Big World Studio

I’ve started experimenting with COPPRclay* and I’m having a blast!  The material is fun to work with and I’ve had great success with firing it to full strength**. It’s beautiful with a simple brushed finish, but the detail is really stunning after applying a patina and polishing back the high points.

My customers seem to love it too.  Over the past several weeks, I’ve sold a few silver pieces and LOTS of copper pieces.  I think the rich warm color is attracting people, and they tell me they like it because it’s just “different”.   It doesn’t hurt that the raw material is substantially less expensive than the silver, so my finished pieces are priced a bit better for this economy.  Whatever the reasons, I’m having fun making and selling these creations.

Working in copper is also great because its low cost encourages me to experiment.  If the experiment doesn’t work, I’m not worried about needing to recycle the materials.  It’s really very freeing and a great way to sharpen my skills, which will apply equally to my work with silver clay.  This process reminds me of my early days of free exploration with polymer clay, getting to know what the material could do.

The piece shown here features a pattern carved directly into a dried copper blank.  I rolled out a fairly thick sheet of clay, cut out the shape and dried it on a domed Easter egg to attain the gently curved profile.  After drying, I lightly sanded and smoothed the edges of the piece, then used my favorite Dockside MicroCarving Tool to cut the pattern directly into the bone dry piece.

Stay tuned for more copper creations!

* COPPRclay is the correct spelling for the brand name of the material I’m working with.  The finished piece is pure copper after firing.

** I’m using the firing schedule developed by Angela Crispin:  Open shelf fire, ramped at 450F per hour to 555F and hold for one hour.  Second stage firing buried in coconut carbon, full ramp to 1650F and hold for 3.5 hours.  My initial experiments with the manufacturers recommended firing schedule were not successful, but every batch fired with this 2-phase schedule has sintered perfectly.

We all need a sanctuary.  A place where we can relax into our own skin and just BE.  I think of my home as my feathered nest where I can shut out the noise of the word, enjoy my husband and my kitties and create.  So, I love the symbolism of the birdhouse.  For me, it represents home, family, nature and a safe haven. 

This little birdhouse pendant is created from fine silver metal clay.  I work in both brands, but this particular piece was created from PMC3.  The texture was made from a hand-carved polymer clay slab and the piece was dry constructed, with the body, the roof and the floor all being created separately and joined when dry.  A fine silver eye ring is embedded in the roof.

The creation of this piece was a practice in patience.  The process was fairly simply, but I was being klutzy that day and managed to crack the roof (which I repaired) and shatter the first cylindrical body (which was in too many pieces to repair).  But once I got through that teeth-gritting session, everything came together nicely and I’ve made two more of these without further  breakage.

For my non-metal clay family and friends, you might appreciate an explanation of why “metal” breaks or shatters.  The material is very fragile in its greenware stage, when the clay has dried into a rigid form, but has not yet been fired into its metal stage.  A drop from just a few inches above my workbench has been known to crack or chip a piece.  It’s incredibly frustrating, but I’m trying to believe that I NEEDED to practice more patience and this material is providing me with that learning experience.

If you’re one of my 3 family members who read this blog, you might wonder what keeps me from posting more often.  Like many artists I know, the drive to create (and the day job) sometime get in the way of regular blogging.  It just feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day!

But I do have a blog that gets lots of love.  Back in May, right before I went for my first metal clay class, I decided to start a second blog to showcase metal clay jewelry and art.  I had enjoyed reading Polymer Clay Daily for several years, and I wished that there was a similar site featuring metal clay art.  So, I decided to start one called Metal Clay Magic.  I committed to posting 2 to 3 times per week, and most weeks I’ve managed to keep that commitment.  I started connecting with folks in the metal clay community and used both Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the site.

While I have featured many of the well known masters of metal clay, I’ve also featured newcomers that have something unique to contribute.  I’ve had so much fun scouring the web for metal clay artists and I get so excited when I find amazing work from someone I’ve never heard of before.  The metal clay community responded enthusiastically right away, and the interest has grown steadily.

This week, I decided to Google the term “metal clay” to see if I’ve made my way to page two or three - which would have made me happy.  Imagine my excitement to find that I’m on page one of the results, currently ranking at #5 (not including the paid positions)!  The site got over 1300 visits in the past month from 600 visitors and 34 readers have subscribed to the site’s RSS feed.  I’m doing backflips!

OK - so enough of the shameless self-promotion.  I just had to share my excitement with those of you who have been following my journey.  And, I’ll try to re-dedicate myself to writing on this site about my own creations.  I just wish I could get 30 hours in a day!

I love jewelry that’s beautiful and also tells a story.  These pieces are formed from green bean leaves from my best friend’s garden, so my connection to them is mighty strong.  Grab a cup of tea and let me tell you the story.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I traveled to North Carolina in June to attend a week-long Introduction to ArtClay Silver class at the John C. Campbell Folk School, also known as summer camp for crafty adults.  Well, any trip to that part of the country makes my heart swell, because I get to visit my sister and her family in Georgia, my mother-in-law in Asheville, and my best friends who moved to Honea Path, South Carolina.  Ted and Kristen and their two small children moved from Orlando to this tiny town near Greenville to be closer to Ted’s large and tight-knit family, and to re-gain the quality of life that a small southern town can offer.  I’ve missed them terribly since they departed in 2006.

This visit was the first time we’ve seen Ted and Kristen since they settled into their new home last fall.  Kristen has a green thumb and a love of fresh produce that had her outside planting a garden as soon as the winter frosts had passed.  By the time we arrived in June, her little patch of paradise was well on its way to producing a bounty of fresh homegrown food.

In my class at the Folk School, we learned how to use 2-part silicone molding compound to create molds and impressions of just about anything that has a texture.  One of our projects included impressing a leaf in the compound and using the resulting mold to make fine silver leaves.  Suddenly, I was on high alert for leaves with interesting shapes or deep textures. Just as we were all packed up and reluctantly leaving our friends, I looked down and noticed the leaves on Kristen’s green bean plants.  Wow - what incredible deep veining they had!  I dug out my molding compound, mixed a small batch and impressed 3 sizes of green bean leaves.

The fine silver leaves made from these molds are just fabulous and people really seem to be attracted to them.  Furthermore, when I share the story of my friend, her garden and how much I miss her, the connection is extended to include everyone who hears it.

These are available on request, and will be listed in my store when I get that set up.  The smallest leaf is used for earrings.  The medium and large sizes are pendants.  They can be shiny - just tumbled and polished, or I can add a patina treatment to highlight the texture and add color to each piece.  Let me know what you think!

Check out Green Bean Series set in my Flickr Photostream for more photos of the collection and a shot of the original mold.

My friend Valerie has been so supportive of my art that I call her my cheerleader.  It started when she ordered custom fan and light pulls for every room in her home.  Then, she allowed me to set up a small display in her salon.  Before long she was playing middle-man for custom orders coming in from her clients.  If I’m ever doubting my talent (and what artist doesn’t), all I need to do is walk into Valerie’s place with recent samples of my work.  Everyone needs a Valerie - or 10 - in their life!

She has always been a big fan of my dragons, and was particularly enchanted with their expressions.  So, when she requested a black and white dragon with a rainbow crystal, I knew this one would be really special.  This little dragon will surely be very happy and well cared for in Valerie’s possession.

As always, click on any image to see the larger version on Flickr.  Enjoy!