Bronze clay. In the beginning...

You have to start somewhere.

I have tentatively dabbled in silver clay twice. Once in a private class in San Diego over 10 years ago. The instructor was Jonna Faulkner; I was working at the Shepherdess. Then here in Delaware; my good friend Sara Teixido is a metal clay goddess, and I have used the medium under her guidance. But that's as far as I went...

Why? Price? Fear that I would love it SO there would be no turning back? My magpie-like love of all things shiny silver? Then there is the bronze, and the copper. I have had so many gorgeous pieces from my colleagues and AJE team mates. Still I hesitated. Carbon? Firing? Learning curve? Sintering?

Whee! Free rein to test out Karen's stamps! 

This Labor Day weekend a few of us from the blog gathered together for a mini "Art Camp".  With both Karen and Lesley there - Jennifer & I had masterful support to dive into bronze. This post is in no means a how-to! Just my excitement at trying... and succeeding... in a medium that I had longed to try for years.

One picture of me at work where my hands weren't a blur... LOL

First let me say - the stuff is HEAVY. you take a pinch of bronze clay, compared to a similar pinch of polymer or stoneware. Wow. Its dense and feels substantial. Working with it was as expected: lube up your hands and molds as needed. Don't dilly dally as it dried out rather quickly.

Layer after layer. Spacing things in the carbon/ 

Karen made loading the ceramic firing box make SO much sense. Totally demystified the process for me. And while things fired, we went to work with seed beads. ( I introduced them all to peyote stitch beaded bezels and bead embroidery. They may or may not be hooked! )

Cannot wait to see! 

I'M SO EXCITED. Doing a Snoopy dance in my head right now.

Freshly washed: Karen's, Jennifer's and mine all mixed together... 

Post firing? Lesley and great advice on sintering, how it sounds, how to test it...  Its worth it to try to break a piece to see if the clay sintered properly. And the metallic "ring" of your newly fired piece on the sink is music to one's ears! Again I was struck with the heft of the pieces. Sure, mine were a bit "sturdy" and could be thinner, but they feel "real". The image above shows the natural patina resulting in the firing. These were washed off, that's all!

At home now - brush and tumble... 

To tumble or not to tumble? To sand to a satin finish? To burnish high points to a high shine? How do you decide!? The goddess ( top left, below) was burnished with an agate burnisher. The group on the right was tumbled - I loved the subtle satin sheen they have now. The last two ( bottom left) were scrubbed with a brass brush. I think this batch is complete - reminding me of different finishes and possibilities.

The specifics... details and finishes. 

A perfect partnership. 

And this one? Its mine! A wee bronze charm stamped with a eucalyptus pod from San Diego - and my thumbprint apparently! This stunning cab was from Lesley, and the bead work was completed after a great weekend of friends, creativity, techniques... and wine. 

All in all, I think I love bronze. Now to try copper. I was lucky - I know one doesn't get every piece fired perfectly every time. But until next time... 

What new technique or medium are you eager to try? 

Putting my own "stamp" on things...

I inherited my Dad's boyhood stamp collection. When I was a kid, sorting the stamps, deciphering foreign names of countries, identification... it was a treasure hunt. To me the stamps were miniature works of art, exquisitely detailed, hinting at history and events beyond my awareness. They evoked travel - would I ever see the places where this slip of paper had originated? These stamps encouraged my inquisitiveness, and my desire to learn, to experience...

One of the containers... 

I still have the stamps. I let go of the bulky book that was largely blank pages... Dad never really took to the whole hobby thing, and I didn't make huge progress in filling the pages either. I have stamps from countries that no longer exist. Its a window into history, a link to the past - both mine and the world's.

 Here are a few favorites:  

Folk costumes from Poland, report Greek myth stamps from Greece,
Classical monochromatic beauties from France, a few gems from down under. 

A childhood favorite - Austrian  farm girl; florals from Hungary, USSR, Gabon, Congo, San Marino;
Czech flora and fauna; Irish blackbird. 

Warning: if you are a hardcore philatelist, what you are about to see may shock you. 

I think stamps are a natural choice for mixed media pieces. The scale is perfect. I appreciate a little weathering, a postmark - they allude to travel, time, distance... a history. If you search for stamps in jewelry you will find a million and one offerings using resin and/or glass tiles. Logical first step - I have been there. These three new mixed media pieces are still on my work table waiting for necklace pairings. I started with a mother-of-pearl donut, designed a metal backing, and created a frame for the stamp. Attachments are made with either tabs or waxed linen. The stamps are sealed with Diamond glaze for durability and protection. 

Simple stamp under resin; three new mixed media pieces - mother-of-pearl bezels and copper/brass backings. 

These polymer pieces debuted at Beadfest last August. The settings are molds made from vintage stampings. Resin seals and secures the stamp image. The polymer color palettes are drawn from  the stamp art itself. ( I'll be teaching a similar class* at Beadfest in April.)

Polymer focals showcasing stamps, sealed with resin.  ( Mexico, USA, Italy, Malaysia)
And a ring, a class sample, just for fun. 

If you think stamps are for you... you don't have to start lurking in antique stores and flea markets. I personally doubt that any of my Dad's stamps are hidden treasures worth wagons of money... but I have seen Charade!  ( Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, stamps, Paris... whats not to love?!) There are plenty of stamps available now that are lovely and inspiring: 

Souvenir 'stamps' from the National Gallery of Art. I adore Matisse!
I've been holding onto this sheet for... umm... over 25 years! 

Current stamps in circulation. Images from USPS.com

The Breast Cancer awareness stamp was perhaps the first one I used in a piece of jewelry. I was teaching full time, maybe 20 years ago - and I made a pin, a sterling frame for the stamp depicting Artemis. It was for my dear friend and colleague who had just successfully battled breast cancer and won! 

The USPS lists this information about the stamp artist/designer: 

As of June 2014, the stamp has raised over $78.9 million for breast cancer research. By law, 70 percent of the net amount raised is given to the National Institutes of Health and 30 percent is given to the Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense.Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, the stamp features the phrases, “Fund the Fight” and “Find a Cure” and an illustration of a mythical “goddess of the hunt” by Whitney Sherman of Baltimore. 

As an artist, I find the design  process of stamps fascinating. They need to be easy to "read" from a distance, but rather detailed for their size. Many commemorate people, places, events, and some more recent motifs raise funds for research and conservation. The USPS site/store lists these and more available for purchase. And - for artwork they are rather affordable. ( As stamps, they are kind of expensive... LOL)  

Have you ever considered stamps as art? As jewelry? I'd love to hear how you put your 'stamp' on things. (Had to do it... ) 

* Philately (/fɪˈlætəliː/ fi-la-tə-lee) is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or reside only in museums.

* My Spring 2015 Beadfest class info can be found here. 

Freeform Friday - Organic

... from Merriam Webster:  Organic 3a  : of, relating to, or derived from living organisms...

...from Albert Einstein: "Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. "

Today's post is inspired by nature, and organic texture. I am focussing on texture this month; my friend Cooky Schock and I are doing a collaborative year long exchange on our shared blog at Coast 2 Coast Creative. And natural textures are my absolute favorite. Mother Nature was truly an  inspired artist when she created marvels like sea urchins, tree bark, and seed pods! Oh seed pods... 

Eucalyptus pods from San Diego.

I use these frequently, one of my fav motifs. And such different designs, such diversity! They remind me of Medieval quatrefoils. 

Ocean and sea themed found objects in my studio. 

Plant and pod pieces gathered in my studio.

SO for this Freeform Friday I decided to make some molds. Positive and negative; and share some of my organic inspirations. These type of elements have been used to make impressions since early man was texturing clay pots. (Makes the pots less slippery when wet...) No one can fuss about copying, since we are all inspired by similar items. You can't copyright a peach pit! The trick is using them in your own creative way...

Polymer texture plates pulled from the original objects. When cured these can be texture press plates as is - a "negative" of the original. I will use them in both earthenware clay and polymer.
 L to R: peach pit, acorn cap, star anise, magnolia pod, poppy pod.

Ocean pieces and their "negative" polymer pieces. The sea urchin had to be taped back together for the picture...

When I make molds of my hand carved ceramic pieces, I cast them in plaster. That process ruins the original, as it is forcibly taken from the mold when set. For more fragile objects I have started using various brands of RTV. This "room temperature vulcanizing" mold material is so fabulous! ( I have used Micro Mark's and Alley Goop) Simply mix equal parts, press, set aside. Fifteen minutes or so - there you are! I cast my cured polymer pieces to have a flexible version of my new texture vocabulary. 

With the brain coral and seed pod shown above - I used the RTV on the polymer "negative" - resulting in a RTV "positive" that replicated the item's direct texture. Pressed in design? Raised up design? I can do either... And for one more positive image... I used black polymer to make positive stamps from these three RTV molds. The ideas I am having of that star anise pod! ( far right) pressed into clay, glaze pooling in the design... yummy. And poppy pod earrings? Sweet!

Many of my fellow artists at AJE are also inspired by organic textures. Leaves, sea urchins, shells... in porcelain, stoneware, bronze and copper... Feel free to browse! 

L to R: Kristi Bowman, Lesley Watt, Karen Totten, Diana Ptaszynski, Kristi, Lesley, Diana.

Until next time...

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com