All done!

I finished the last of my unfinished projects from my classes a few weeks ago.

Here is the metal clay "wet" inlay technique.  The backing was made of copper and the bronze clay was inlaid.  I wasn't able to get it as smooth as it should be since I included a stone in this one, but still got it pretty smooth so it would take the Baldwin's Patina.

Wet inlay using copper and bronze

In the last post I talked about the "dry" technique of inlaying metal clay.  This post will look at the "wet" technique.

Wet inlay is achieved by adding "wet clay" to the dried backing piece.  The base piece is created using something to create a "deep design."  That could be created by rolling the clay onto a deep texture or a PPP plate of your own design.  Since the class is about learning technique, I did not try to get creative with the design and used one of Carol's new textures plates.

Copper clay shrinks less than the bronze clay when fired.  Therefore it is best to inlay the bronze into the copper so there is less chance of cracking.  (Which can be repaired but requires additional firing time.)  My bronze in copper piece needed more finishing (basically I didn't know exactly what I wanted it to be) so I brought it home to finish. 

But I did make a copper in bronze piece (since I had never done that before.)   I wanted to see what cracking might be involved with doing it that way.  Luckily, mine didn't crack.  

The middle of the flower has a slightly different look to it than the rest of the piece. (It does not show up in the photo though.)  The Baldwin's patina acted differently on it.  The only thing we could think might have caused this was some alloying going on between the copper and the bronze.  

In order for the patina to work it's best, it is important to have the surface of the two clays even and very smooth.  Using a rotary tool, we started with 220 grit emery paper and sanded (a lot.)  After that we switched to 400 grit and finally finished up with 1000 grit.  Nice and smooth.  Actually, the more you can do in the dry state the better.  It will save time afterwards and make your life easier.  

   

Dry inlay using copper and bronze clay

Another thing we did in Carol's class was Hadar's inlay technique.  Again, this wasn't the first time I've done this technique but I did have some things to learn to improve my pieces.

Carol refers to the two inlay techniques as "dry" and "wet."   In the dry technique a dry piece of clay is pushed into a wet piece of clay.

After firing and polishing, the two metals look very much alike.  Adding Baldwin's patina to the piece brings out the contrast by darkening the copper.  Baldwins has no effect on the bronze.  

I had never done the dry technique before so this was a first.  What was also a first was how much polishing was required on the inlay process.  Yes, I've done this before but had never polished mine as highly as we did this weekend.  (That Carol was a slave driver....... LOL!)

Carol demonstrating the polishing process with Pete looking on.

Testing the freshly fired pieces.

One of the first things we did was test the pieces to make sure they were fully sintered (completely solid metal.)  That was done by taking a coarse wheel to the back of them.  

My next post will talk about the "wet" inlay technique.  

Just like fabric

My friend Carol Scheftic has been invited by Hadar Jacobson to be a charter teacher in her Accreditation Program.  Carol is a "big" fan of Hadar and has been working with her clays for a long time now.  So, when she said she would be teaching a class on using the powdered clays I jumped at the chance to join it.

It's not that I haven't worked with Hadar's clay.  Both Carol and I put off working with the base metal clays until some of the kinks were worked out.  (Not that there still aren't some problems, but not quite as many.)   I started out with the readymade copper and bronze clays but once I found Hadar's clay I never went back.  It has to be mixed with distilled water to make it pliable but it is much smoother and silkier than the other packaged clays.

It is this smoothness and silkiness that makes her clay perfect for the draping technique.

The clay is rolled very thin (1-2 cards thick) then folded and draped.

The clay can be left as formed or cut out with a cutter or template.

If using a texture, I found it best to roll the clay 3 cards thick first.  Then roll it to 2 cards thick onto the texture.  This draping technique really suits my design tastes (and it's fun to do.)  

Pete and I did our pieces in Carol's studio but due to time constraints we fired our pieces on Carol's new screened in patio.  

Check out Carol's blog for information on firing Hadar's clay.  

An older piece which I call "Tiny Dancer" (and was in a previous post) was created with Hadar's clay using the drape method.  This one was a free-form piece (no cutting from the shape.)

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.)

Merry Christmas!

For the last few years The Western Pa Metal Clay guild has had a charm exchange during our December meeting.   Our meetings this year were alternated between member Barb Kaczor's bead Shop, "Four Directions" in Springdale, PA and the Wilkins School Community Center near Regent Square in the Swissvale/ Edgewood area.  WSCC is also home to the studio of member Carol Scheftic.

Our Christmas meeting was held at WSCC with lots of good snacks and beautiful jewelry.  My charm came from my Transit Series.  I made it a little more Christmas like by changing the Swarovski crystal drop to a red or green drop.  And I got a chance to play with my new Silhouette machine and make a little envelope to give my charm in.  (So far I've only played with paper in the Silhouette.  The grandchildren love it.... but that's a whole different post.)  

We put all the charms in a basket and everyone drew a charm.  The basket was brought around a couple more times until everyone who brought a charm had three charms.

I received charms from (left to right) Carol Scheftic, Sue Varolli, and Sharon Shepard.  Carol is a big fan of Hadar Jacobson and does a lot with Hadar's Bronze and copper clays.  Sue's piece has sparkly fingernail polish painted into the flower portion of her charm (very clever.)  Sharon included a CZ for sparkle.  

Over the years I've amassed quite a collection of metal clay charms.  I think I'll do what my friend Carol does, hang them all together in my studio to show them off.  

In case I don't get to post again before Christmas........ Merry Christmas to all of you (and thanks for reading my blog!)

Back to the Beginning

Last week, my friend Carol Scheftic was blogging about tumblers and polishing metal clay.  Burnish means to polish by rubbing.   She mentions that early on she used silverware to burnish her metal clay pieces.  We've all been creative in the tool department when we are trying to save money to buy clay.

Usually I burnish fired pieces to give the raised areas a high shine.  Sometimes it is useful to burnish unfired pieces.  Anything that can be done in the unfired stage is the easiest route.

Thursday while I was waiting for my "rebellious teenager piece of jewelry" to be fired, I worked on sanding and burnishing some unfired pieces for my Transit  Series.  Copper clay and silver clay should never be mixed in their unfired state.  Even the tools should not be shared.  (What copper clay does to unfired silver clay can be ugly.)  If they are shared, they need a very good cleaning between uses.  Rather than grab the burnishers I use for silver, I pulled out my trusty knitting needle to burnish the copper pieces.  Like Carol, I made do (in the early years) without the fancy tumbling equipment we now think we need.

So it was back to the beginning for a few minutes!

Finally a face

Not only was the conference informative and fun, but it was also a time to hook up with current and old friends and finally put a face to those we've only known from a picture on the web.  (Which made it all the more sad to realize that we may not get the chance to share time together again.)

I met many new friends but will share just a few pictures from Saturday night's Gala.

Zoe Nelson was one of the friends I've made over the Internet.  She reads my blog and I read hers.   We comment often on each other's blogs (just to let each other know that someone out there is reading us.)

Zoe was as nice as I envisioned her.  Visit her at zoenelsonartwear.blogspot.com/ 

Coral (on the left...... and darn I can't remember her last name.  It's a good thing Jeanette Landenwitch is sending us an updated list of conference participants.  I won't accidentally delete this one!)  Anyway, Coral is from Pittsburgh and one of Carol's students.  (Strange that I have to go to Kentucky to meet her.)    Carol Scheftic is on the right.  I've mentioned Carol in a previous post.  If you want to know anything about metal clay (particularly the base metal clays and firing) Carol is the one to ask.  

http://convergentseries.wordpress.com/

Saturday's Gala included a photo booth where friends could wear an accessory and have their photos taken.  Dona Miller  http://www.donamiller.com/ is someone I met at the PMC Connection Retreat at Arrowmont last year.  She is now a Certified Instructor with PMC Connection.  We both took Holly Gage's class in metal clay repousse' and I was interested in the piece she worked on in that class.   Dona and her husband own and raced Siberian Huskies.  (Search for her finished piece in a previous post on this blog.)  I too am a lover of huskies (RIP Sasha Mariah and Hanna Jane!)  Besides the Arrowmont class we are both alumni of Tonya Davidson's first Artful Success class.  

Through Face book, blogs, websites and special interest groups we can all still stay connected.  But it was sad to see the conference end and everyone go their own way.   Was much fun while it lasted!

Make an Impression!

In May of 2011 I went to the PMC Connection's Retreat at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg  TN.  At that time I took the Level 4 Certification class from Mary Ann Devos.  The focus of the class was promoting yourself as an artist and as a teacher.

Now anyone who has ever met Mary Ann remembers her.  That is not an accident.  She stated in class that when we go into a gallery, we want them to remember us.  She advised us to be unique, to stand out, to make an impression.  She does this through what she is wearing; a glove, a feather in her hair, an unusual hat or a unique article of clothing.

I think it is a great idea (but again, that is not in my nature and something I would have to consciously work at........ basically I guess I'm boring.  I'm an only child and I''m supposed to want to be the center of attention. What happened?  Must have been my brother "the Boat!"  But that's a whole different story.)

Anyway, this post is about my friend Carol Scheftic.  (http://convergentseries.wordpress.com/)  I met Carol when I was seeking out a metal clay guild.  We've taken several classes together and gone to a couple of conferences together  (which is where we are now) and have become good friends.    Carol makes an impression. (I'm not sure this was her intention.) She wears a "fishing vest."  The vest serves the purpose of being able to carry many of her metal clay pieces since there are so many pockets in it. It's not only useful, but I really think it also makes people remember her.  It makes her stand out.

Another thing that made her memorable at the current conference was her necklace made from bracelets of charms collected at past conferences.  She strung together three such bracelets and of course is working on her fourth.

The charm exchange at the conference is something I always look forward to.  It's fun to have a visual memory of the people you meet.   My previous posts were about the charm that I was making.  In future posts, I'll share some of the charms I received.  

No Censorship!

No Fees, no age limit and no censorship is the mantra of Lawrenceville's "Art all Night."

 Katie Levan

Amy Lewandowski

Art all Night was held in an empty (what looks like) a machine shop.  A very large and with the way the weather was last night........ a very cold building.  (Two jackets on and I still couldn't stop shivering.) 

But in spite of the cold, it was a really fun event.  The Western Pa Metal Clay guild set up an area (unfortunately in the children's hands on area) to do metal clay demos and promote the guild.  (A little personal promotion went on too.... of course.)  Carol Scheftic, Debbie Rusonis, Donna Penoyer and I spent several hours sharing our love of metal clay with the art loving public.

Carol and Debbie

The estimate is that the number of artists participating in the the event was somewhere between 1200 and 1500.  The number of people attending the 22 hour event were between 12,000 and 15,000. * (The The artists ranged from one year old to over seventy years old.   There was lots to see (and for me, not enough time to see it all.)  We went back Sunday before the show closed (and when it was warmer, which made viewing the art much more enjoyable.)

Giant made by elementary school children.

Besides a variety of bands playing throughout the night there were large paintings being created.

We left early because it was just way too cold but Suzanne Trenney said it all.

Wish everyone felt that way!

(Sorry, no picture of my work or Carol's.  They were displayed in a dark area and were hard to see.  The pictures didn't turn out.  This seems to be the story of my life.)

*Note..... correction on number of participants and artists.  Small town mentality in a big city environment.  Not use to big numbers!

  

Check it out!

This weekend is "Art all Night" in Lawrenceville, Pa.    Check it out...... http://artallnight.org/

My friends Carol Scheftic and Donna Penoyer have participated in this event for several years now as part of the Western Pa Metal Clay Guild.  I've always wanted to help do the metal clay demos and exhibit a piece of work but every year it just doesn't seem to work out.

Well, this year it does work and I finally get to participate.  Yay!!!!!

I'll take lots of pictures to share and if you have nothing else to do this weekend, stop by and say hello to my friends and I.

(Hope they don't mind me using their logo to advertise the event.)