February KCPMC Guild Meeting

Before-meeting no-host dinner 5:00 p.m. at Zardas BBQ (just west of Quivira at 87th). Everyone is welcome!

TOPIC:
In this meeting, we begin our series of topics to help you design a complete jewelry project. Lead by Carol Harder and Gale Schlagel, they will help you start training your brain to focus on a design. Think about how you can use our next few months' topics to create something spectacular and uniquely yours.

• tear-away texture technique (March) Jen will teach us the technique popularized by Celie Fago
• stone setting by channel, tube, bezel and more (April)
• PMC bezels around ceramic/pottery shards (May)
• custom made end caps (June) 
• kumihimo braiding (July) --  

Materials to bring:

• scissors
• your sketchbook (old or new)
• Elements of Design from last year's design meeting, if you have one. (Carol had us finding pictures of jewelry that illustrated the various principles and elements of design.)
• your ideas for the piece you want to make
• your "mistake" projects

Provided:
         paper, glue sticks, pencils 

ALSO - bring your booboos...a piece you haven't finishd because it somehow doesn't work. We may be able to offer suggestions on how to re-do it, or alter it and make it better. You don't want to waste that precious PMC!!

Don't forget to bring your recent work to show and tell. If you won the January raffle, remember that you are responsible for bringing a new raffle item.

January 2012 Meeting

The January meeting of the Kansas City Precious Metal Clay Guild will be Tuesday, January 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Harder Driving School, 10362 Mastin. Overland Park, KS 66214

The hands-on demo/topic will be lead by one of our newer members, Kim Keane. Kim is a polymer clay artist who will show us how to draw (or use our Zentangle skills learned from Susan Silvy last fall) onto pre-cured polymer clay.

Cured clay pieces will be provided. Please bring your Micron or Millennium Pen #01 and optional 005 pen. Sakura is the name brand of the pens which work best. Available at Michael's. Those who participated in the fall Zentangle meeting received a pen in their kit.

This is the first meeting of 2012 and member dues are now due. $24 per year provides our budget - which will be used to cover materials costs for more hands-on projects at our meetings. That's just $2 a month for lots of fun learning experiences. Check back here or check our website for the 2012 program schedule.

September Reminder

Don't forget to RSVP if you plan to attend our Tuesday, September 20 meeting so we can be prepared for enough people. We have a video set-up planned so everyone should be able to watch Susan closely or on the big-screen. Details on the website or this post.

Metal Clay is HOT in KC this summer!

At least, Kansas City is hot! Verrey HOT. So join the KCPMC Guild to cool off with a demonstration by member Margaret Braet on her Cold Cast Pate-de-Verre glass clay.

Margaret is pioneering work in glass clay - similar to metal clays in that it involves use of finely ground particles in a binding medium that burns out when fired. Pate de verre is a technique used by the ancient Egyptians and French artists of a century ago. (Note: images shown are old French glass.....)

Margaret's product and techniques are different from the old methods....we'll find out all about them at the July KC PMC Guild meeting on July 19th.  


She uses texture molds, the freezer and more modern equipment to update this ancient technique. 

If you Google Pate de Verre you'l find that it's not a technique for the casual artist....but Verrey Glass Clay brings glass into the realm of clay, which may sound familiar to PMC users. Join us for an interesting evening.

The meeting starts at 7pm, but join us for no-host dinner ahead of time at 5 p.m. at Fan's Tea and Dumplings - just across the parking lot from Harder Driving School at 10362 Mastin in Overland Park, KS

October Swap and Shop

The October 19 meeting of the KC PMC Chapter of the PMC Guild will be a
SWAP & SHOP Night.

It is also the deadline for ordering PMC3 clay for our November Charm Workshop.Click here to print out the order form.

Cheryl will be our Swap Organizer with a system of colored stickers to indicate relative value of items. You may want to swap 3 red items for 1 blue, etc.

Bring items to swap for other good stuff! Here's a sample list of items

• Extra art supplies
• metal clay (unopened, please)
• inks, dyes, markers
• chemicals - in original containers, marked and sealed
• kiln supplies (blanks, mits, shelves, cones, tongs, etc.)
• Duplicates of books, magazines, craft supplies
• Tools
• Carrying cases
• Storage items
• Containers of all shapes and sizes
• Rubber stamps
• Findings, beads, wire, etc

 You may also

• bring and use cash 
• bring finished items to swap or sell
• just come and shop

 We will also have a brief demo and report on mini-firebrick copper clay firing boxes. These are easy to carve from soft firebrick - Hadar Jacobsen has recommended them for more consistent sintering of copper and bronze clay firing.

 

Don't forget to bring your Show and Tell - we love to see what you are doing.

September 21, 2010 Meeting

Next meeting is Tuesday, September 21. Jennifer and Jules will give us a report on the many demos and new techniques they learned at the PMC Conference last summer. Check the website for map links and directions.

Show and Tell: Bring your recent creations to share with us!

Jules will demo using Water Resist  - to create textures on PMC. I'm not sure what that means, but sounds very interesting. This will be a "watch and learn" only demo due to the drying time needed between steps.

We will be taking orders for the Silver Paper Clay for our charm-making workshop in November and planning for the October Swap and Shop!

Silver Paper Clay: At the August meeting we decided to change our November charms from BRONZE clay to Paper clay mostly because we do not have enough members who are willing to fire bronze or copper pieces for everyone. The firing process is complex and dirty (for the kiln) so most are reluctant to do it.
Note: There may be a breakthrough coming - but for now we don't have many options.

Swap and Shop: Here's a chance to unload some of those extra items you may have in your studio (duplicate books, extra findings or materials or beads or???, tools, or things you no longer use). Cheryl is setting up a color-coded value system so have an idea what your things are worth - for trading purposes. This is NOT a "dump your junk" event but a chance to swap usable things. Remember, we have a lot of new members who may need basic items.  You may also want to bring finished jewelry or things you sell, but mostly this will be a barter night.

August Meeting Plans

The August 2010 KC PMC Guild meeting will feature a DEMO plus a Hands-on Make and Take project.


Janie will demo what she's learned in her certification classes about using PMC paste on real leaves to create super-realistic looking leaves (or pods or flowers....you get the idea).  She'll be showing us samples and detailing the steps, but the process to too slow to have us all join in.

And since watching PMC paste dry isn't the way our lively group likes to  roll we're going to add a hands-on project - making a ring with wire. Carol and Lynette will guide you and we call all make at least one ring to take home. See the tools list below.

We also plan to discuss our annual fall Charm Making and Christmas Exchange and start to get ideas from you about what you'd like to learn in 2011. This means taking some time for discussion. Bring your ideas!

Tool list:

• Ring mandrel or dowel rod or ring forms (to shape wire)
• Rawhide Mallet or Nylon Mallet
• Hammers
• Chain nose pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Wire Cutter
• File or emery board

 Materials:

• Wire (we'll have some copper, BYO if you want to use Sterling or other wire)
• Beads (large holed, flat like coins or buttons, or other interesting items)
• Headpins and crystals or smaller beads (if you want to have dangles)

To receive our monthly meeting notices by email (we use EVITE to send out details) please send me an email at "bylynette @ gmail.com" . See information on our website or meeting info here.

More Faux Bone

Photos coming in from folks who finished their faux bone project after last week's meeting.

From Chari Peak - a doll body. (His head is paper clay, body (with bird) is faux bone.)

From Cheryl Colman, a sample of faux bone stamped with ink and rubber stamp. She heat-set with a heat gun and the color stays just fine.

From Linda Maloney - a button ring, held together with a long mini nut and bolt.

A few of the demo samples:

Results of Tumble Polishers Comparison

For those who missed our May meeting and tumble polishing demo, here is a quick overview. Betty Chaisson brought her Magnetic tumble polisher. At $500, it's a great option for those wanting to polish a lot of small items quickly. It looks like a mini food processor and work by whirling very tiny stainless steel pins in a solution of tumbling medium. Check out various other magnetic tumblers and mediums at Otto Frei.

Betty warned us not to mix metals when polishing silver. Tumbling work hardens fired PMC items as well as polishes....the longer you process, the shinier the piece gets.

Jennifer Finley brought 2 Rotary Tumblers - one a Lortone and one an economy model from Harbour Freight. Janie also brought her HF model - which had disappointed her by leaving a dark patina on a silver piece. (The Lortone small jewelry model retails for about $85 while the Harbor Freight model is under $40.) This type of tumbler also uses stainless steel shot, which will cost about $30/lb and is not carried by Harbor Freight.

Some rotary tumbler barrels are constructed from black rubber, and should be cleaned by running without jewelry....be sure to check the instructions! Even the magnetic tumbler info says to clean the tumbling medium/shot before using with jewelry.

TIP: Clean the shot by tumbling in flat Coca Cola.
TIP: Shot must be cleaned and dried after use, and stored dry to prevent rust!

Look before you buy! and know what use you will be making of your tumbler. Read How to Choose a Tumbler, Tumbling instructions, and know what you need before you purchase.

May 2010 Meeting - Tumble Polishers!

Member Betty Chaisson will help us learn about tumblers. She's bringing her magnetic tumbler, which operates differently than the rotary tumblers. (Janie is bringing one of those to compare.) View some types at Otto Frei online.

If you have SILVER pieces you want polished, bring them to the meeting. Betty will explain about the need for keeping separate tumbling mediums for various metals.

If you have a tumbler and want to add to the discussion, feel free to bring it. OR if you have had problems with using your tumbler, bring your questions and results.

We also invite everyone to bring your recent project for our Show & Tell.

March 2010 Meeting Demo

KC PMC Guild member Julie Van Hoecke will be doing our March 2010 meeting demo on Tuesday, March 16. (Check our website for meeting details.) Julie makes a LOT of PMC silver jewelry which she sells at shows in the area and that night she will be demonstrating how she makes one of her signature pieces - a large, embellished toggle clasp meant to be worn in the front, not the back, of your neck. She incorporates her clasps into the design of the necklace, making the clasp the focal point of her pieces.

This sample shows some of her embellishments - she uses CZs and glass cabochons in bezels, lots of textures and other interest to make her toggles way more than a device to provide closure. Don't miss this demo - it should be great.

If you would like to play along, be sure to bring your clay working tools, surface mat, textures and a cab or two.You will need a couple sterling silver "up eye" or 20 gauge sterling silver wire to make one. Up eyes are a ring with a post which is inserted into the clay and fired, providing a sturdy connecting ring to attach items to a fired PMC piece. Julie will have some of the silver up-eyes people can buy for $2.00 each. They are available at Fire mountain # H20-4211FY at Fire Mountain.com.

Guests are welcome - you can visit our meetings twice before we ask you to join and pay our membership dues.