ring.
Making the top glass piece.
Knead 10 grams of clay into an oblong shape.
Using an acrylic roller, shape the clay into a long
strip thats 1mm thick, 12" wide, and twice the
length of the glass cabochon.
Lay the glass cabochon in the center of the clay
strip and orient the glass the way you want it to
look in your finished piece.
Place a 1" piece of plastic straw on the clay, at the
top of the glass cabochon. The diameter of the straw
will determine the size of the bail and, more specifically,
the size of chain that will fit through the bail.
Using the spoon tool, lift up the top of the clay
strip, guide it over the straw, and then gently over
the top of the glass cabochon. Guide the clay until
its wrapped to one side of the glass and secured
down on the side (or back) of the glass cabochon.
Trim any excess clay.
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Place a 1" piece of plastic straw at the bottom of
the glass cabochon. Here the straw is used for
two reasons: first, to create space for the shrinkage
that will occur when the piece is fired; second, to
create a loop that, after firing, will allow the O-ring to
move giving movement to the piece.
Use the spoon tool to lift up the bottom of the
clay strip, guide it through the O-ring, and over the
masking tape.
Continue to guide the clay, gently laying it over the
bottom of the glass and over the straw, securing the
clay to the side (or back) of the glass. Trim any ex-
cess clay.
Allow the clay to dry.
Carefully remove the straws. If needed, use a salon
board or file to gently sand any rough edges on the clay.
Create the bottom glass piece.
Knead 7 grams of clay into an oblong shape.
Repeat Steps 8 and 9.
Place a 1" piece of plastic straw on the clay, at the top of
the glass. Again, this straw is used to create an al-
lowance for shrinkage and a loop for the O-ring to move on.
Use the spoon tool to lift the top of the clay strip and
guide it through the O-ring, over the masking tape. Contin-
ue to guide the clay, gently laying it over the straw and on
top of the glass; secure the clay to the side (or back) of the
glass. Trim any excess clay.
Repeat Steps 14 and 15.
Clean the glass cabochons with denatured alcohol and re-
move the masking tape. If you cant get the tape off easily,
leave it alone it will burn away during the firing process.
Fire the piece in a kiln. Heat the kiln to 1200F and hold
it there for 35 minutes. Allow the kiln to come to room
temperature before removing the piece no peeking!
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 27
Clean your piece with a steel brush.
Tumble, if desired, using stainless steel shot and just
enough water to cover the shot.
Tumbling your piece will definitely let you know if the glass
is securely fitted to the metal. If the glass falls out during
tumbling, all is not lost simply use epoxy to hold the glass
in place. And next time, wrap the clay around the glass more
securely from front to back.
Wear and enjoy!
Arlene Hildebrand
has been a fused glass and metal clay artist forseveral years working from her home studio inthe San Francisco Bay area. Her finished work issold through her business, AM Collection. In ad-dition to pursuing her own creativity, she loves toteach. See more of Arlenes work and her teachingschedule on her Web site: www.amcollection.biz.
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Link BraceletPMC chain fired in one piece.
BY HADAR JACOBSON
This bracelet is fired all in one piece. It is assembled prior to firing
and the links dont fuse together. It comes out of the kiln almost ready
to wear.
The links.
Roll a layer of standard PMC eight cards thick. Since you need long
strips, it is recommended to use jumbo-sized cards or postcards. Lay
the two stacks of cards over a texturing mold such as a wallpaper sam-
ple or a piece of ribbon, screen, fabric or lace. Roll a snake of PMC
with your fingers and place it vertically between the stacks. Then roll the
snake with the rolling pin under a Ziploc bag.
From the textured layer, use a long scraper to cut a strip 80mm long
and 5mm wide.
Standard PMC
PMC+
A rolling pin
Olive oil or hand salve
A Ziploc bag
Postcards or jumbo size
playing cards
Texturing molds
A long scraper
Scissors
Sponge sanding pads,
fine, super-fine, and
ultra-fine
Clay shaper
Kiln
Kiln shelf
Alumina hydrate
Liver-of-sulfur
Rotary tool
Course mini-fiber wheel
Goggles
Fiberglass brush
Wet/dry sandpaper,
220-grit and 600-grit
2 triangular or rectangu-
lar sticks, 1 foot long
Slotted mandrels
What you need
Skill level
Photo
of fin
ishe
d p
iece
by
Frank
DeS
ant
is; all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f th
e aut
hor.
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28 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 29
en. Try to open them again, but make sure you dont
touch the textured part.
Place slip at all the joints except for the last one,
which will be connected to the hook. Hold them to-
gether with small clothespins and dry.
Roll a layer of standard PMC 2 cards thick over
a texturing mold.
Cut a strip 3mm wide. Dont cut the length yet.
Wrap it three times around the joint of one of the
links, partially overlapping, as shown in the illustra-
tion. Cut off the excess of the strip with scissors.
Dry.
Repeat Steps 9 and 10 with five more links and
the eye. Dont close the seventh link yet.
The hook.
For the hook, use PMC+. This is needed for extra
strength. Since a lot of bending is involved, it is
best to use fresh clay for the next few steps. Roll a lay-
er of PMC+ four cards thick over a texturing mold.
8
9
10
11
12
Lay the strip on its long side and shape it into a figure
8. Make sure that the textured side faces outward.
Place a pencil inside each of the circles to make sure they
are well rounded. This is necessary to make room for the
next link and to allow for movement. Dry on a coffee
warmer, in a vegetable dehydrator, in a toaster-oven at
220, or in the air.
Repeat Steps 13 six more times. You will need seven
links for a 712" bracelet. You can use a different texture
for each link.
Prepare the eye part of the clasp: roll a layer eight
cards thick as in Step 1, and cut it 60mm long and 5mm
wide. Lay it on its side and shape it into a circle. Dry.
Using sponge sanding pads, smooth the plain (untex-
tured) sides of the links and round their edges. Start with
fine, continue with super fine, and finish with ultra-fine.
Assemble all the links including the eye: open one link
slightly and slide in the next one. If they are too hard,
spray them with water and wait a few minutes until they soft-
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30 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
STeP bySTeP
Place it on its side and shape it into a hook as
shown on the illustration. To make sure that textured
side faces outwards, follow illustrations 1 and 2.
Dry.
Close the joint with slip and dry. It is not recom-
mended to use a clothespin this time since dry
PMC is very brittle and may break.
Sand the sides of the hook with a super-fine
sponge sanding pad. It is best not to handle dry
PMC+ too much before firing to avoid breaking.
Roll a layer of PMC+ two cards thick over a
texturing mold. Cut it 3mm wide. Dont cut the
length yet.
Wrap the strip around
the joint of the hook. Fol-
low the direction shown
with the arrows in the illus-
tration. Dry.
Slightly open the sev-
enth link of the bracelet
(the one that has not been
sealed yet). Slide in the
hook.
Repeat Steps 9 to 11 with
the seventh link.
The links will tend to open up
during firing in spite of the strip
wrapped around their joint. Push
clay under the strip to better
seal the joints. Use a clay
shaper to smooth the clay. To
seal the hook use PMC+. Dry.
Firing.
Before firing, make sure that
all links have enough room to move in all directions.
Place the bracelet on the kiln shelf diagonally over a pile
of alumina hydrate. It is best to fire it stretched straight,
but if you have no room, avoid bending it at sharp angles.
Sprinkle alumina hydrate over the whole bracelet to prevent
the links from sticking to each other.
Fire for 2 hours at 1650.
Finishing.
Dip the bracelet in liver-of-sulfur until it is completely
black. If the links seem to stick to each other, gently wig-
gle them and they will separate.
Buff the bracelet with a course mini-fiber wheel to remove
the liver-of-sulfur. Protect your eyes with goggles.
To remover the liver-of-sulfur from hard-to-reach spots,
use a fiberglass brush.
Sand the smooth (untextured) parts with a sanding stick
wrapped with 3M wet/dry 220-grit sandpaper. Follow with
600-grit.
Use a slotted mandrel mounted on a rotary tool to sand
inside the links. Start with 220-grit and follow with 600-grit.
Tumble the bracelet for about an hour. Avoid over-tum-
bling. If its too shiny, you will not be able to tell one tex-
ture from another.
Hadar Jacobson creates her silver PMC jewelry and teaches class-es at her studio, Textures in Berkeley, Califor-nia. For photos of her work and informationabout galleries, awards and publications pleasevisit her website: www.artinsilver.com. For ques-tions, information, or advice, please e-mail her [email protected].
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 31
STeP bySTeP
Porcelain clay or other
smooth clay
Kemper Klay gun and dies
Box of short coffee
stirrer straws
Knife
Ruler
Clay cutting wire
Plastic wrap
Bowl of water
Raku glaze: transparent
crackle glaze
(I use Hoku-trans)
Wooden skewers
Access to bisque-firing
kiln, raku kiln, and appro-
priate tools and safety
equipment
Bead frame and heat-re-
sistant wire or heat resist-
ant rods with ceramic
supports
Metal container (with
tightly fitting, airtight lid)
suitable
for containing bead frame
Beading wire
Balinese silver beads
Silver clasp
4 silver crimp beads
Crimping pliers
Wire cutters
Always ask for the MSDS (MaterialSafety Data Sheet) for any materialsyou buy, which will give you reactivi-ty, health hazard, and safe handlingdata.
What you need
Skill level
Photo
of fin
ishe
d p
iece
by
Mic
hael
Les
lie; all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f th
e aut
hor.
Folded
Raku Bead
NecklaceBY SUE KI WILCOX
These folded beads are a form of extruded or shaped
clay, and have contours that resemble brains. I cant
guarantee that wearing them will make you more
intelligent, but they will attract attention. I use porce-
lain clay because of its pure white color and consis-
tent, fine-grained texture that gives a smoother ex-
trusion or hand-rolled coil. If youve heard warn-
ings about the use of porcelain in raku, relating to
how it withstands thermal shock, ignore them. At
the scale were dealing with here, porcelain is fine.
You can use conventional raku clay if you prefer, but
understand that it will produce more roughly surfaced
beads, and, when used with a transparent glaze, they will
be cream or pale gray, not white.
Think about the length and style of necklace you want
to make, and whether or not you want matching acces-
sories, such as earrings, bracelets, or pins. Raku gives
brilliant but hard-to-reproduce color effects, so all the
beads for one project should be fired and reduced to-
gether. Thinking about how many beads you need, and
what sizes they should be, will save the frustration of try-
ing to find beads to fill the gaps in your necklace later.
Better to make too many than too few (make some
spares in case of accidents).
To produce a set of graduated beads, hand-roll a
length of clay of an even cross-section, then use the
ruler to mark it into different sized chunks to make into
individual beads. Estimate the size you want for the fo-
cal bead and measure it off the roll. Make the bead and
see if it appears to be the right size. After firing, a bead
will shrink by about 10%. (If that one ends up being the
right size, you can proportion the other beads by cutting
a little less for each subsequent pair of beads. For the
smaller beads, you will need to mark out enough clay
for two or four beads at a time. As long as you know
how many beads to get out of the clay, you can divide it
up equally enough by eye.)
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32 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
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Use an extrusion gun to make the long coils of clay.
This little gadget is perfect for making continuous,
even-sectioned coils of clay. Before starting produc-
tion, experiment with the different extrusion dies to
find the size that works for you. I use a medium-
sized die a too-small die produces sticky, unman-
ageable threads (instead of coils); a too-large die
produces coils that are hard to bend without snap-
ping them. Try hand-rolling some coils and folding
them gently into spheres. The size that works with
hand rolls will work with extruded coils.
The humidity of your clay and your environment
will affect how the coils handle. If the clay is too
sticky, the coils will gum together and not fold well,
while if the clay is too dry, the coils will break as
you try to fold them. My solution is to keep the
main block of clay in the thick plastic bag in which
it is sold. Immediately wrap any smaller pieces cut
off the main block in plastic wrap. If the moisture
content feels low, sprinkle the clay with water be-
fore wrapping it. The water will absorb fairly quickly.
Drying clay is just as easy just roll out the clay
on a piece of cloth (an old dishtowel is per fect).
When you are ready to extrude the clay, dip the
quantity earmarked for a bead or a pair of beads in
water before putting it in the extrusion gun. This
process makes the process much easier, but doesnt
give the water time to soak into the clay.
As the coil emerges from the gun, let it settle
lightly into a heap on your work surface. Use a
wooden table or a large
plastic chopping board.
The cloth-covered work
boards found in ceram-
ics studios will dry
bead work too much,
and tend to contain tiny
particles of clay that
stick to the coils and
ruin the smooth sur-
face. Keep your hands
relatively clean if
they are covered in
flakes of clay, your
beads will be, too. Very
gently cut the clay from
the gun and pick up the
heap of coils.
Shaping a spherical
bead involves patting and
a small amount of rolling
too much rolling between your
palms, however, and the coils disappear.
Its a matter of practice and becoming accustomed to
how temperature and humidity affect the handling proper-
ties of your clay. You want just enough adhesion to form a
bead that will have enough internal structure that it wont
collapse when you bore a hole through it.
Gently set down the bead. If you want a flat-sided
bead, press it onto the work sur face, turn it over, and do
the same on the other side.
Depending on the way the clay is handling, you can
make the hole immediately or leave the bead to dry out
a little five minutes is plenty of
time. Cup the bead in your palm and
rotate a hollow straw to make a
hole. The hole should be beside,
not in the middle of, the sur face
coils, so as to reduce the friction as
the straw penetrates the clay. Bore
ver tically into the bead, checking
the opposite side as the straw ap-
proaches. Gentle rotation should
help the straw to cut through
cleanly.
Remove any plug of clay
on the end of the straw be-
fore withdrawing it back
through the bead. This
method will flatten one
side of the bead, so youll
have to turn the bead over
and flatten the other side to
match. Set the bead aside to dry.
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 33
Glaz ing & f i r ing :
Youll need access to a kiln for this project. If you
dont have a kiln at home, there are many commer-
cial ceramic places that will bisque-fire your beads
for you. These same suppliers can sell you raku
glazes for your beads. You can also join a local raku
group who will let you participate in one of their
firings. (I often work with the local YWCA; its
group holds monthly firings. They supply portable
kilns and some reduction containers.) Community
colleges are another good place to try. Working with
an established group gives you the safety and skill
of experienced firers.
Once your brain beads are dry (youll need at
least 24 hours, depending on your workroom and
the surface on which you set them), put them in an
unglazed ceramic bowl for bisque firing, which is a
preliminary cooking of the beads to prepare them
for glazing.
Dip your bead into the glaze. The glaze should
fill all the folds and contours of the bead; howev-
er, you dont want coating so thick that it drips off
the bead. The easiest way to dip a bead is to put
it on a wooden skewer or the straw with which you
made the hole, then quickly dip it in glaze using a
rotating wrist motion to ensure that the whole sur-
face is covered. Rest the skewer across two sup-
ports so the glaze can dry. About two minutes
should be long enough, as you are simply waiting
for the water in the glaze to be absorbed into the
porous bead.
In order to complete the bead, its necessary to
melt the glaze without letting the bead stick to oth-
ers next to it. I use wire to support and separate
each bead and to attach them to a bead frame. An al-
ternative is to fire beads on horizontal rods of stain-
less steel or Nichrome heat-resistant alloy, using
disks of ceramic paper to prevent them from touch-
ing, but you will encounter difficulties moving the
beads when they are red hot.
Fire the beads to 1800F. Firing length is a matter
of judgment; it is an art that would take more room
than I have here to describe. Try working with an established
group to learn from their knowledge and skill. When the
beads are done, its time for reduction, which is the process
of removing combined oxygen from the glaze; it gives a
metallic luster to the piece. To achieve a good reduction, its
important to keep oxygen away from the beads until theyre
cool enough for the glaze to set. The main way to do this is
to keep them in a smoky atmosphere where burning com-
bustibles (paper, leaves) use up any oxygen that leaks in.
Remove them to a reduction container and lightly reduce
them using newspaper as the combustible material. Beads
demand a fairly small reduction container, so use one that
can contain your bead frame with a few inches to spare for
shredded newspaper, and that has a tightly fastening lid. (A
1' galvanized steel trashcan works well if you fill the hole in
the lid with a nut and bolt.) Reduction should take approx.
thirty minutes.
Caution: This is the dramatic and potentially dangerous
part of the raku process. Handling red-hot beads on a bead
frame, pulling them from the kiln while theyre at maximum
temperature, plunging them into inflammable materials, and
sealing them in a container to marinate in a low-oxygen at-
mosphere calls for skill and care. For your first time, you
may want to get someone else to handle it for you, or at
least spend some time watching how others do it. Be sure to
wear protective clothing and use the proper tools: long
sleeves, gauntlets, a face mask, and tongs.
After reduction, dunk the still-warm beads in cold water,
wash off the burnt newspaper, and admire the final color.
The finished beads should be a shiny white with a fine gray
crackle. The silvery color is a smoke coating. Although it will
come off if rubbed with an abrasive pad, you may prefer to
leave it on, at least in the recesses of the folds, as it gives
the beads an aged and mysterious look.
For stringing, use Balinese silver spacers and a clasp. Be
sure that the beading wire you use is strong enough to
hold these beads, and is resistant to abrasion from the oc-
casional rough spot on the bead cores.
Sue Ki Wilcox is a freelance writer specializing in new computing technologies, graphicdesign, and high-tech art who tries to keep carpal tunnel syndrome at bayby making raku beads. She is working on her latest book, a compendiumof raku beadmaking techniques, and warns readers that these beads cantake over your life. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
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Jewelry
STEP BY STEP
www.stepbystepwire.com
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Painted polymer takes
art to new heights.
BY PATRICIA KIMLE
34 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
STeP bySTeP
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More Projects @ StepbyStepJewelry.com 35
1 ounce pieces of polymer clay in
pearl and white (I like Premo be-
cause of its color and durability)
Pearl-Ex Brilliant Gold powder
(optional)
Pinta Inks by Jacquard
Claro Extender
70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing al-
cohol)
Water-based varnish (optional)
About 40" of .024" diameter 24K
flexible beading wire (I used Soft
Flex 24K Gold Flex Wire
Assorted accent beads
Approx. 20 gold crimp beads
French ear wires
Pasta machine dedicated to clay
Round paint brushes, small and
medium
Small cup to hold alcohol
Small sheet of glass or plexi-glass
for palette
Acrylic rod for rolling
Cutting blade
Circle cutters or circle template in
several sizes, approx. 114", 112",
and 2"
Standard light bulb and 40-watt
appliance bulb
Sheet of drywall sanding screen
Cyanoacrylate glue (I use
Loctite or Zap-a-Gap)
Crimping pliers
Flush cutter
1mm drill bit in pin vise or hand
drill
What you need
Skill level
Photo
of fin
ishe
d p
iece
s by
Frank
DeS
ant
is;
all
oth
er p
hoto
s co
urte
syof th
e aut
hor.
Its good for artists to make an effort to keep learning and expanding
their experiences. A few years ago, I took a traditional watercolor painting
class loved it, and have now done many paintings for family and
friends. Eventually, I began looking for ways to bring that watercolor
knowledge to my work with polymer clay. What I found was that you can
achieve very similar traditional watercolor effects by substituting alcohol
for water, and alcohol soluble inks for the pigment. This project uses the
basic painting techniques of wash, wet-in-wet, and dry brush to create
spectacular beads.
Painting a sheet.
Condition the clay by kneading and rolling it until you have a sheet with
a smooth consistency. Blend about 12 package of white polymer clay
with 12 package of the pearl clay, increasing the pearl quantity for a more
shimmering effect or increasing the white for a more matte effect. On your
pasta machine, using the middle setting, roll out a sheet of clay that is ap-
proximately 5" x 8" x 1mm thick.
1
lentil beadspastel
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36 Step by Step Jewelry: Clays Winter 2007
STeP bySTeP
Lightly sprinkle and brush on some Pearl-Ex Bril-
liant Gold powder, if you like this is optional.
Apply several colors of ink to the palette, using
one or two drops of each color. Its okay if the col-
ors dry on the palette, they will be redissolved with
the alcohol. Pour a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol into
a cup. Dip the brush into the alcohol and wet some of
the ink on the palette. Begin by applying washes of
color in stripes across the sheet. Try to have each
stripe blend from a dark edge to a lighter edge.
Add spatters, drips, streaks, etc. of other colors
after the washes are dry. Try putting drips of one
color into areas of another color, before they dry, to
see them mingle and spread. Paint lines or shapes
with a very dry brush (colors picked up with the
brush and then the alcohol dabbed out on a dry tow-
el). This is like painting with watercolor; you can vary
the strength of the pigment and the carrier as you
dip your brush. Experiment by using the Pinta Ink
Claro Extender (which comes with inks), instead of
alcohol. The extender will give the paint a shinier
look versus the matte effect of the colors applied
with alcohol.
Using a long clay blade, cut the sheet into strips about14"