Ocean Enchantress

Ocean Enchantress was originally made with FIMO clay. Once a model was made I used Art Clay World’s 2 part silicone mold mix to make a mold of the mermaid. Then clay was pressed into the mold to get the shape in metal clay. Once the metal clay piece was dry I sanded each area filling with paste a needed to get a smooth piece. I then rolled out metal clay and set the mermaid on it next to a bezel that was fitted to a pre-selected stone. I cut out around the mermaid and bezel and filled the areas as needed. On the back of the piece I added a bail back and fired the piece in the kiln. When the fired piece was cool I sanded it with all grits of sandpaper and polishing cloth to obtain the mirror finish.



Working with polymer clay to get details in a shape is faster and easier than shaping and carving a piece to get this much detail.

Diachroic Blue

This is another example of diachroic glass that I cut into a diamond shape. Using the same method as in "Teardrops" I build the metal clay up around the glass to the desired thickness. To come up with ideas I place the glass pieces on white paper and sketch around the stone. After you have the size and shape of the stone on paper start sketching until you come up with a design that you like. I always make a copy of the sketch before starting my silver piece and file it away. These simple sketches make great patterns for classes.

The Piano

This beautiful song has so much meaning that I had to share it with you. Listen to the music as you scroll through the site. May you enjoy it as much as I do.

The Paino by Aidan Gibbons

Teardrops

"Teardrops" is part of the Anna's Broken-Heart series. "Teardrops" represents the tears of all children who cry in pain and the parents who suffer with them. It represents Suvivors of the Holocaust, the loss of lives, the children who were sacrificed and the soldiers that died in vain. It represents the tears of people alone, hiding their pain and sorrow. 100% of the proceeds from this series goes to the Lucille Packard Children Hopsital and to another in Israel. See http://www.silverartstudio.com/ and http://twins.lpch.org/help.html for more information and donations. Just mention "Anna's Broken-Heart.

To make this piece teardrop shapes were cut from diachroic glass then ground. When cutting and grinding glass the edges have a matt finish. Often when firing the pieces come out with a haze. I found it helps to sand the ground edges using sanding disc from Rio Grande Jewelry , part # 337259 https://www.riogrande.com/home/MemberArea/NewSearchResult.aspx after grinding the edges. Wash and dry the glass piece to make sure it is clean. Then fire polish the piece in the kiln using the appropriate temperature settings for your kiln.

When making the piece I used low fire/slow dry clay and built the clay up around the stone. I have put a slide show here of a few of the pieces that I made. You can see on some the clay comes up higher around the stone than others. Remember that glass expands and metal clay shrinks so when you fire the pieces, ramp the kiln slowly. I fired these pieces to 1200 degrees for 30 mintues and then let the kiln cool to room temperature without opening the door. Waiting to see if the pieces turn out is the hard part. Tip: If the clay is too thin in any area around the teardrop, the clay will form hairline cracks. It takes practice to fine the right combination.

In His Hands

In His Hands

A cry is heard in a far away land
As a mother sobs, nearby the father stands

Hearts are breaking for the one just born
A tiny life that seems so forlorn

There are no answers, no reasons why
A child is born with such pain in it’s life

I felt their pain as I looked at her face
A life so small, a speck in space

Look at her eyes as she gazes at him
In the hands that hold her safe within

If Jehovah can hold the whole world in his hands
Then what is one life when it comes to Him?
© Colleen Lee 2008

Quilling with Silver Paper

Quilling with Silver Paper is another way to add embellishments to any piece. To make leaves cut strips 1/16” wide the length of the silver paper. Place the tip of a round toothpick on one end of the paper. Roll the paper around the toothpick. Gently slide the toothpick out of the rolled paper. If you want a looser effect or larger look loosen your grip on the roll and let it spring outward a little. With the toothpick, add a drop of silver paste to the open end and press it closed. To get a teardrop shape, press the rolled paper more on one side. Put the quilled piece on a firebrick and do not touch again. Remember: Too much moisture will cause the paper to disintegrate and moving the pieces once you have added the paste will cause minute fractures in the paste breaking the bond

To make roses, cut a ½” square and round the corners. Cut a spiral into the center of the square as shown. Then, using the toothpick, begin at the center and roll toward the outside edge. Once again, pull the toothpick out and apply a drop of paste to glue the open end shut. Set this on the fire brick to dry.

I have found that if I let this dry 30 minutes and then torch fire my pieces for 1 minute, I can then attach these pieces with oil paste to a fired product.
When torch firing the quilled pieces, hold the torch back from the pieces lowering it as it heats. Heating the pieces too fast cause them to spring open.

Quilled roses have a cone shaped base so I set the leaves first leaving a small area to set the cone of the rose. This gives support to the roses and will also hide any imperfections or additional paste if it is needed to attach the rose.

Colorado Art Clay Society Chapter

Today was our first meeting for the Colorado Chapter of Art Clay. It was held in Lafayette, CO. Discussions on setting up the chapter, meetings, fees, and adgenda were gone over and future meeting and locations decided. What a really fun group was there today. Each person there was dedicated to learning about metal clay, sharing and giving what they could to each other.
Sitting on the side watching I couldn't help but think how lucky I was to be a part of this group of women so excited about our new adventure and all the possibilites it has. For those of you who missed out today, Jen has an amazing amount of talent and information she brings to all the meetings so make sure you have the meeting written down on your calendar when it comes out. That will be posted here and on Jen's blogspot also.