I Made What??

Altered Dominoes

lys — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:49:11 +0000

I finished my first project for the Yahoo group that I joined (Art For the Creative Mind). It’s a set of altered dominoes for a swap. I started with some plain domino pieces that I got from a set that I purchased at Target. Then I put a glaze on them, plastered some paper on them, and then accented them with blue. A few days later, I really wasn’t liking the progress that I made so I took the Dremel to them. Then I switched to a red/black/copper palette and went to town. I really like the way that they turned out. This is the first time that I have done this, I think that I will be doing it again…it’s fun.

The swap was for 2 dominoes, but I think that I’ll be sending all three since I cannot decide which one I like the best.

Of copper and forks….

lys — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:59:53 +0000

On Sunday I had some fun at the bead shop. I started working on another fork bracelet for a friend’s birthday. Here is a picture of the first bracelet that I made. It’s a lot of fun to make these, and they look terrific on your wrist.

Once I get the fit right on it, I will gift it to my friend. I think next will be some kind of spoon bracelet. Maybe…

I also started assembling an Ikea hack that has been circling around my thoughts for a while. I had some copper that I applied a heat patina to and textured. I cut that into some interesting shapes then I attached it to the mirror with furniture tacks. I need to get some beeswax and seal the copper so the patina won’t fade, but I really like how this is turning out.

Wedding Bracelet

lys — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:18:47 +0000

I made this bracelet for a Mother of the Bride in a wedding recently. It’s just a bunch of glass pearls and some bling, but it does look pretty.

Mokume Gane

lys — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:20:28 +0000

Check this out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/downtothewiredesigns/3335478235/in/set-72157594513114698/

Wouldn’t it be cool to figure out how to do this with metal clay?

Yup, made him too..

lys — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:37:55 +0000

Ok, so I might have had some assistance making him, but I have to cop to the fact that he is mine and I love him. Even when he is being a pest… or is that when I am being a pest.

Hadar’s Clay – Bronze and Copper

lys — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:42:21 +0000

Last weekend I worked with Hadar’s Clay in Bronze again and I had a blast. Working with Hadar’s Clay is so different from the silver clay. In my mind I keep comparing it to stoneware vs. porcelain. But that is just my pottery experiences coming to the surface.

The items that I made in the metal clay intensive class were out of the kiln with a wonderful patina. The only issue with them is that they are rough, so I started polishing them with the flex shaft. Once I had them polished, I decided to heat patina them. I found out that the torch will give an attractive patina, but if you see color it’s gone to far. It seems like the thing to do is torch & quench in short intervals to see your progress.

I’ll take some pictures and get them up soon.

In the meantime here is a shot of the stuff that I made out of Hadar’s Clay while it was drying.

Metal Clay Intensive Class

lys — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:26:46 +0000

The last day of the class is today, I hope that everyone has as much fun at it as I did at the first 2 days.

Working with the copper and bronze clays was very different from PMC. I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to doing more with the bronzer and copper. I’ll try to get some shots of my finished stuff when I get it complete.

Here are some pictures from the first 2 days,

Metal Clay Intensive Class

lys — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:13:54 +0000

Great News! Nancy over at Brighton Beads is running a Metal Clay Intensive class on July 12, 13, and 14.

Here is the information from her email:

Sunday, July 12 at noon, break for dinner and resume for another session. (2 sessions units)

12 noon intro to silver clay

1pm begin “over lapping focal center piece project” using a metal clay rivet for movement and variations

water etching

Monday, July 13 we’re starting at 10am and going at day and into the evening. (3 session units)

working with copper and bronze clay

Tuesday, July 14 again at 10 am and go until dinner. (2 session units)

For more information call 810-844-0066

http://www.brightonbeadsandmore.com/

2 different project demos including finishing, patina and a little enameling

PMC & Enameling

lys — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:02:07 +0000

I finally finished my tree frog pin. I love the way that it came out. I used PMC and a stamp to make the frog base. After firing I decided that it needed some color in addition to the fire opals, so I started asking Nancy (Brighton Beads) about enameling it. It turned out that she was going to a weeklong class to learn about enameling, so I was in luck.

After Nancy came back from NC, she had all sorts of juicy things to show us. I just loved some of the techniques! She let us try out some enamels that she brought back and we fired with a torch.

I need to figure out a better way to position this pin so I can get a full on shot to show. I just got a new photo kit and I am still experimenting with taking photos of my jewelry.

As you can see it’s a small set up, but it works well.

Hollow Form PMC Pendant

lys — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:14:01 +0000

A while back I purchased some cork clay from Nancy at Brighton Beads and started messing around.

The cork clay is a wet clay that has a unique texture…Almost food like. It’s rather pleasant to work with. I started shaping a form on a toothpick (to make it easier to cover with slip) and then sanded it a bit after it dried.

I painted my cork form with layers of slip until it felt heavy enough to be fired. If you fire a slip painted cork for without sufficient layers (thickness) the walls will not be stable after firing, because the inner support of the cork will have burned away.

This is the first completed piece using cork with PMC. I like the way that it turned out.

I soldered a fine silver bezel and bale on to the piece. Into the bezel I set a simulated opal. I was originally going to patina it, but I like the look of it now.

I am not quite sure that I like it on the silk cord that I have it on, but I can wait until I get some inspiration for a change.