Meeting for June 26th

Mikki Verani will be demo'ing how to set firable stones in silver metal clay.  If you plan on attending, bring somes stones and clay.

It was a Riveting Meeting

The meeting on May 22nd had Karen Karon demonstrating her lovely riveting techniques.  Here's a few up close and personal pictures of the various stages. 

May Meeting

The next Boston Metal Clay Guild meeting will be on May 22nd.  The demo for that meeting will be on riveting.

Recycling Metal

I had originally read a post on the Metal Clay yahoo group about using NTR Metals for recycling metal.  This was something I had wanted to do for quite a while - actually years.  With the price of silver at its peak now in years (over $40.00/oz. as of today) there was no time like the present.  For us Boston Metal Clay people, we are very fortunate to have one of their 38 worldwide locations here in Stoughton, MA. 

My first trip took a little longer than I'd anticipated.  The only reason was that you have to fill out a form and it has to get faxed and approved by their corporate headquarters.  What I should have done is gone on their site, downloaded their application, printed it, filled it out and faxed it.  This could have reduced my wait to only 10-15 minutes!  I've gone twice now and there really wasn't much of a wait.  The second time I went, I dropped it off, went to IKEA (also in Stoughton and only 5 minutes away!), came back and literally just picked up my check. And the nice thing is, they do take sweeps.  So, for all of you who've been collecting your metal clay filings on wet wipes, you can just put them in a ziploc bag, place that in a box and bring them with your name and address noted somewhere.  They have to send their sweeps to their corporate office for assaying.  They don't do it locally.  They will then send you a check in the mail.  

I've only used this service for my sterling and fine silver scrap which had been piling up over the years.  I don't have much in the way of sweeps yet.  But it sure felt good recycling those atrocious metal clay charms I did in my first PMC class.  Does that bring back memories to any of you?  

Celebrating their 10th Year Bead Extravaganza

On April 16th, the Boston Chapter of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers will be celebrating their 10th year of Beading Extravaganzas.  Mark your calendar!  The event will take place at the Holiday Inn in Marlboro, MA.  For more details, visit their facebook page.  Admission is $3.00.

"The Boston Chapter has its roots in a small group of New England beadmakers brought together in a Newburyport living room in 1996. In 1998 the group became recognized as a chapter of the Society for Glass Beadmakers, now called the ISGB. In August 2010 membership had grown to 130 with people from all over New England as well as some from as far away as Arizona and California."

The Tear-Away Technique with Janice Abarbanel

This month, the demo was about the elusive tear-away technique.  There are two variables that come into play that determine the success or failure of using this technique.  These are the clay and the paper. I originally learned to use white Sculpey III clay for this technique.  But now, the clay of choice is Studio by Sculpey.  Also, it was pointed out that using a combination of 25% metallic Studio by Sculpey works really well.  Studio by Sculpey clay has been discontinued, but it can still be found in various Michaels locations as well as on-line at Polymer Clay Express.  The other variable is the paper in which the design is printed.  For me, my tear-aways became successful when I taught to use Hammermill Color Laser Gloss Paper, 32 lb., 90 brilliance.  You can find this paper at Staples and Sam's Clubs.  To do the transfer, you need to make a toner copy of some sort of black & white artwork.  You can use your own original artwork, or choose from many black & white images from Dover Publications.   The artwork must be black and white - no greys. 

To begin, roll the clay out to about 1/8" (or #1 on the pasta machine).  Lay the clay on some sort of tile, glass or other work area.  Take your design and lay it out with the ink side face down on the clay.  Begin to rub the paper with either your hand or a bone folder (being careful not to apply too much pressure).  Keep rubbing for 3 minutes.  When done, take this unit over to a desk lamp and keeping the light somewhere between 5 - 8 inches away, keep it there for 7 minutes.  When done, go back to rubbing the paper for another two minutes.  Then again, go back to the lamp and keep the work there for another 7 minutes.  Now, you're ready to remove the paper.  Fold one side of the paper about 1/4".  Taking hold of this tab, you will pull the paper off as quickly as tearing a bandaid off the skin.  When the tear away is successful, you will now see the clay over the ink on the paper.  This will act as a low relief etching for your metal clay.  Bake the etched polymer clay plate for 20 minutes at 265 degrees. 

Fortunately for our guild, Mikki came in with numerous designs to choose from.   They were Chinese black & white prints from Dover Publications.  Some people experimented with some of the more intricate designs and they came out really well.  Here's a few photos from the meeting.  And the picture of Mikki?  She's holding the current issue of Art Jewelry Magazine.  Her article "Bring a Dragonfly to Life with Metal Clay and Glass" is on page 30!

New Viking Knit Tools

For those of you who have wanted to add viking kit to their metal clay pieces, Whole Lotta Whimsy just made it a bit easier.  They're now selling viking knit weaving tools, viking knit drawplates, or the whole kit an caboodle (o.k. - am I dating myself?) viking knit weaving tool kit.  No affiliation - just one happy customer!