SIGN UP DEADLINE IS 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO CLASS START DATE TO ALLOW FOR MATERIALS ORDERING.

Fine Silver Metal Clay consists of microscopic particles of reclaimed, pure silver mixed with an organic binder and water resulting in a porcelain clay-like material which sinters at high temperatures in a kiln to become a solid silver object. In this class you will learn the following techniques for Metal Clay:

1. How to roll out and texture metal clay.
2. How to create and use a template.
3. How to properly attach wet clay to dry clay in layers to create depth, texture and interest.
4. How to attach dry clay to dry clay to construct a bail for your pendant
5. How to refine your clay in the wet and dry states.
6. How to burnish and polish your fired silver.
7. How to paint with Liver of Sulphur to achieve a patina in a variety of complimentary colors on your fired silver and then protect those colors with a spray on fixative.

Each participant will be provided with 20 grams of silver in clay form, enough to easily create one large pendant of about 1 ½” square ( or round or oval or rectangular or irregular) or 2 or 3 smaller ones. Additional clay will be available for purchase for anyone who would like to make additional pieces. You will also have the use of all of the tools needed to create, construct, fire and finish your pieces. Available for your use will be many different textures and patterns to enhance the appearance of your landscapes. Please keep in mind that your pieces certainly can
be more abstract than the one I will be using as an example in this handout. Please see the cover page and note the abstract pendant titled “Contiguous”. Even though we will not be using stones during this 2 day class, this design is a good example of a more abstract depiction of, in this case, Earth, Water and Sky.

Each participant will be provided with 20 grams of silver in clay form, enough to easily create one large pendant of about 1 ½” square ( or round or oval or rectangular or irregular) or 2 or 3 smaller ones. Additional clay will be available for purchase for anyone who would like to make additional pieces. You will also have the use of all of the tools needed to create, construct, fire and finish your pieces. Available for your use will be many different textures and patterns to enhance the appearance of your landscapes.

PRE-CLASS ASSIGNMENT
You must have this done before you arrive for your class as we will not have the ability to scan your drawings or make copies in our classroom space. You need to draw a simple landscape and copy it multiple times onto cardstock at 118% size to allow for shrinkage of the clay. Use a cardstock sturdy enough to use as a template to cut out your shapes in the fresh clay. Fill up an 8 ½ x 11 sheet with your images to allow for mistakes cutting out the shapes. Be mindful of tricky cuts that might be too delicate to transfer to thick sheets of clay. DO NOT CUT OUT YOUR TEMPLATES BEFORE THE CLASS. Keep your shapes fairly simple. If you don’t have a copier or scanner at home then FedEx, Office Max, Staples and other places can help you to do this for a small fee.

Instructions will be emailed to you by the instructor after class registration is complete.

Minimum # of Student Requirement: 4
Maximum # of Students Allowed: 8

Spaces Remaining: 6