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.  

Only God knows

There are twenty eight silver charms ready to go to the conference.  (Not all are exactly the same as noted in the previous post.)

Sitting on my work table at the studio are fourteen copper charms, sanded and ready to be fired.  (Obviously they aren't going to the conference!)  All fourteen of those charms are not exactly alike...... in fact about four of them are total different shapes than the rest.

Now, about the bronze charms.   There were fourteen bronze charms (all of these are alike.)  And, actually there still are fourteen.  I just don't know where one of them is.  It will show up one of these days.  When my golf ball hits a tree and ricochets only God knows which direction it went.   The same principle works when a piece of metal flies off my finger when the flex shaft wheel hits it.  I heard it hit the wall, but again..... only God knows where it ended up.

So..... there were fourteen bronze charms...... and then there were thirteen.

"I know the silver is more expensive, but I think I like the bronze better."

It's almost here!

The 2012 PMC Conference is just a week away....... and I'm not ready!

The last conference I went to (and my first and only one) was in 2008 at Purdue University in Indiana.  This year it's at the Drawbridge Inn in Fort Mitchell, KY and I can't wait.  The conference is a time to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.  It's a time to energize our creativity and come home with more tools and supplies than we really need.  

There are pre-conference classes (which unfortunately this year I can't take.)  They take money and we all know how that one goes.  But there are plenty of demos and plenty of ideas floating around.

One of the usual treats of the conference is the charm exchange.  In past years there was a designated time for it, but this year it will be ongoing any time someone asks if you have charms.  At first I wasn't going to participate in the charm exchange but changed my mind today.  (Which of course puts the pressure on.)

The last time I made a charm that represented my state of PA.  (I'm too tired to take a photo of the actual charm.... thanks to the garbage man making me spring out of bed at 4:30 AM to run out 2 1/2 weeks worth of garbage.)  But I have included the card that was with my charm.  (Scanning in the card is relatively quick.)

So, today I was trying to think of what I could make.  My first idea was to make small silver quilts with colorful polymer clay borders.  I made one test piece to see if it would work.  Not bad..... but not good either.  

I did want something that would be my own original design.  So after about an hour and a half of racking my brain I decided to use an old photo polymer plate I had made.  I loved the design which I based on an Ojibwa Indian design.   (I've shown it on the blog in an earlier post about enameling and variations on a theme.)  

I never left the studio until 8:00 tonight, but I did get 25 silver charms made (well, at least formed.  Now I have to sand, fire, polish, patina and finish with a jump ring.)  I also want to make some in bronze and copper.  (No sleep for the procrastinator!)

Maybe tomorrow I'll post a picture of the quilt charm.  (It would be really cute if I would enamel the design or color it with resin.)  But time is running out and my first idea took a lot more time to make than I thought it would so the photo polymer plate is much quicker.

I'll share a photo of the Conference charm and the conference when I get back.  

Merry Christmas!

During my Open House, I offered one of my Pennsylvania Byways charm necklaces for a drawing. Well, we finally pulled a name and the winner is Heidi Stephens of Oil City, Pa. I almost forgot until my husband stopped by the studio today and wanted to know if I had drawn the name yet. So, he did.

Merry Christmas Heidi!

Underwire

  NO I'm not talking about bras in this post.  (Although I did just buy a new one with underwire support.  It's obvious I need one.)

   I'm talking about wire under the metal clay to help form it.  The book PMC Technic and Barbara Becker Simons new book both demonstrate the technique.  The first one I tried is rather large and is not yet done.  At first it looked very sculptural to me and I thought about turning it into a sculpture until my friend Carol said she could see it as a piece of jewelry with tubes in it.  So, last week I bought some brass and some copper tubing.  Will share when it finally gets done (don't think that will be any time soon though as the old brain is sometimes slow.)

   The third charm on my bracelet was created with a much shorter (not smaller) piece of copper wire.  The wire was bent into a shape with twists and turns (so far I find it is impossible to predict what the finished clay piece will look like.)  It is important to make sure that the wire sits on the table and that there are no sharp points to tear through the clay.  Then a sheet of clay, 2 cards thick, is rolled out and draped over the wire.  At this point the clay can be formed into the recesses of the wire with the fingers.  Dry the clay and carefully remove the wire.  I thought it would be difficult to take the wire out, but it wasn't.  When the form is totally dry, lay the piece on another 2 card slab of clay (to form the back)and cut around it with a needle tool.  Then paste the back piece to the front piece, smooth the edges together  and fill in any gaps with extra clay or paste.

   Before I joined the back to the front on this piece, I made a wire loop, twisted the ends of the wire and inserted it between the front and back piece.  What I thought was fine silver wire (that's what it said when I bought it), turned out to be sterling silver wire which turned black during the firing process.  As an after thought I decided to add the peridot, so I refired the piece with a readymade bezel cup (and covered the black wire with metal clay paste.)  

Swarovski melt

    I've added another new charm to my education bracelet, (actually three more which I'll share over the next few days.)  Two of the techniques I learned at the Arrowmont retreat.  The Senior Instructor from South Africa, (sorry I can't remember her name.) showed us this.  It only takes a few seconds and can add a spark of color to your metal clay creations.

   Drill a hole in the piece you want to decorate (of course it is easiest to do in the dry clay before firing.)  Also, make sure the hole is fairly large.  (This helps the crystal to melt down into the hole better.)  After the piece is fired and cooled, position the crystal on the hole.  I used a 4 mm crystal bead.  (Metal backed swarovski beads and AB swarovski beads are not good for this technique.)  Using a torch, begin heating the area around the crystal and over the crystal until it begins to turn orange and balls up.   That's it.  That's all there is to it.  How cool is that? 

   My charm has held up (which for me was a test of the strength since a bracelet gets lots of pounding.)  I did not tumble this piece as I liked the white inside the dish shape.   I also tried it in a by-pass ring I made but the holes were too small for the bigger crystal to melt down into.  It might have worked if I had used a smaller crystal. 

  

 

Charm swaps

      The Art Jewelry magazine's website was my first foray into an online forum.  I was looking for other people who did metal clay and that seemed a logical place to start.  They had a section for metal clay enthusiasts, both experienced and beginners.  It was through this forum that I tried out my first charm swap.   

    Lucky for me, I'm an eternal optimist or I never would have gotten into another charm swap after the first one.

   The year before, the charm swap had lots of participants.  Last year there were only seven of us and only two of us made our charms and mailed them to the girl who was coordinating every thing.  We waited...... and waited........ and waited.  Our charms never came.  I tried contacting the girl.  But she never answered.  The other girl who sent charms did get an answer and a promise to send her charms back before Christmas (2007).  But, she never did.   

   I just chalked it up to a lesson learned, until I went to the PMC conference in Indiana last July.  Lo and behold, there was the girl who had my charms.  My friends thought I should confront her.  But I remember her picture on the forum showed her in red boxing gloves and she sure looked like she could clean my clock.  So, I opted to wait until after the conference and try emailing her again.  This time I tried to use a little strong arm persuasion in my email.  Didn't work.  I never heard back from her.  

   Again, I chalked it up to a lesson learned.  Today I got an email from the other girl involved.  She decided to give it another try and did get a reply.  She is supposed to get her charms back before Christmas.   And she offered to give the girl my mailing address too.  I also emailed her again.  So.... maybe, just maybe I will finally get my charms back.  We'll see.  

    I've been in two other charm swaps since and have been very satisfied.  I exchanged charms with my friends from my certification class.  At the conference I exchanged about twenty five charms with people from all over the world.   I put them all on a lovely charm bracelet, which gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling when I wear it.  (Which isn't as often as I would like.   Everyone expects me to be wearing jewelry I've made myself.)