Bronze Clay

Bronze Clay….it’s all the rage and will be debuted at the PMC Guild Conference! Most can hardly wait. It’s got quite a buzz surrounding it! The inventor, Bill, was the most popular man at the Bead and Button show in June with women even asking for his autograph. From what I’ve been told, every attendee will get a sample pack to try or buy at the PMC Conference. They will be taking orders at the conference and then shipping later in July. If you are not attending, be sure to get your order placed as soon as the conference is over. I’ll try to post that information here when it’s made available.

Many have asked if we are going to carry it. Lately it has shown up high on our stats for searched words. We wish we had it to offer to you all but alas, we too must wait. Whole Lotta Whimsy will be carrying it this fall. At least that’s when we’ve been told we’ll be able to sell it. The packaging is really nice. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to the less expensive price tag than silver or gold clay. It’s nice to be able to be creative without the pressure of the cost of the material looming over your process.

I was fortunate enough to be able to play with it our senior teacher retreat at Rio Grande in April. It was interesting hearing all the different comments from some of the world’s greatest experimenters and artists. Many of them had been playing with it for some time before the retreat. They are an incredibly sharing group of individuals, that I am lucky to be a part of. Yvonne from Rio was also there. She is writing a book for Lark on the Bronze Clay so she shared her information as well. I watched the excitement, the frustration, the glea and the disappointment as the pieces were made and fired. It seems to have some quirks and uncertainty of success with firing.

The clay works much like metal clay, especially the PMC standard. It carves nicely, it is pliable and sculptable. It has a beautiful color, much like terracotta in it’s raw state. What’s curious is what happens during firing. It seems to be a bit of a puzzle. Some times they come out fine and sometimes they crumble into lots of pieces. Air pockets seem to be a problem. A new challenge for a new material.

I’ve been working a little with the president of Paragon Industries on firing issues. I’ve also talked to a few teachers who are experiencing issues with firing and had asked for my advice. Since none of the preliminary information is being dissiminated until next week, I am getting a head start. I’m hoping everyone will share their findings as we discover better ways to work with this new clay. I’ll try to keep you all updated on what is released at the conference or what I hear from others. As with any new material, the “how” will be changed many times just as it has evolved over time for metal clay.

You are going to want to fire it in a stainless steel container. Stainless steel is a good conducter of heat. There are some that believe that the thinner the stainless the better. Also the more you can pack the charcoal the better. Air pockets are not good, thus you can imagine why you haven’t seen any hollow forms being made. WLW will also be carrying the thinner steamers and charcoal in August. Layering the firing seems to be an issue. The middle layer doesn’t seem to fire as well as it should. So if you can put more containers in a load, in a bigger kiln, that’s going to be ideal. Also putting posts underneath the container is helpful. This way the heat can penetrate the container. Chris Darway has had good results with sheet stainless steel. He makes a pocket, of sorts, out of it and fires his pieces inside. This way there aren’t several layers and the metal is very thin. However, it is super sharp and can cut you very easily. Not to mention it’s fairly expensive.

Heat work is very important with Bronze Clay. Heat work is the combination of heat and time. It is important in ceramics and glass both. Soaking the Bronze Clay and firing at a slower rate is key. Important heat work happens the last 300 degrees with most materials. This is the time to really soak the firing. Programming your kiln for full speed, as the rate, to 1190/1200F with zero hold time is a recommended first ramp. Then firing 250 per hour, as the rate, to 1490F (kiln brick kiln)/1516F (fiber muffle wall kiln) with 2-3 hour hold ramp, for the second ramp. The recommended temperature is 1550 however Celie Fago found that the metal was getting pock-marked and if she lowered the temp to 1516F, those pock marks were lessened. This firing will take 6 hours. It’s just extra insurance to fire the whole thing slower, but probably not necessary.

Now remember that everyone’s kiln is different. If your thermocouple is older, then your kiln is firing hotter than it reads. So experimenting with your kiln will also be important. I recommend keeping good notes on firing methods and results. Large kilns have a more difficult time firing. There are more hot spots and cold spots in the kiln. However, if you are teaching you are going to want several kilns or a larger kiln in which to fire. Kiln brick kilns maintain heat the best. If you have elements all the way around your kiln, you are going to have a more even firing. This is line of sight firing. Many are looking to upgrade their kiln selections to a X14E or a similar kiln in the Xpress line in order to accomodate the Bronze Clay and still do enameling. These are still front loading kilns, but are kiln brick. They are also larger in their capacity. WLW will be adding these to the site soon along with a new kiln in September that is also a good choice for capacity and heatwork. There have also been reports of muffle kilns developing cracks because of these firings. More results from testing will be forthcoming. I thought you’d like to know what kinds of things you might expect.

I’ve been asked if I will be teaching it. Yes, absolutely. I’d love to have you all come out to the beautiful desert (where we have no floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc)! However, in all honesty, you apply the same techniques to the bronze clay as you do metal clay. It’s all about the firing. So keep your ears open and your eyes glued to the internet for all the latest information on the “how” of firing Bronze Clay. I hope this post was of interest to you all. I am in no way an expert on this new clay yet, but I look forward to finding out more along with you all! Got any dirt on the subject? Please send it my way 🙂

Photo is courtesy of Celie Fago in her class on BronzClay at the PMC Conference!