Barbara shares with us a quick synopsis of the steps she takes to create her Silver Metal Clay and WhimsyCrete Pendant. This is the fourth challenge for the group of 5 Masters. The first team has tackled Metal Clay Clasps, Torch Fired Enamels and Metal Clay and Boxes with Metal Clay Components.
We hope the tutorial will serve to inspire you to create! No matter if you just get out your sketch book and draw a similar project based on these challenges. It’s a place to start. It’s a way to start off your day in the right frame of mind with a creative exercise!
Barbara says “WhimsyCrete is a material that I had not used before this Muse challenge. When I think of concrete I think of a particular texture: rough and industrial. I get a kick out of juxtaposing polar opposite things and ideas in my work. This led me to think of the antithesis of rough and industrial. The word “pearl” popped into my head!”
“In accordance with this concept, my pendant combines the smooth, iridescence of a pearl with the rough, industrial texture of concrete. To play with the viewer a little more, I decided to tint the WhimsyCrete to simulate lapis lazuli, adding some 24K gold leaf flecks to complete the ruse.”
If you are interested in the full step-by-step tutorial please stay tuned. It will be available at Whole Lotta Whimsy. They will be in a handy bench format too! This tutorial looks like it will be over 80 pictures with tons of detail in this #31 Tutorial!
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to make an open hollow form with advanced slab construction
- How to texture metal clay
- How to calculate and determine shrinkage
- How to add a bail
- How to use WhimsyCrete and gold foil
- How to patina and finish a fired piece of metal clay
Choose a pearl to use. I chose an X-shaped pearl that is drilled all the way through. The WhimsyCrete will actually anchor it into the piece.
Roll out the textured silver metal clay, then using a tissue blade trim to the width of the depth of the frame. You will want to measure your pearl. You can trim down the excess later.
(Barbara shows you lots of tips and techniques for using texture and rolling out a long strip in the full tutorial.)
Dry flat and make sure it does not warp.
After determining the size of the metal clay frame (follow Barbara’s great tips in the full tutorial), you will make a series of cuts, snaps, and miter joints in your strip of textured and dried metal clay in order to follow the path of the pearl. This creates a frame that mimics the shape of the pearl. The texture is in the inside of the frame fully viewable when worn. This is what makes a piece fabulous…extra detail and workmanship!
Double check that the pearl fits.
Spackle, groom and reinforce the joins with silver metal clay and a clay shaper. Let dry completely and then sand flat on one side.
Determine the height of the walls, mark the circumference, remove excess clay and sand flat on the second size. (Barbara shares all her tips and tricks for this in the full tutorial)
Roll out two pieces of textured silver metal clay, cut with a circle template, and then join them together with paste.
Roll out a strip of textured silver metal clay to make the bail.
Attach the pearl frame to the textured background. Drill two holes through the center of the frame. Using a piece of wire check the fit. Don’t forget about shrinkage and adjust the frame if necessary.
Roll out a strip of textured metal clay which will form the outer ring of the pendant. Mend the seam and attach to the background textured clay.
Check all the connections and seams taking care to caulk the join between the two base textured pieces so they look like one solid edge.
Sand the top outer frame flat.
Attach the bail.
Fire in vermiculite in the kiln according to the schedule for your clay.
Patina the inner frame, outer frame wall and the back. (Barbara shares all her finishing techniques in the full tutorial)
Using silver wire, thread the pearl into the frame.
Mix up the Whimsycrete and Colorants following the instructions on the website and included with the product. Have your gold leaf ready to apply using tweezers to rip and place randomly in the surface.
Use a spatula to trowel the surface of the concrete flat and flush. As the concrete starts to set up, use a cotton swab to clean off excess WhimsyCrete that has strayed onto your burnished edge or the gold.
Allow to dry 24 hours. This surface was left rough but you can smooth and polish this material after it has cured with sanding papers.
Apply Armorcrete if you desire a resistant to oils and perfumes which can discolor the concrete.
This piece is absolutely beautiful! The juxtaposition of the materials and design, seduces the viewer. The detail in the pearl frame is magical as the texture bounces the light onto the pearl. Nevermind about the fabulousness of the colored concrete! Ohhh ahhhhh!
Incredibly each of these Master Muse class tutorials exposes new techniques to even the most seasoned of instructors and makers. I’m always surprised at how differently each artist approaches a challenge and how their skills allow them to execute a creative result. I learn at least one valuable shortcut or new technique in each tutorial.
These are affordable classes that you can take in your studio, at your pace, with all the details and more that you would get in a live class. Not to mention that they are carefully edited as if I was the student in the class. Each Master Muse delivers detail and information rarely found even in a class.
We’d love to see you take the challenge and make this or a similar piece as well. Can’t wait to see your pieces. Send them and we’ll post pictures in a future Challenge Gallery. Challenge yourself!
Don’t forget to leave a comment. We are giving away a Linda Kaye-Moses Doming Plate in September. How to win? Leave a comment on every blog (even older posts) or get two entries for tweeting, putting it on Facebook, the Metal Clay Yahoo Gallery forum, your blog etc. Just send us a copy of the link to support@wholelottawhimsy.com! Let your friends know how to make their Wednesday’s rock…. with of course, the Master Muse Tutorial launch!
Barbara Becker Simon earned a BS in Art Education and an MFA in Metalwork and Jewelry. She has been a goldsmith for over 40 years and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Menomonie and Iowa State University. Barbara travels the US teaching lampwork & metal clay workshops as Senior Instructor for Rio Grande. Her work appears in Creative Metal Clay Jewelry: Techniques, Projects, and Inspiration New Directions in Metal Clay, (Wire), The Art of Metal Clay, (Haab), and PMC Decade and PMC Technic, (McCreight), among others. In April 2009, Lark Books published her book, Metal Clay Beads. Barbara is known internationally for her lampworked glass beads & jewelry. Contemporary Lampworking by Bandhu Dunham features Barbara’s work on the cover. Formed of Fire (Dunham), Beads of Glass (Jenkins), and 1000 Glass Beads, (Lark) also features her beads. Barbara work is on display in Washington DC, Glendale, AZ, & Japan.
Check out Barbara’s work at www.BBSimon.com. You can purchase her incredible glass & metal beads and work online! Contact her for more details.
Photo credit: final piece Drew Davidson; step-by-step Barbara Becker Simon
Concrete and pearls go so well together! Funny, I had the same idea, but different, of course. 😉
Neat design. I may just have to try the whimsy crete
Oh, I’m so excited to see this bundle of projects! I’ve been wanting to try the concrete for months. Inspiration, here I come.
I saw this one in person. GORGEOUS!!! Barbara does it again!
Another winner from Barbara!
How ingenious…a frame around the pearl and wire to anchor it….love it, love it, love it!
Love this! It inspired me to get some whimsy crete… now to try it!
Way to go Barbara-whimsey crete is just that-whimsical. Great piece-love the use of color with the 24kt. gold. My favorite combo lapis lazuli-it’s soulful.