Donna Penoyer – Master Muse Challenge #38

Donna shares with us a quick synopsis of the steps she takes to create her Silver Metal Clay and Dry Media Pendant.  This is the fourth challenge for the group of 5 Masters.  The second team has tackled Steampunk combined with Metal Clay, Resin combined with Metal Clay, and Metal Clay Faux Bone Rings.  Make sure to check them out again for a second dose of inspiration.

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!

Donna says “I am pleased to have an opportunity to present a project that incorporates steel bottle caps. Someone whom I know well (no names will be revealed) is a beer aficionado who provides me an endless supply of beautiful caps.  I’m always trying to repurpose them instead of throwing them away.  Items with “potential”, I often hoard. Today, I am vindicated for saving these castoffs, since they inspired this lighthearted design.”

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 #38 Tutorial!

In this tutorial you will learn:

• How to make a negative/positive pendant from strips of metal clay
• How to use construct a bail that can be opened and reshaped before firing
• How to account for shrinkage to accomodate a found object
• How to use dry media, Prismacolor, to add color to the metal and seal it
• How to polish the fired metal clay
• How to create tabs and cold-connect a repurposed item

Measure the bottle cap and increase the diameter to account for metal clay shrinkage.

Using a compass and graph paper, draw out the increased size of the circle.

Divide the circle into 6 equal parts.  With a straight edge, draw straight lines to connect the points, making slices of a pizza.

Make this into a non-stick worksurface by taping it to the underside of a heavy-duty report cover or contact paper.

Draw on a thick foam craft sheet another circle the size of your bottle cap (increased to allow for shrinkage of the clay) and cut it out.  Perfect the edges by sanding with an emery board.

Roll out a snake of silver metal clay.  Using a thick piece of acrylic or a ceramic tile, compress the snake flat to create an even strip of clay.  This may take some practice.  Use fresh clay and work quickly to avoid cracking.

Using a ruler and tissue blade cut the strip.

Carefully pick up the strip and fold it in half.  Transfer it to the design template.  Mend the seam with water.  Continue to place the rest of the petals onto the template.  (Donna shares many tips for success in each process of the full tutorial).

Cut out the center hole to save some clay.  Let dry, however, make sure it does not warp.

Cut out two circles out of metal clay.  The front disk will be covered by the bottle cap so no need to texture.  The back disk can be textured, as shown.  The back disc will need to be smaller.

Dry completely and flatten if it warps.

Sand edges of both disks and perfect the back disk.

Roll out clay (see step 2) to create a flattened snake for the bail.  Wrap around a brass tube as the armature.  If you use wood or aluminum, make sure you put down a layer of paper or plastic so the metal clay doesn’t come into contact (aluminum will contaminate the clay).

Mend seam and allow to dry til it is firm but pliable.  Remove from the tubing and flex gently to create a more oval bail.

Allow to dry completely.  Sand and perfect.

Cut open the seam with a craft knife.  Sand the now open seam with 280 grit sandpaper.

Donna provides many tips and techniques for perfecting mistakes, sanding in the greenware, and ways to fix flaws in the full tutorial!

Using silver metal clay paste (PMC3) apply the front and back disk to the flower petals.

Determine which petal to attach the bail.  Carefully open and thread this onto the petal loop.  Close with thick paste and hold for 30 seconds.

Dry completely and sand the outside.

Use a moistened Fantastix tool to smooth the inside of the bail seam.

Fire on a bed of Pure Silica Pottery-Grade Sand or Alumina Hydrate in your kiln for 30 minutes at 1650F.

Burnish with soapy water and a soft Brass Brush.

Tumble in 2 pounds of Mixed Stainless Steel Shot and Burnishing Compound (or dish soap) for 60-90 minutes.

Flare out the bottle cap edges and remove the liner inside.

Using an aluminum oxide red grinding stone and your rotary tool, apply tooth to the surface of the bottle cap.

Apply Prismacolor to the cap.  

Apply a light layer of turpentine and wait 5-10  minutes for it to evaporate.

Build up more layers of color and repeat the turpentine step (which blends the colors).

When you have a lot of color on the cap and you can’t seem to deposit any more, then heat on a Metal Clay Dryer unit for about one minute.  This will melt the wax in the colors, blending and smoothing the lines.

Seal with a thin layer of matte acrylic sealer or Workable Fixative.

Add more color, turpentine and heat to achieve the final results of your dry media masterpiece.

Snip areas of the bottle cap that will be folded back to create tabs to hold the cap onto the flower.

Donna shares how to repair colored pencil scratches from setting slips in her full tutorial.

As a last step, create a cardstock mask and spray the pencil with Nikolas Lacquer.

Fun and delightful!  Wear this on a day when you feel blue and it won’t be long before you are singing a willy wonka song and thinking about lolly pops!  Maybe it’s just me, but it looks yummy and makes me want to skip around the studio.

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 scrupulously edited and if the details aren’t there, I ask for more info and pictures. 

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 1/2″ Faux Bone Ring Blank along WITH a Faux Bone Peeler from Robert Dancik this month, a $40+ value!  Try your hand at making a Faux Bone ring from our third round of challenges from this team of masters.

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!  Your odds of winning are pretty darn good so leave a message or comment.

Donna Penoyer started out her artistic endeavors learning to be a poet. Instead she became a stilt walker, married a professional fool, and today is known as “The Whistle Lady” for her sculptural, wearable metal clay whistles. Donna has been working in PMC since 2005, is a founding member of the Western PA Chapter of the PMC Guild. She teaches nationally at The Bead & Button Show, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Touchstone Center for Crafts, and Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh. She has written articles for PolymerCAFÉ and Art Jewelry magazines, and her work may be seen in Robert Dancik’s book Amulets and Talismans and other upcoming publications. Donna’s whistle ring “Journey Companion” is currently on the cover of the 2009 edition of the PMC Guild Annual 3.

Check out Donna’s work at www.DonnaPenoyer.com. She teaches at many venues across the country. Make sure you find the location nearest you and sign up for one of her fabulous classes!

Photo credit: final piece Drew Davidson; step-by-step Donna Penoyer