PMC Conference Day 2

Well I'm finally back to posting about the conference sessions.  Friday morning's first session of the day was a trip back in time with Tim McCreight to trace the history of PMC which began in 1995.

The factory where it all began.

Artists meet at Haystack to experiment with this new medium

My first choice of the morning session was "The ABC's of Teaching" with Lora Hart.  Long before the conference, Lora sent out a questionnaire for us to respond to.  My main reason for going to this session was to see what others had to say.  I was an art teacher for 35 years, so basically I felt that there was nothing to learn from this session.  But I was wrong.  Lora brought up some points I hadn't thought of and shared some tips worth trying (like carrying materials for sale in a shoe bag..... multiple pockets and see-through accessibility.)

After lunch I went to see demos by Barbara Becker Simon and Vickie Hallmark who both include glass in their work.  

Barbara's demo included using sheet clay as a bezel with all different kinds of glass and mixing enamel right into metal clay to make colored metal clay.

Vickie showed us how to make a glass cab using a torch and how to work with vitreous enamel in using glass cabs as a canvas for painting.

For the last session of the day I chose "Social Media and your on-line presence" by Susan Dilger.  I had met Susan before (again we were in a class together at PMC Connection's Retreat at Arrowmont in 2009.)  I do use social media (but probably not as much as I should.)  She had lots of information on which site to use for our own specific needs.  For the most part, the theme came through as "If you are not online - you are invisible."  (Those are Susan's words.)  

Now, here is where I should post a picture of Susan making her presentation.  But, instead I am finishing with a picture of her boots.  (The photo came out very dark and I thought it was unusable but thanks to the advanced adjustment tool in IPhoto it is presentable.)  The boots were the first thing I noticed when I sat down.  (How did she get her toes into those upturned pointed toes?)

Just like butter

   Barbara Becker Simon was wearing several cuff bracelets when she was in Pittsburgh teaching her wedge class.  I really liked the bracelets and always thought I'd like to try to make some,  although for the longest time I resisted working with the bronze and copper clays.  (Although that has definitely changed thanks to Hadar's powdered clay.)

   Clay that is already mixed has a shelf life and needs to be used not long after purchase.  I've had 200 grams of BronzeClay which was invented by Bill Struve.  Worried that it would dry up on me, I decided that now was the time to make some cuffs bracelets.  So, last Saturday at my Guild's play day, I finally got a couple of cuffs started.

   The design for the cuff was not apparent to me when I started.  Rolling the clay on a texture sheet didn't give me a sharp enough impression, so I just rolled it into a smooth slab.  (I figured I'd worry about the design later.  Hey, that's my usual MO!)

  Back in the studio on Monday, I sat down and tackled the design.  (I did work it out on paper first.)   I pulled out my dockyard carving tools and went at it.  The bronze clay was very easy to carve and the carving process was fun.  (I always did like carving linoleum blocks and this was just so much easier.)

   The photo shows the bracelet in progress and once it's done and fired I'll post the finished piece.  My biggest concern is getting full sintering since the piece takes up the entire firing pan.  I suspect that I'll have to fire it once, turn it around and fire it a second time.  

Lemon wedge

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was combining my lemon wedge bead made during Barbara Becker Simon's class, with one of her handmade beads. It has been sitting on my bench ever since I got home. I'm not sure this is the final version, but it will do for now. It is much bigger than what I usually make or wear. Maybe it will be the beginning of a new me. (Nah!)

Barbara Becker Simon class

Barbara demonstrating making a glass bead on a metal core

Examples of Barbara's lemon wedge bead.

Sunday's class.

Donna Bash working on her lemon wedge bead.

I spent the weekend in Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. What a cool place. I've taken a couple of glass classes at the Glass Blowing Center in Hilliard, Pa, but I am not good at it. (But I really haven't practiced it either. I just remember the instructor saying how I was determined to burn myself..... which I came close to doing several times; but didn't.)

Anyway, Barbara Becker Simon was there all week giving a class on bead making and she agreed to stay a couple extra days to do a demo and workshop for both the glass and the metal clay people. Her first book came out in the spring and on Sunday she taught us how to make her lemon wedge bead, which was in the book. (Darn I forgot to take my copy to have her sign. I always do that!)

Saturday, we had a pot-luck luncheon at the Center and a demo by Barbara on combining glass and metal clay. She talked about all kinds of glass like ceramic tile, fused glass, beach glass, stained glass, etc. and using broken glass beads. The demo was so informative and I took so many notes. Although I probably didn't have to as Barbara often said ..... "it's in the book." (Did I take my book? Nooooo. So I had to check out other people's books. One of these days I'll get it right and take my books with me.)

Not only did we get lots of good information on combining glass with metal clay, but just watching someone else work is enlightening. Something as simple as wetting your cutting tools so they don't stick to your clay. Barbara had a container with a wet sponge in it that she used to add water to her brushes, her fingers and her cutting tools, just by dabbing it. I always added oil or Badger Balm to my cutting tools so they wouldn't stick. To do that I would put a dab on my fingers and wipe it on the edge, being very careful when I was oiling the tissue blade. (I messed up once and sliced my finger doing that method. Now I keep a box of band-aids in the studio. I'm a quick learner.) So, the wet-the-cutter method was one of those Aha, why didn't I think of that moments. (Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who hadn't thought of it.)

On Sunday we learned how to make her lemon-wedge bead. It was a little tricky. First of all we worked with 2 card thick clay, which made us nervous but it really is pretty sturdy. We had to bezel the edges of our pieces to make a clean fit. That was a little scary too. The flat side was bezeled with a file, but the curved piece was bezeled with an exacto knife. We were working to get a knife edge. To finish the pieces, Barbara showed us how to make the edges appear to flow into each other through carving and brushing with a damp stiff brush.

Everyone was successful. I bought one of Barbara's glass beads and plan on combining it with my Barbara Becker Simon bead. (Will post a picture when I have the design worked out.)

I'll also post some pictures of pieces combined with glass when I get them made. The demo has me all excited to get working again.

For now, I'm sharing pictures of the class on Saturday and Sunday. (I love taking classes. I could be a perpetual student. My husband thinks I'm crazy!)