Sunday, May 19, 2013

May Meeting - Making Ceramic Beads for Metal Clay



The next KCPMC guild meeting is Tuesday, May 21 beginning at 7 pm. We also have a pre-meeting no-host eating out at 5pm. Feel free to join us for  some social time before the meeting! (This month we'll eat at D'Bronx, at  D'Bronx (7070 W 105th off Metcalf).

This month we begin a two-step project -

 Making Ceramic Beads Covered with Silver  

 The possibilities are endless, and clay is much cheaper than PMC!!! So coating the outside of a ceramic or bisque bead makes for larger silver beads but less investment!
 You can also add surface embellishments, paper clay punches, or textures.
 I THINK this is silver clay around a glazed ceramic bead, but don't know for sure. Hopefully, we'll find out on Tuesday night!
 Silver-coated ceramic beads with designs.

 

Phase 1: (May meeting) At the meeting, we will be making beads by hand from dirt clay - to be fired before the next meeting.

Phase 2: (June meeting) At the meeting, we will cover our fired clay beads with PMC paste clay. After firing, these beads will look like silver, but have a clay core.

Members will be provided with both dirt clay in May and PMC silver paste in June. (Your dues at work!!!)

To the May meeting, you should bring:
Your PMC Tool Kit
Needles, oiled toothpicks, mandrels or other things to hold the formed clay beads.
Polymer clay, foam, bead rack or other things to hold your wet clay beads.

The clay MUST be completely dry, or it will explode in the kiln, so firing must take place later next week. We will have firing information or those of us with kilns will help with the firing.


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