New silver clay pendants

I had this wonderful vision of how I could use these Fred Mullett stamps to make a underwater scene. I stamped into the metal clay and then trimmed around the stamps. I did a second layer on the big fish to make him more dimensional. The seaweed leaves form the base and the bail. I used liver of sulfur for the patina. I am pleased with the final product but really have to learn how to plan better. I did a lot more playing around and redoing things than was probably best for the clay. Hopefully the attachments are secure enough. I think learning how to rivet should be on my to do list. Although it isn't perfect, it was a great learning experience.






This pendant was based on one in Hadar Jacobson's book. Here again, I ran into some construction problems. I made the mistake of using a little too much water while it was on a playing card during construction. Some must have seeped underneath the pendant and when it was drying, some of the card stuck to the bottom of the pendant. The stuck on bits got burnt off in the kiln but it was a pain to try and peel the pendant off the card without damaging it too much. Another learning experience ( sigh) . It also has a liver of sulfur patina.

Supplies used: Art Clay Silver 650 slow dry, Fred Mullett stamps, Liver of sulfur, various texture stamps Judikins, other stamps dots SU, mesh Stampington

Dragonfly pendant

This layered art clay silver pendant was made using molds made from buttons. The buttons are reproductions of antique ones and have marvelous details. I used Ranger Mold n Pour, a 2 part silcone mold material, to make the molds. This was my first time using my new kiln and after the almost instant gratification of torch firing, I found that I had to exercise some patience, waiting for the complete firing time. But I am pleased with the way this turned out. The pendant was antiqued using liver of sulphur. I still have difficulty in getting good photos of the silver, I will have to keep working at it.

Supplies used- Slow dry Art Clay Silver, liver of sulphur, Ranger Mold n Pour, buttons

This is my latest attempt with the Art Clay Silver. I had tried using some molds I made of some Tim Holtz gears. But using them with the ACS did not turn out as I expected as I kept breaking them during greenware sanding. They ended up quite rough looking, with all the paste repairs. So I decided to make a virtue of the rough look, made them even rougher looking and antiqued them with liver of sulphur. It wasn't what I originally intended but it didn't turn out too badly.


Supplies used- Art Clay Silver, liver of sulphur, Mold-n-Pour, Tim Holtz gears, sterling silver wire and findings, leather cord

Calla lilies pendants

Christi Friesen had an article in the 15th Anniversary issue of Bead and Button magazine that showed how to do a calla lilly pin or pendant out of polymer clay. I decided to try it. Unfortunately mine got a spotted effect, perhaps from overcooking, or some clay contamination, but I think I like the effect. I was curious to see how it would look, modified, in Art Clay Silver.



This is much more delicate. I am still in the phase where working with the metal clay feels like magic.

Supplies used- Premo polymer clay, various beads, Flecto Varathane, acrylic paint, Art Clay Silver

More Pendants

I have been playing again with the Art Clay Silver. This stuff is so much fun, but I am learning some important things in the process. I really do have to plan things better and remember that there is a lot of finishing that can be done after the drying and before the firing. I keep trying to get it perfect at the initial stage and tend to overwork it. And much as I hate to admit it, I really should either sketch or do a mock up in polymer clay first to get better results. I also have to learn how to take better photos as taking pictures of the silver has been a challenge. Having said all of that, I am having great fun with this product.

Supplies used- Art Clay Silver 650 slow dry, sterling silver wire and eye pin, various tools, stamp by JudiKins

Rosemary

ACS Pendant

I have been wanting to try Art Clay Silver for a while and when my local supplier had a 20% off sale, I figured it was time. This pendant is my very first attempt. I used the ACS650 slow dry version and torch fired with a butane torch. For those who have used polymer clay, the time you have to play with this is deceptively short. I found that the expression slow dry is relative - the small bits started to dry really quickly. It made me really grateful that I did not purchase the regular formula. Although there are things I would do differently the next time, I was relatively pleased with the result. I used a rubber stamp for the texture and a cubic zirconium stone.

(I apologize for the quality of the photo. I found this really hard to photograph well, because of the reflection. )

Supplies used- Art Clay Silver 650 slow dry, cubic zirconium, butane torch, texture stamp by JudiKins, various tools

Rosemary