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| Silver clay pendant after firing being polished |
It's a bit of a dream material 'cos it's all nerdy-science-stuff combined with the possibilities to create something at home from a material (metal) that one really couldn't do without some SERIOUS investments.
So metal clay in short is: crafting medium consisting of very small particles of metal such as silver, gold, bronze, or copper mixed with an organic binder and water for use in making jewelry, beads and small sculptures. Originating in Japan in 1990, metal clay can be shaped just like any soft clay, by hand or using molds. After drying, the clay can be fired in a variety of ways such as in a kiln, with a handheld gas torch, or on a gas stove. The binder burns away, leaving the pure sintered metal. Shrinkage of between 8% and 30% occurs (depending on the product used). Alloys such as bronze, sterling silver, and steel also are available. (than you Wikipedia)
Basicly play-doh that turns into solid metal! I mean - how freaking cool is that?!
And you can use a creme brulee burner of a gas stove to burn small pieces at home.
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| The finished piece measures 17mm. Really pleased with the result and the pendant makes a little clinking sound :) |
I found this medium in the summer and bought some bronze clay and the assorted goods that are needed - like the burning rack. But haven't really done anything with it. So a few weeks ago I went into a little workshop in organized by hopeasavi.fi and made a little pendant from silver clay. The making was super simple, the patterns is pushed to the clay and then the clay is cut to a shape, dried, fired and polished. The only "problem" with the metal clays is that they are BLOODY EXPENSIVE. The pendant has about 3 gr of clay and a 7gr package cost round 20€ - so do the math.
In spite of that I am definitely gonna do something... I have plans and will keep you posted when I get something done. If you are interested in the metal clay just google.
xoxo Anu
