From a distance

The piece I made in Wanaree's class on making bezels with the Silhouette cutting machine and metal clay sheet is finally done.  From a distance it looks pretty good.  Just don't look too closely.  (I have to remember that it is a learning experience and with time and practice I will get better.)

The class was fun and for the most part didn't really stress me out too much.  (Except when the polymer stand-in, wrapped in contact paper kept popping out!)  When I wrapped my sheet metal bezel around my stone I thought it was a smidgen too long so I trimmed it.  (Bad idea........... now it was too short.)  So, I had a gap that messed up the rhythm of the design.  That had to be dealt with and I tried to fill it in with paste which wasn't the prettiest spot on the piece. But that could be dealt with after firing.

The pieces were laid on some kiln shelves with the bail laying on the lower level and cocked to one side.  This would keep the bail from binding with the loop on the piece and would help keep that same loop from curving. (There's a reason why I mention the position of the bail.)  My piece and several others were near the door of the kiln (which can be cooler) so they did not shrink enough to fit our stones.)

My friend Carol, offered to re-fire my piece so it would shrink more.  We fired at 1650 degrees for one hour.  (I forgot to mention how to position the bail during firing.)  It did indeed shrink quite a bit.  The bail also bound a bit with the loop but that came apart easily.  And..... the loop curved.  (Which didn't really hurt anything.)  But, during the second firing one of the little triangles on the bezel completely disappeared.  (It had a slight tear in it to begin with .)  Now, not only did I have to deal with smoothing the pasted gap area but I had to do something about the newly created gap.  (This was just getting to be more and more work........ but what else is new?)

I used my silhouette machine to cut out some small pieces that I had planned on using between some of the designs (particularly the two bad spots.)  I created my design, set up the machine and cut the design out.  But when I went to peel the contact paper off the design, I realized that I hadn't reduced the tackiness of the contact paper.  Wanaree did that by laying the contact paper on her arm then peeling it off.  That is just enough to reduce the stickiness.  So, back to doing it again.

With my extra designs cut out, I went about the task of adding them applique fashion to my existing bezel.  Wanaree adds them by picking the piece up with her brush.  (That just wasn't working for me...... something else I have to work on.)  I had to use tweezers, but I got it done.  Luckily for me, the extra smidgen that I cut off in the beginning seemed like it would fit into the newly created gap.  Used a little paste, held my mouth just right and it fit right in.  I got all the newly cut applique pieces pasted onto the already fired bezel and fired it for the third time.  (Of course holding my breath the entire two hours.)

Looked in the kiln and it looked perfect..... until I took it out.  Either I missed a spot or once again one of my pieces decided to take a vacation.  So..... I removed a few of the applique pieces in strategic places to make them look like it was planned.

I decided it was time to put in the stone and hammer the bezel around it.  After that was done, I did not like the way the applique pieces looked at all.  Plus, I had forgotten to add a little epoxy to the inside of the bezel because of the tiny pieces that could catch.   I couldn't take it anymore so I decided to "Step away from the clay" until today.

Today when I went to the studio, I got out my wire cutters and cut (or pried) off the applique pieces.  It finally looked better to me.  It's not as smooth as it could be because of the paste from the applique pieces but those tend to look like a design.

The last hurdle came when it was time to polish the piece.  Because of the tiny pieces on the bezel, I was trying to be very, very careful (which wasn't getting me anywhere fast.)  But the bezel piece is surprisingly sturdy and I really gave it a work over.   I used both hand sanding and my flex shaft to get the piece to shine.  There were sharp edges where I removed the applique, but the sanding process eliminated all of that and the piece is now smooth on the edges.

Despite all my mistakes (excuse me..... learning experiences) the piece did turn out okay.  As my learning piece it will be something I keep for myself.

Tomorrow, I'll post the back of this piece.  (The back is important too you know!)

Time to be creative

 As I mentioned in my last post, I was heading to Pittsburgh to take a class in using the Silhouette Cameo to create bezels in metal clay.  That wasn't the only class I was taking this weekend though.  I also took a copper and bronze class from my friend Carol Scheftic.  (More about that in a later post.)

Wanaree's class was so much fun (and of course informative.)  We learned her technique for creating intricate bezels with metal clay sheet.  (We also learned how much patience she has when it comes to embellishing her bezels.)  I got a chance to spend time with some of my guild members and meet new people.  It was a great group and we all got along.  (That doesn't always happen in a class.)

 Wanaree helping Pete Barrett (with my Silhouette machine in the foreground.)  Pete came all the way from Canada to take Wanaree and Carol's classes.  She and I both stayed at Carol's house.  Pete is such a fun person that she fit right in.  Everyone hated to see her go back to Canada.  

Everyone got their pieces fired and some were able to insert their stones.  A few of us had to take our pieces with us and re-fire them as they did not shrink enough.  We think the reason for the small amount of shrinkage was because our pieces were close to the door in the kiln.  That area of the kiln sometimes is not as hot.   Carol was nice enough to re-fire my piece for me and the shrinkage was  considerably different.  Except......... for some unknown reason one of the bezel loops disappeared.  

So......... it's time to be creative (and patient.) 

Here's the piece out of the kiln (the first firing.)  I'll try to work on it soon so I can share the finished piece.  

Sorry the pictures aren't better.  They were taken with my phone (but at least it gives you the idea.)

Off to see the Wizard

Well actually, she's not a wizard but her work looks like it was created by magic.

What I'm really doing is heading to Pittsburgh to take a class from Wanaree Tanner on using the Silhouette Cameo cutting machine with metal clay.  I've had my machine since before Christmas (my  husband bought a pontoon boat and I thought the least he could do was buy me a Cameo machine........ he got off cheap. )  I've used it for paper a few times, but what I really want to use it for is metal clay.

Can't wait to learn (I love being a student) and can't wait to share what I make.  Keep posted!

As the Disney song says

It's a small, small world (and it is.)

I use to tell people that I lived in a little town north of Pittsburgh, figuring they would at least be familiar with Pittsburgh. But ever since an experience I had at the Rose Bowl in California (where the guy had never been to Pittsburgh..... only Dempsytown and Oil City where I taught) I now proudly say where I'm from.

Today we had that experience again.  For the past week we've been at Disney World (sadly tomorrow is our last day.)  As we were riding the bus back to our resort (to take an afternoon nap...... we ain't what we use to be) we struck up a conversation with a young couple and their children.  When they asked where we were from, our friends said..... "A little town north of Pittsburgh."  Then he decided to say Oil City and their mouths dropped open.  The wife was from Oil City.  They still had family there and that's where they were married.  My friends knew their relatives and the wife's brother is married to the sister of one of my friends.

I actually had the wife as a student when I taught elementary art.  I did remember her after she said her name.  (They have a way of changing from when I had them in elementary school.)

The vacation is over and it's back to work.  I have several commissions to work on and a silhouette machine to master so come back often to see how that's going.  It's time to get back on track with the metal clay posts.  (But vacation was fun while it lasted and Disney World is amazing.)

Christmas came early this year!

Christmas came early this year for me.  In fact it came last Friday morning.  There is a good reason why it was early.

 My husband decided that his little fourteen foot fishing boat was just not big enough and that he should have a pontoon boat.  I did my typical resistance, but as usual gave in. He was looking for a used boat but due to some unusual circumstances he wasn't able to get the boat he wanted.  So..... now we are buying a brand new pontoon boat.

With that said, I felt that it was only fair that I get something I've been wanting too.  ....... So I did!  (Actually he owes me for many, many more years to come.)

I got myself a Silhouette Cameo Cutter.  The cutting machines are basically for scrapbook makers and paper artists.  But many metal clay artists are using the machines to cut intricate designs from metal clay.  Probably one of the first artists to do this was Wanaree Tanner who does beautiful base metal pieces.

Michelle Glaeser, one of our Guild members has been using the Silhouette for a while now too.  A few weeks back she gave a demo at one of our play days and it is amazing how small and detailed the cut piece can be.

So far I've only cut one sheet of paper to see if everything worked, but I'm anxious to try the clay.  And, I have a newTransit Design that I've been racking my brain as to how I was going to make it and I think the Silhouette is the answer.

 I have played around with the software program that came with it.  It seems fairly easy as it is a vector program like Adobe's Illustrator program.  I am somewhat familiar with Illustrator which makes it easier to learn.

I'll post more on the Silhouette Cameo as I learn more about it.