Waste not.... Want not

       Metal clay is so politically correct because it is "green."  Silver is recycled and put into a binder then made into jewelry.

    The nice thing about metal clay..... nothing is ever wasted.  Sand the green ware and save the sanding to be turned into metal clay paste.  Dried up clay?  Add a few holes, a little water, leave sit over night and knead back into lump clay.  Don't like what you made?  Add some more, re-fire and try again; over and over if need be.  

   I've got lots of metal clay pieces I don't like or don't know what to do with.  They sit in a little drawer of my jewelry box, waiting for a spark of inspiration to turn them into something I do like.  

    My very first attempt at metal clay was at an art conference years ago.  We had a two hour workshop which included a one hour demonstration.  Needless to say my first attempt was pretty shaky.  I expected it to act like ceramic clay.  It didn't.  I expected it to stay moist as I worked with it.  It didn't.  I panicked and my first piece was pretty scary.  It was thin.  The bail kept breaking off on the corners.  The back looked pieced together (badly pieced together.)  There were cracks everywhere.  But I brought it home and hung on to it.  Just last summer I finally decided to pull it out and do something with it.  I like it now and actually wear it.  The back got covered with a round piece.  I broke extra pieces off the bail until only the sturdy parts remained.  I added a round element that was molded from a button. Combine that with beads and a citrine drop and the piece now gets compliments.  (Although the picture isn't too good....darn!)

   My latest cover up was a pendant I was making for a commission.  (Remember I always make more than I need.)  In the process of sanding, I managed to break off some letters on the pendant and wasn't able to use it as is.  This save was a much easier fix than my first piece.  I took a pointed tool and hammered around the inside edge of the pendant to give it texture.  Then I pasted on a little frog that I had molded this summer and re-fired.   Add some jade beads (since Kermit is green) and voila, another save.  

   I use the scraps from the paper clay to create my negative space pieces.  And when those get too small, I chop them up and roll paste covered beads in them for a sparkle effect.

   Waste not..... want not.  Especially at the price of silver!