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.  

   

Unexpected places

Tools can be as inexpensive (or as expensive) as the artist is willing to pay.  The nice thing about working with metal clay is that it does not require expensive tools.  (Which is a good thing, since the clay can be expensive!)

I've got an upcoming class and don't have enough of my student kits with me.  So, it's a scramble to get a sufficient amount of tool sets together.

Some items were easier to just send away for.   Things like tweezers, scalpels and burnishers were easy enough to get while I was ordering clay for the class.  The Home Depot supplied PVC pipe for the roller, while JoAnn Fabrics supplied silkie necklaces and brushes.  Decks of cards, pencil cases, cups, glue, and nail files were found at the Dollar Stores.  (One of my favorite places.)

One of the most difficult things to find was the candle warmers I use to dry the clay.  I couldn't believe how difficult they were to find (but find them I did........ after trying about six different places.)  I also found one of those old warming trays that we all used in the 60's and 70's.  (Guess I just dated myself...... again!)  Now those are hard to find, but the local Thrift Shop was just the place.

Another unexpected place to find tools was Sally's Beauty Supply.  I knew they had nail files (but for what I need the Dollar Store is cheaper.)  But I found some "new" files there that will get into small places, where regular files can not go.  (Didn't buy these for my classes but for me, me, me!)  

They are on a rigid stick and are pretty coarse for quick filing.