25 grams of PMC Sterling

I was very happy to have the opportunity to play with the new PMC Sterling back in November. Finally we can have a metal clay that it is stronger and can me mark as .925 silver (sterling).


I got a package of 25 grams and I got into my studio to make some pieces with it. The working time for this type of clay is longer and it gives you the flexibility to not worry about the clay drying too fast while you are working with it. The color of the clay is darker and the texture is great and easy to work with.


My plan was to make a ring, earrings and a pendant. The first piece I made was the ring, I hand roll a long snake and wrap it around a mandrel to form the band. The joining of the joints was easy to make and I just added some water to smooth the connections.

I decided to go 3.5 sizes bigger than the size I need it for the ring. I do not use any inserts in my ring when I fired it, I believe it is better to let the clay shrink all the way.


Carving is another thing I wanted to try with this clay since most of my work has carving in it. I was surprise to see how smooth and easy carving was with this type of clay. The carving went perfect and I saved my carving scraps to add some texture in my pendant later on. 

Since the clay has a longer working time before it gets dry, I knew hand sculpting will be easy and great to do. I hand sculpted a rose to add to my ring and it was perfect for sculpting.

I let the rose dry first before I added it to the center of the band, this way you will not deform the rose. Adding the rose was easy by using water and fresh clay to join the rose to the band. I do not like to use paste for this, I prefer to use fresh clay instead of paste. I continue to hand formed little rose buds around the center rose and some leaves.


For the earrings I wanted to use sterling jump rings and fire them in place. I embedded them in the earrings with fresh clay and hand formed flowers and leaves. In the center of the flowers I attached a CZ Garnet. 

For the pendant I play with textures and added my carving scraps on top of the heart with water. I carved and hand formed roses for the front and back of the piece. I always like to add something extra on the back of my pieces.


My firing schedule was different from the package because my pieces were thicker than 3mm. For the open shelf firing I fast ramp to 1000F and hold there for 40 minutes. I let the pieces cool down completely inside the kiln before I took them out to do the second firing.
For the second firing I added a coat of activated carbon at the bottom of the steel pot and added my pieces in one layer. I covered them with more activated carbon and closed the pot with the lid. I fast ramp the kiln to 1500F and hold there for 45 minutes. I also let the pieces cool down inside the kiln when the firing was over.

This is how the pieces look like when they are fired and out of the kiln. A white matte color and they do not have any oxidation or black coloring in them, not even in the sterling jump ring.


I brush them with a brass brush and soapy water, added LOS Gel patina and finally I polished them in a magnetic tumbler.

EL CORAZON
©2011 Lorena Angulo
PMC Sterling
Photo: Speedy Peacock

FLOR
©2011 Lorena Angulo
PMC Sterling, CZ Hessonite Garnet, Pearls
Photo: Speedy Peacock

ROSAS
©2011 Lorena Angulo
PMC Sterling
Photo: Speedy Peacock

I want to continue experimenting and I am going to fire the clay to a longer time, maybe close to 2 hours. I will let you know how this goes and if the size of the ring shrinks more if I add more time to the firing.

I am sure you will all like to work with this clay and the best of all is that the price is very similar to PMC3.


Keep Playing, Keep Creating !!


Love,
Lorena Angulo

I am an Artist and very proud of all my "cakes" !

I have seen a lot of discussions lately about what "Metal Clay" is for some metalsmithing people and I am surprised to see how much misinformation they have about this innovative material.
I understand their lack of knowledge, and those who tried it and said it was a mess, and it does not work. Well, I have some news for you; you did not work with the clay the right way.


I respect everybody's opinion but I think there is a point where we need to be careful in how we talk about people who have chosen to work with metal clay, we can express our thinking without being rude and without insulting.
I have been called lots of names because of my ethnicity but I never thought I will be called "names" because of the medium or material I choose to create some of my work.


One of the latest names I saw was "Cake Decorator", people who work with metal clay are consider to be that by some.
I am okay with the name, I LOVE CAKES !!!
Other people feel we are "pretending to BE" metalsmiths.
We are not pretending to be "Anything", we are just people who have chosen to work with Metal Clay and create art. We are not "cake decorators", "metalsmiths", etc. We are just Artists that are open to experiment with new materials and we are always willing to learn new techniques.


I always encourage my students to learn how to solder and fabricate pieces because it will benefit their own metal clay work.


I started my journey in the art by learning metalsmithing, it was my wonderful and talented teacher -Claire Holliday- who introduced me to this novel material, metal clay, that Claire used to create some of her work. 
One of Claire's metal clay pieces was featured in the front cover of the Metalsmith magazine, a publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Sea Seed No. 1 (Brooch)
©2005 Claire Holliday
Fine Silver
Photo: Dean Powell

In 2010 I had a wonderful opportunity to show my work (not exclusively metal clay) to other talented and renowned metalsmith artists, among them, Thomas Mann. Thomas was so intrigued and interested that traded one of his pieces for one of mine.I was honored to do a trade with him !

Thomas visiting my table and looking at my work.

Another fascinating and mind opening experience that helped me expand my creativity and techniques, was when I had the pleasure to participate in a workshop and lecture by Robert Ebendorf at the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas.
What I learned from Bob gave me a new dimension to create, incorporating traditional metalsmith  fabrication techniques with the distinctive style promoted by Bob's work but keeping my own creative voice and designs.

In case you don't know, Bob was one of the founding members of the Society of North American Goldsmiths and an inductee of the National Metalsmiths Hall of Fame.


During the workshop, when Bob saw one of my hand sculpted copper clay trees of life, he suggested to me to create a piece using what I learned from him and using the tree of life as the center component.


This piece was later featured in the front cover of the Metal Clay Artist Magazine, and many other publications.

I really want to give thanks to a lot of my metalsmiths friends and colleagues that are open to see beyond the material. I have learn a lot from all of you. 



Keep learning, keep experimenting, keep creating !


Love,
Lorena Angulo

I found a new modeling clay to play with !

I am always in the look out to find new materials or mediums to play with and I just got a new one that I have been playing with for a couple of days. This new modeling clay is called Craft Porcelain by AMACO and I have been having lots of fun with it.


It is not as easy to textured or carved as Creative Paperclay but the finished look after it is air dry is fantastic.
The modeling clay's name, Craft porcelain, is because after it is air dry the clay looks and feels like porcelain.


Here are some of the pieces I have done playing with this material.

ROSA

©2011 Lorena Angulo

Hand sculpted with Craft Porcelain

SERENITY

©2011 Lorena Angulo

Hand sculpted with Craft Porcelain

QUEEN BIRD

©2011 Lorena Angulo

Hand sculpted with Craft Porcelain

ALCATRAZES

©2011 Lorena Angulo

Hand sculpted with Craft Porcelain

QUEEN BIRD ring

©2011 Lorena Angulo

Hand sculpted with Craft Porcelain

The clay can be painted after it is dry or you can buy it with color also. It is very simple to work with and it can be a good addition for your metal clay work. I also believe that making my designs with this clay can give me a great idea of how my piece can look like in a 3D form.


The pieces need to be sealed after they are dry and finish with a clear sealer to protect the material from getting damage.

Keep playing, Keep creating !!

Love,

Lorena Angulo

A must have book !!!

I have been enjoying making my art since 2006, but there was something missing in my development as an artist. Most of my artists friends talked about this, and I finally got the courage to take a workshop about "The business of Art." 


Learning how to market myself and my art has been a confusing and scary journey, but I learned to enjoy doing it as much as I love making my art.


I am always looking to find more information about marketing and self-promotion. I am so happy to share with you this wonderful book, I'd Rather Be in the Studio!" by Alyson B. Stanfield. Alyson is a great communicator and coach in self-promotion, her book is filled with great tips and guidance.


If you are growing as an artist and your work is being accepted better and better, this is a great book you must have to learn how to self-promote your work.


These are some of her ideas in the book that I really like:


"No one is going to magically appear in your studio, wave a shimmering wand, and give you the success you want in your art career. You have to get out of the studio and make it happen." ~Alyson Stanfield


"In order to have a successful career, you should be able to define yourself and your art in a sea of artist. To do this, you must first find your style." 
~ Alyson Stanfield

Keep playing-Keep creating !!!

Love,

Lorena Angulo

My first Metal Clay Book

Hola !!

Good Morning my friends !!

I want to share with you the first book I got about metal clay.

My first book was : PMC Decade by Tim McCreight.

My wonderful teacher and mentor, Claire Holliday (who is the artist in the front cover of the book!) talked to me about the book and I had to have it. I was just being introduced to this wonderful medium and I was impress to see such incredible pieces of art in the book.


I felt in love with the work of a lot of artists in this book, they gave more inspiration to keep on playing with metal clay.


What was your first metal clay book ???

Love,

Lorena Angulo