Precious Metal Clay, Getting Started and Beyond

Ideally, a class, locally. You can find them at PMC Guild and Art Clay World.

If that can't be managed, at least one video is a must. There are some terrific free video snipets on line, including at PMC Guild.

After that, you've got this lens, the lenses I've given you the links to below. Plus books to read.

Next, or while you read, you'll need to buy your basics (see list below).

Then the biggest hurdle is confidence and overcoming the fear of working with a material that is so expensive. The only cure for the fear is just to do it. The more you use metal clay, the easier it gets. Eventually, you'll be able to work with it without thinking (much) about the cost.

This is why an in-person class is so helpful!

Basics:

- work surface
- roller
- Saran Wrap
- Glad Press 'n Seal
- Playing cards or other method for rolling out a specific thickness
- Slip jar
- Squeeze bottle for olive oil
- paintbrush

Ring Making:

- pre-made ring forms (such as Hattie's Patties)
- or a mold for making your own

Finishing tools:

- eye shadow sponge applicator
- acrylic nail boards (black and pink)
- 3M polishing pads
- 3M polishing papers
- little white square polishing pads from Rio Grande
- tumbler and stainless steel shot (from Rio Grande)

Firing tools:

- Kiln
- Kiln shelves
- Kiln stilts
- leather gloves
- Tongs
- Mini flower pots and saucers
- Vermiculite
- Or other firing method: Hot Pot, Ultra Light Bee Hive Kiln, Speed Fire Cone

For applying Liver of Sulphur:

- Liver of Sulphur, lump form
- Heat source to heat jewelry
- Paintbrush

Recipe for iridescent patina is at:
Ganoksin

You can see my list of Top Ten Tools for Metal Clayers on my Blog or my Squidoo Lens, PMC Top Ten.

Here are all your choices:

Kiln Firing
The best choice, if you can manage it.

Ultra Lite Bee Hive Kiln
The best all-around compromise method for firing that's less that a full kiln. It's safe and easy. And affordable. Available from Rio Grande.

All Other Methods
These include stove top firing, Speed Fire Cone, Torch Firing and Hot Pot.

These methods can work very well, and some people swear by them. They may indeed work for you, but I can't recommend them here.

The best method is kiln firing, and all folks working with metal clay should have kiln firing as a goal. You can have someone else with a kiln fire your work for a fee. Many local chapters of the PMC Guild will fire member's work for free during meetings.

Thickness Suggestions when rolling out PMC+:

Rings 4 or 5, even 6 cards thick
Beads 4 cards thick

Bead making tips

Combustible cores:
Creative Paper Clay (doesn't burn out all the way)
Cork Clay (or the new Wood Clay)
Kix cereal
Styrofoam (fire outside)
I've heard of people using white bread, shaped and coated with wax.

Coat all bead cores with glue, such as Sobo fabric glue or Elmer's Glude. It helps the PMC stick.

Putting a toothpick or skewer through your combustible core gives you something to hold onto as you work.

Work quickly! If the PMC dries out, paint the whole bead lightly with water, cover with Saran Wrap, set aside for 10-30 minutes, uncover, add texture.

An alternative to wrapping the bead with Saran Wrap is to have a small jar ready - place a small amount of polymer clay on the lid. Then when you want to set your bead in progress aside, you can stick the toothpick into the polymer clay, put the jar over the lid and tighten it.

Ring Making Procedure with PMC +
Cover ring form with ceramic tape, using small end of ceramic ring form.
To go up a 1/2 size, add a thickness of the thicker kiln shelf material sold for glass artists.

Roll out clay and apply design/texture. Cut off excess at sides and ends.
Wrap clay around ring form. Do not stretch it!

Cut a lap cut through both ends of the clay strip using a tissue blade. Hold blade at a 45 degree angle. Remove excess from top and bottom.

Paint one side of cut with water - lightly. Place ends together and roll with a delicate touch with back of paint brush to seal. This can make the width of the ring bow out a little, gently push that back in, using side of end of paintbrush.

If the ring breaks open: repair with fresh clay on inside or really thick slip.

These are the instructions for working with Silicone Texture Plates. To use unmounted rubber stamps, the instructions are different. See below.
Select the Silicone Texture Plate that you will use. Squeeze a small amount of olive oil on your hands and rub your palms together. Lightly rub one hand across the top of the Silicone Texture Plate, this very slight amount of olive oil is all that is needed to enhance the silicone's non-stick properties.

Set the Silicone Texture Plate aside while you roll out your clay to the desired thickness.

Roll out your clay using your roller, (PVC pipe, acrylic rod) with stacked playing cards on either side of your PMC. If desired, work on top of a piece of Super Parchment or Teflon. This makes it easy to move your piece off of your work surface when you're done with it.

Remember that a deep texture will use up some of the thickness that you roll out. In some cases you will need to roll out your clay one playing card thicker than you want your finished piece to be. Place your rolled out piece of PMC on top of the Silicone Texture Plate.

Gently roll over the top of the PMC with your rolling tool. A couple of tries will show you how much pressure is needed. Gently peel back your PMC and check the texture. If you're pleased with it, continue. If you'd like to try again, ball up your PMC in your hands, re-roll on your work surface and re-roll on the Silicone Texture Plate.

Place your textured PMC on your work surface and continue working with it as you normally would. Cut out a shape with a cookie cutter or Shaplet, or use the textured PMC to create a ring or bead.

Rubber Stamps. Rubber sticks to metal clay something fierce. You can use unmounted rubber stamps with metal clay, though I personally prefer not too. To use them, lubricate them with olive oil. Not too much, not too little. Or use Cool Slip from CoolTools.us.

Natural Stones:

Fire Natural gems in place
Only with the "short list" of gems tested and found to survive firing. (tested by Kevin Whitmore, Rio Grande.) Only with PMC3 fired at 1110 for 30 minutes.

Natural gems, not fired in place

Make a fine silver bezel wire and fire that in place, set your stone after firing.

Buy a fine silver bezel cup and attach with slip to your piece, set your stone after firing.

Buy a fine silver prong setting, attach with slip to your piece, set your stone after firing.

Create your own prong setting using fine silver wire, embedded in the unfired PMC. Set your stone after firing.

Cubic Zirconia (CZ) and other lab grown stones

Insert faceted CZ or lab grown stone in clay.

Make a coil bezel from PMC and fire your stone in place.

For more on stone setting, buy any of the books listed above. One book, by Lorrene Davis, is out and covers only stone setting. It is available only from her site at Lorrene Davis Designs

Liver of sulfur is Potassium Sulfide. Buy it in lump form from a jeweler's supply company. You can buy it pre-mixed, but since it has a shelf life, it's much better to buy it in lump form and mix it as needed.
Break off a pea sized lump and add it to a cup of warm water and dissolve the liver of sulfur.

To work, either the liver of sulfur or the metal must be hot. Liver of sulfur smells pretty bad, so heating the metal reduces the odor.
I use the bottom part of an old air popcorn popper to heat the metal.

Have your liver of sulfur ready, along with a paintbrush. Now you can paint the liquid onto the metal where you would like it to be darkened. If you would like the whole thing darkened, dunk the item. If it's a bead, string it on a wire or string. Your piece should be polished before you apply the liver of sulfur, which is your last step.

Rinse off the piece under running
water. If you accidentally got any liver of sulfur in areas where you don't want it, remove it with a 3M polishing pad (Microfine) or with a fine polishing wheel on your flexible shaft.

To download a FREE copy of my eBook, the Jewelry Maker, just visit my website, Creative Texture Tools.

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(c) Elaine D. Luther 2007 - 2009 All Rights Reserved.