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.

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!

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.

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!

In the creation of these pieces, I was able to sharpen my skills in layering, attaching bails, setting stones in syringe clay, carving dry clay, and using syringe clay to enhance a texture.  I had struggled with setting stones in my introductory class, and I feel so much more comfortable with the technique now, after completing this assignment.

I did a similar piece in my class at Folk School and you can see the original piece here (on the top row near the center). It so happened that two people wanted that piece at the same time, along with matching earrings.  I was happy to oblige by creating a second pendant and two pairs of earrings.  All of these pieces were inspired by the landscape tutorials in Hadar Jacobson’s awesome book, The Handbook of Metal Clay:  Textures and Forms.

Now that I’ve directed you to a wider world of metal clay, I feel better about sharing the results of my week at Folk School.

This set of earrings with a matching pendant were the very first pieces I made with metal clay.  While I had read lots of books and tutorials, I had never touched the material before I walked into class that Monday.  Not bad for a first try!

Here you can see those same piece in the greenware stage.  They were dried on easter eggs to create the domed shape.

And here are all of the pieces I created during the week at Folk School.  The charm bracelet is actually a collaborative effort.  Pam asked each to make 10 of the same charm.  On the last day of class, we exchanged charms and assembled our charm bracelets to help us remember all of the amazing people we met!

The people I met at the Folk School were amazing! I made a point of eating each meal with a different group of people, so I managed to meet nearly every student, instructor and timber framer by the end of the week. Many of them started calling out “Mango Lady” when they ran into me. I’ve never experienced a place with more creative, interesting, friendly and down-to-earth people all gathered together. It’s a sure bet that my path will cross with some of these folks in the future.

I was excited to be spending the week in the school’s campground. For the first 4 days I was cozy and happy in my tent. On Wednesday night it started to storm. The rain was quite noisy and kept me awake, but the tent held well and all was dry throughout the night. Thursday morning we watched from our classroom studio as the rain came down in sheets. I honestly didn’t think it could rain any harder, but during lunch it did just that and I was starting to get nervous.

I explained to my tablemates that I needed to be excused to slosh up to the campground and check on the status of my nylon home. At that moment, the young woman across from me invited me to move into the empty bed in her room. Jenna had known me less than 20 minutes and she was making this generous offer! My visit to tent-land revealed that the water had rushed down the nearby hill so fast that it didn’t soak into the mulch tent pad as intended, but rather washed up the wall of my tent and managed to slide in between my tent floor and the plastic below. The result was several deep puddles in the floor of the tent, including one right where my suitcase sat.

I quickly gathered everything out of the tent, spread out the wet clothes throughout my car and was back in class on time with a smile on my face. I just couldn’t get over my good fortune to have a dry bed and a new friend!

Another highlight of the week included my first experience with Contra Dancing, which is similar to square dancing. I didn’t know what to expect, and I had no idea what I was doing, but lots of locals participated in the dance and they were very patient and helpful. I quickly figured out how to translate the caller’s instructions and get my feet moving in right direction - most of the time. I was grinning from ear to ear, dripping with sweat and out of breath for the entire hour of dancing. I was on a natural high from this experience for hours!

I’ve posted a few other photos of the campus and people I met at the Folk School in a Flickr Set

My next post will focus on the class, techniques I learned and some photos of the pieces I created.

The class will teach me the basics of working with metal clay, which is a medium I’ve been researching for nearly a year.  I’ve had to hold myself back from diving into metal clay work, so I could maintain my focus on polymer clay production.  But, the time is right - I can feel it in my bones.  My instructor for the week will be Pam East, a master instructor for ArtClay Silver, one of the two companies that produce metal clay.  I’m honored to be learning from such a well-respected artist.  This gorgeous bamboo pendent is an example of Pam’s work.

I’ll be back in a future post with more information about metal clay.  I’m sure you’re all wondering how metal can be clay or clay can be metal.  Stay tuned for the answers to those and many other questions!

I thought you all might enjoy seeing some photos showing the process involved in creating the vases.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my macro setting turned on, so those close ups are a bit fuzzy.  Enjoy!

]]> http://bigworldstudio.com/2009/01/very-special-vases/feed/ http://bigworldstudio.com/2008/12/success/ http://bigworldstudio.com/2008/12/success/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:10:22 +0000 Big World Studio http://bigworldstudio.com/?p=25 Many, many thanks to all of you who stopped by my trunk show/open house.  And, thanks to all of you who couldn’t make it, but still took the time to check out my artwork online and send positive feedback.  I am truly energized and my confidence in my work is greater than ever.  What fun!

I had several goals in mind when I planned this event.  This was the first formal showing of my work and a great opportunity to network and get feedback from people I know and trust.  It helped me test drive some display ideas and figure out where I need to improve.  Most of all, it pushed me to build up inventory and finish dozens of pieces.  One of the challenges I face is that it’s so much fun to create with clay.  It’s much less fun to sand, buff, bead, cord and generally FINISH these pieces.  I tend to build up tons of “nearly finished” pieces that aren’t ready for sale.  Prepping for this show really motivated me to move from lots of pretty bits and pieces to the ready-to-wear jewelry you see in this photo of my primary display.

Between the show day, orders from long-distance friends and custom orders that resulted from this period of focused production and marketing, my sales this month have far exceeded my expectations.  I know this won’t be an easy path, but this first step has certainly been gratifying!