The jury is finally deliberating

The containers of copper clay were two different shades of red

Clay pieces contain both copper and bronze clay

Larger piece is by Virginia Weltner

Years ago there were only two brands of clay and two kinds of clay, silver and gold.  Now there are a myriad of companies making the clay.  Copper, bronze, white bronze, rose bronze, steel and pearl gray steel clays have been added to the family of metals available.

In several previous posts, I have mentioned how the jury was still out on these base metal clays.  Well, the jury has finally gone to deliberation on at least the copper and bronze clays.

In March my local guild, the Western Pennsylvania Metal Clay chapter of the PMC Guild, in conjunction with the Cleveland Metal Clay Guild, brought Hadar Jacobson to the area for a class.  Unfortunately (well actually it was a mixed feeling about missing the class),  I was not able to make it to the class as I was in Florida at the time.  (Sunshine, blue skies and warm temperatures eased my pain of not being able to take the class.)

Hadar's clay comes in powdered form instead of as a mixed lump of clay which means it has unlimited shelf life (unlike the other clays.)   This past week I finally was able to "play" with her copper and bronze clays.  I think I'm in love.  They mix up so smoothly and feel much silkier (and less stiff) than the other base metal clays.

In the past, firing issues kept me from working with the clays more.  My "test piece" this week fired up beautifully.  Hopefully it works the second time when I fire the actual pieces.  I'll let you know.

White bronze

Hadar Jacobson has created a series of powdered clays that just need to be mixed with water. The powder doesn't have a shelf life like the other clays do. It comes in copper, bronze, white bronze and steel.

I've worked with the original bronze and copper clays. Although I've not worked with Hadar's bronze and copper, I had the opportunity to feel the texture and see the workability of the clay. (Very nice.) As with the original formulas the firing of the clays are where things get tricky.

I have had the opportunity to work with the white bronze clay. It mixed up smoothy and was very nice to work with. Once again, the firing of the clay is something that has to be worked out since each kiln may reach varying temperatures and the clay does not have a very wide range of forgiveness.

The clay (like the the original bronze) is fired in coconut charcoal (although without a lid). We fired ours in the stainless steel container, on a raised shelf. There is one inch of charcoal under the pieces and two inches above the pieces. The pieces should be spaced about a half an inch apart and away from the front of the pan. (The side near the door of my SC2 could be cooler.)

We (my friend Carol and I) fired the pieces at a full ramp to 500 with no hold. Then we ramped the kiln at 400 per hour up to 1250, then held for three hours. All in all the firing time took about five hours. We left it cool in the kiln overnight. The directions suggested to raise or lower the temperature by ten degrees if needed, depending on the outcome of the firing.

All of our pieces appeared to be sintered. But, in the process of cleaning them, discovered that a couple of pieces near the door were not fully sintered. (So back to the kiln.)

Since this was my first try with the white bronze, I kept the pieces simple. (I did try a larger fold-over bail pendant that I didn't fire yet.) I thought the clay shrank 30% like the original versions so I made my pieces rather large. Instead, the white bronze shrinks less than 10%.

Unlike silver clay (or the bronze and copper that I've worked with before), cleaning the pieces requires the use of a motor tool. The cleaning process also wore down the coarse brush of the tool very quickly. I stopped after the initial cleaning. Maybe further polishing would produce different results.

So far, the white bronze clay is not exciting me. It is easy to mix into a smooth workable clay, but for me that's about the best thing. The firing is tricky and the amount of pieces that can be fired in one firing is very limited. The length of the firing time and the cleaning process required to finish the pieces is a deterrent for me. (I had such a black dust all over my workbench. Guess I prefer gray dust.)

Maybe it's because I stopped at the first step of cleaning, but the pieces remind me of a tin can.

They have an industrial look (and I lean toward organic.) The tin can color does work well with a variety of bead colors. (The sample pieces will be turned into earrings.)

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, the jury is still out on these base metal clays. (I need to do more before I pass final judgement. The first time at anything isn't always successful.)