3 reasons I love metal clay
I was first introduced to working with metal clay in 2011 when I attended a course in the UK which taught me the basics of working with precious metal clay and fused glass.
Since the moment I worked with it and fired it in my kiln - I was in love.
You see, I'm told the clever Japanese came up with this stuff called 'precious metal clay' which allows you to manipulate and hand-sculpt a piece of clay that was is actually precious metal in clay form. How clever is that!
If you're a bit puzzled like I was at first and wondering how on earth a piece of clay can turn into metal, then read on...
Basically, when fired at high temperatures (in my case I have a kiln), then whatever kept it in it's clay form burns away and leaves the pure metal behind. Yup.
So at my G-Unique Studio, when you see me getting messy working with a tiny lump of clay, I might not pay you too much attention as I need to ensure I have completed my design before the clay dries. Otherwise, it becomes a very expensive mistake - in both time and money. This precious metal clay is not cheap by any measure. Any mistakes made is definitely a costly one, especially as I work with silver clay - a whole lotta money for a tiny bit of clay.
When you see my fine silver and fused glass jewellery - you are seeing the result of essentially 5 days of work - from hand-cutting and fusing the glass, to hand-sculpting the clay, drying it, working with it some more before then firing it again and THEN turning it into a piece of wearable jewellery.
So yes, here's 3 reasons why I fell in love with metal clay:
it's a material that has a mind-boggling concept behind it - metal as actual clay!
it make me feel quite 'arty' as I get to hand-sculpt my designs
it's the most satisfying feeling firing my design, then removing the fire coating to reveal the pure silver underneath
Oh and can I add a fourth reason? It's absolutely unique and stunning to wear...
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