I am in art heaven. There is a product on the market that is known generally as "precious metal clay." There are a couple of primary brands and I am using Art Clay Silver. (The other brand you'll see around is PMC.) A nice explanation of the material can be found at
http://www.artclayworld.com/what_is_art_clay.php. It is my understanding that it is a product that makes use of recycled fine metals. More on that as I dig up information.
The product is a slightly moist clay (also comes in paste and syringe forms) that can be formed like any clay and then fired with a kiln, burner, or butane torch. I'm using a small torch with butane that I purchased at the local hardware store. The set-up is very economical (especially if you get the starter kit offered at Fire Mountain Gems
http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H203256TL. That said, the clay is not. The clay is very small particles of silver held together by an organic binder that burns off upon firing. Once fired, it is over 99% fine silver. Hence the cost (about $45 for 20 ounces.)
Here are some of my first projects:
Above is a Roman-style face pendant (pressed with a $1.50 button I liked)
Below is a long necklace made with miscellaneaous chain (including some I rescued from a vintage lariat.) The Art Clay in this piece is the woman's profile, also from a button but molded in a silicone mold. The lady has a liver of sulfur patina, but she's still fine silver.
Finally, a great project with which to start. The geometric components of this set were stamped with a Close to My Heart set called "Adorable." I love, love, love my necklace and wear it all the time! Some times I don't even resist saying, "Look, I made this!
Wednesday, June 22, Sara Lukkonen of www.ckoopbeads.com taught a basic enameling class at Beadhive www.beadhivebeads.com in South Minneapolis. Wow! We fired up 10 torches and went at it...we were very eager. The beads on this piece are my very first enamel on copper! They are quite difficult to photograph and get an accurate color representation, so don't be surprised. For instance, there appears to be a lot of pink on these beads and...there is NONE. One has a little splash of dark red copper, but there is no pink. They are browns, light blues, greens and white.
