Metal Clay Beads

I wanted to share some of the things I've made in my metal clay class.

These are my dry construction boxes. In a previous post I posted some images of the box before construction and firing.

 

Here is a pendant I made out of copper. It's the first time I've ever used copper, I liked it. It was easy and can be fired with a torch so you don't need a kiln, and it doesn't seem to melt when using the torch.

 

This is bronze lentil beads which I will make into earrings at some point. Bronze is more difficult to use but only because you cannot use a torch to fire it and have to use a kiln which I do not have.

The final bead here is a square hollow bead that I've hung pearl and citrine from.

Changing my Name

I've decided to change my name. No not my name, but my business name. Fowler Graphics is fine, but Fowler Jewelry is not catchy. I think it's too stiff. Mom and Orna have given me some good ideas and I've narrowed it down to something I like, Jewels by Design. Problem though. I did a Google search and found way too many of them. Jewelry by Design also won't work. Jewels by Daliah might, but I did find a Dahlia Jewels which is awfully close and would people be able to tell the difference? People who know ME would, but others probably not. That is a problem.

Any ideas? I open to them all and may or may not use anything. I figure I have to the end of the year to make the decision. I'll finish out this year with this name, easier for taxes and filing and such. Then start the new year out with a bang as they say. Hahaha

Other than that, not much has been going on. I have been going to and shopping at many holiday festivals. I need to check them out and see if I should apply to be a vendor in them next year. There are so many shows that my friend and I are busy every weekend. It's been crazy busy. This weekend proves to be just as busy if we let it. Later today we might go to the Arlington Peddler show. This weekend is Trade Days in McKinney which she and I have been talking about attending for months. I really want to go but it seems to get squished out by all the other events we do go to. I am going to apply to Holiday Gift Market at Fair Park. It is this December 4th and I have till the 23rd to get my application in. It took me a while to decide to do it and now I need to fax it in with my payment. It's always scary for me to make this commitment. Will I sell enough to make up for my booth fee. Will I have enough jewelry to sell? Such dilemmas.

Last night we had our final metal clay jewelry class. It was a fun evening with cats and food, not a good mixture but I love cats so it was great. For me at least. We had one final project, enameling our silver pendant. It is harder than it looks and more time consuming than you'd think. Enameling with glass uses water and once the water evaporates, what you think filled a space, now doesn't and you have to add more. You could easily do the process 3 times if not more. I'll post a picture of my pendant once I have it sanded and shiny again.

 One of the woman brought a book on copper jewelry she has. I need to buy it. She's made some very cool and fun pieces from the book. I think she made the bracelet on the cover or something similar. Very neat and fun.

REGISTER

Progress

Last night was my metal clay jewelry class. I felt a bit of accomplishment since I was able to turn in my dry constructed box. Well turn in isn't really the correct way to put that, I gave it to the instructor to be fired. I spent a good deal of time sanding the edges to get them smooth and try to make it look seamless, but I don't think I was successful in the seamless part. So far I'm very happy with it.

I am now working on my shell ring. I drilled a small hole through the shell and the ring in order to put a fine silver wire through it. A half drilled pearl will go on that wire. I'll post pictures of it a little later today.

I am told that Hobby Lobby has a rubber tipped tool to use for pushing the clay around with, so I'm going to head over there in a little while. You use this tool in place of your finger for tight areas. I find that I am constantly looking for new tools and new stamps to use as patterns or shapes for my clay designs.

OK, so this has nothing to do with jewelry or anything, but my dog Tasha wants to be close so she is under my desk. There is no room for an 80 lb. dog, but she doesn't appear to notice or care. And yes those are cords to my computer and monitor and printer and all the things that it would be very bad for me if she yanked on with her huge head or front paws.

Still Frustrated but getting somewhere

Well here I am, still working on the same box. I ended up redoing all the pieces of the box. After my last post I had 2 sides left. On second look at one, it was the backwards one and then looking at the last one a little while later, it was not flat. It is just easier to make a new flat one. I hope.

So I will not have finished sides, filed even, and beveled for tomorrow's class. It's better to have perfect clay then to be on schedule with less than perfect and not be happy. If I'm going to be good at this, I have to be patient, take my time to do it right.

It's difficult to see, white on white, but these are the 6 sides of my box.

The clay slabs needs to dry on white single ply tissue paper. I have to keep flipping them over to make sure they are flat and push them down if they curve up at all. It is very difficult to notice if they curve. These look flat to me. Currently I am happy with them.

Patients, patients, patients. Keep telling myself that.

Frustrated with dry construction box

Yesterday in class we started our dry construction box. First I noticed that I made one of the 6 walls the wrong pattern. The pattern I used was a dot pattern and 5 were inies and the last, the 6th was an outy. I decided it would be fine. The pattern is so small no one would notice. Then I noticed the slabs were not straight and they need to be to go together and be square. You can't have wobbly walls. I brought my 6 "walls" home and moistened them and laid a book on top to flatten, but I also had them on tissue paper. They stuck to the paper. Oy, frustration. 2 were fine and the rest... Well I'm going to make my box a little wider so I need to redo the front, back and the top and bottom. This just gave me the excuse to go for it and just do it.

Dry clay slab for box.

The idea is to have each project done by the following class and be ready to start the next project. But if that doesn't happen, it's ok, we can bring her the finished piece whenever and she'll fire it for us. If it takes us past the last class, we can just drop off at her house. So here I am at 8:30 on a work night, about to start working on this dry construction box. Keep your fingers crossed it goes well and I don't crumble up another bit of clay and start over again.

You can see the tissue paper still on the clay. It will burn off in the kiln so it should be ok.

Silver Metal Clay Class

Tonight I had my silver metal clay class. The class is 2 days a week for 4 weeks. For the first class we started on a hollow bead and I finished mine at home. I made a puffy square. I attached a picture of the first hollow bead I made, a small ball, in a previous class.


Tonight in class we started on a dry construction bead. For the hollow bead we used a mold. We picked a shape and after rolling the clay out flat, filled the mold twice to make both sides. Once the clay was dry, we put the 2 sides neatly together. For a dry construction bead, you decide on shape and size, roll the clay flat and thin, cut out the shape and put it together once the clay is dry. Unfortunately my slabs did not dry flat. Now I have to moisten them and put a book on top to flatten and then continue with my construction. Hopefully I will be able to finish tomorrow so I can bring it back to class on Thursday.

Hollow Bead from previous class.