My first rope and other pieces

[borah]

Thanks to Sueki, I was able to try out powerpro, and I love it! It's a bit rougher on my hands than silk, but much easier than stringth. I'm a convert Having powerpro also gave me the courage to try a rope. It measures just under 5 feet, they're peach/pinkish freshwaters, and finished with a sterling clasp.

 

[borah]

The picture is a little fuzzy on this one, sorry It measures 18 inches, white freshwaters with a sterling clasp

 

[borah]

I figured out how to flip my photos! I got the idea for this necklace from Kaywal who made a rope out of drop shaped pearls. They're slight more pink than peach and it took forever to pick out enough drop shaped pearls for this strand.

 

[borah]

These were all made with art clay silver. The little thing next to the ring is a paper crane and it's easier to make out the detail in person. The bird was done with syringe and the snake has simulated rubies for eyes and both are going to be pendants. I'm still firing other pieces and then I'll be sending everything off to the hallmarking office.

 

[borah]

My last photo post for the day. The ring is the thinner version of the one before. The rose and lizard are charms. I still need to attach a jumpring though to the lizard though. The pendant on the left was also syringe and the piece on the right is a pin.

 

[GemGeek]

You've been busy. Very nice work!

 

[boo]

Very nice! I really like the rope with the drops.

 

[maryd]

borah - Great work. I love the first one. There is just something decadent about a strand that long.

I am jealous of your art clay pieces. I could never create those. I may be contacting you in the future about a pendant.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi borah
Congratulations! some nice designs and executions there. Another Power Pro user reporting in. Aren't you glad you won't have to restring that 5 foot rope for years, if at all?

How strong is clay silver? I think I want to try it. I am good with Sculpy clay-make & bake. What do you mean by syringe?

Who has clay silver in the US?

 

[pattye]

I know the PMC (precious metal clay) interests me too! I think it is pretty available, need a small kiln to fire it? So many avenues to explore! May try to find a class later this year.

Borah, great job on the pearls and the PMC! The rope is decadent!

 

[Sueki]

Hi Borah,
Glad you are pleased with the Powerpro.
All your pieces are lovely, but, oh, the pink rope is fabulous !

Boy, do I adore ropes.....

 

[Caitlin]

Hey Borah
I didn't compliment you on the pearls enough. That 5 foot rope is lovely, highly desirable. I also love your drop pearl necklace. You did a great job of matching. I love the movement of each fat end followed by a thin other end. The eye moves along the "waves" in a very pleasing way. I love pearl designs with rhythm in the stringing!

 

[GemGeek]

I've fired PMC pieces with a butane torch. I think it depends on the variety of PMC you use and whether you are firing with real gems in place.

 

[borah]

Thank you so much for all of your compliments! It's so nice to get feedback and what you make, and this is the first time I'm showing anyone some of these pieces. I was really surprised by how much I love the rope. I'd never really cared much for longer lengths before PG. I didn't actually have to do much matching for the rope, the strands I'd bought were pretty close in color but had more blemished pearls than any other strands I'd worked with before so I just had to pick out the ones that were too blemished. I'll make a separate post with all of the silver info.

 

[borah]

Silver clay is pretty strong. It falls somewhere between sterling and fine silver. Even though silver clay is fine silver in powdered form, because of the firing process the density is higher than fine silver.

How strong is clay silver? I think I want to try it. I am good with Sculpy clay-make & bake. What do you mean by syringe?

If you're good with sculpy, then you'll take to metal clay like a duck to water. Syringe is one kind of clay that's sold.

There are 2 brands of metal clay, PMC and ACS (Art Clay Silver). Each brand carries silver clay in different variations and forms. Syringe is literally clay inside of a plastic syringe and there's also paste and paper. There's no real, major difference between the two brands. PMC seems to be more popular in the US and ACS in the UK. I've worked with PMC3 and ACS and I prefer ACS. The reasons I prefer ACS to PMC3 is that although they don't feel that different in clay form I thought that the PMC3 dried strangely (it was still flexible). ACS has slow dry clay (which is how I made the snakes and rose) and I prefer the feel of dry ACS which makes a difference when you're doing water etching and sanding.

I've heard that you can fire PMC with a torch, kiln, or a gas stove. ACS can definitely be fired in all three ways but I like kiln firing best. I have an Ultralite Minikiln which is great and more affordable than a regular kiln. I've done torch firing but it's hard to control the heat and I melted the clay a couple of times by accident. I have an electric stove so I can't comment on that method

ACS can be bought http://www.artclayworld.com/ in the States and PMC from Rio Grande. Rio also sells the minikiln I use. There are definitely other places that sell both ACS and PMC but I've never used them.

And thanks Maryd about the pendant, I'm so proud of that one as it was my first all syringe piece. I could go on and on about silver clay so if anyone has more questions feel free to ask!

 

[dkan 168]

I love your silver pieces, very cute

And well done for your pearls, great effort!

DK

 

[Mervione]

I'd have thought that since PMC gets porous when it's fired (Or am I wrong?) it's pretty fragile which means that delicate things might break easily.

 

[borah]

Thanks dkan!

Silver clay starts off porous since it's silver particles + binder. This is why there's shrinkage involved with all the different kinds of clay. If you fire it at the minimum required time it will be as strong as fine silver, which is still a bit soft. The longer you fire it, the more it will shrink which results in higher density. So at its most dense silver clay won't quite reach sterling in terms of strength but will be stronger than fine silver. At its weakest it would be the same as fine silver which still isn't that fragile.

 

[knotty panda]

Very nice! Have you tired firing gems, specifically pearls? I've fired in the kiln at the bead shop in Cincinnati. They would just fire it up for you, no charge. I miss that place. Can't find that same level of customer-friendliness down here in Florida. But maybe some others can find bead shops in their areas which will fire. Also, lapidary clubs usually have a kiln on hand for use along with expert advice. No need to shell out the money for a kiln if you don't have to.

 

[borah]

Thanks I've only fired synthetic stones so far. As for natural gems I'd rather not take the chance with a kiln even though some kinds can withstand the heat. Right now I'm waiting on one ring to dry that I'll be mounting a pearl onto and another that I pushed a prong setting into and I'm going to set either a garnet or moonstone. I have another design I'm going to try out in the next couple of days for a pearl ring. I'm also thinking about making some little flowers and mounting a pearl in the center. There are a couple of places in Edinburgh that do free firing too but they're a bit far from where I live so you I ended up buying the Ultralite. Art schools may also fire your pieces for you.