What a Trip!

A highlight of our recent KCPMC Guild July meeting was a report from a lucky trio who recently spent a week in New Orleans (great city) studying fabrication techniques with Thomas Mann (great Mann) at his new French Quarter studio.

Do NOT let these sweet faces fool you - if their report was anything close to their experience, NOLA is  recovering from another hurricane!

Mazzie, Carol and Liz brought samples of the pieces they made, using a wide variety of fabrication techniques to create personal pieces like this "sandwich" pendant using an old photo of Mazzie's father as a child.

We hope they will share some of their newly acquired expertise at future meetings. We already know their stand-up routine is wonderful!

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

Susan Breen Silvy

Have you checked the most recent issue (July 2011) of Art Jewelry? (Received mine in today's mail.) The Artist's Profile article in this issue is about Susan Breen Silvy - member of the Kansas City Chapter of the PMC Guild.
A Conversation with Susan Breen Silvy

A multimedia artist celebrates the challenge of taking an underdog medium into new territory. 

 

It's a terrific article and show great photos of some of her art - both glass, faux bone and metal clays. Susan joined our guild chapter this past year and is sponsoring a class by Barbara Becker Simon in August (registration is full).

If you don't subscribe to Art Jewelry, check it out at local bead shops. She's one of us!

Way to go, Gale!

 KCPMC Guild member Gale Schlagel recently donated one of her large PMC lentils with gold keumboo and crystal necklaces to a local charity auction - and it ended up on tv last week. Worn by NBC Action News anchor Elizabth Alex, Gale's piece caught my attention right away.

Here's the link to the story and video for a better view. Stamp Out Hunger drive brings 223,000 pounds of food to metro non-profit organizations

Gale has a website if you want to see more of her work. She has been featured or interviewed on Metal Clay Today and on REview.

Now, if only the news anchor had been wearing a sign that said "jewelry created by local artist member of KCPMC Guild"!!

May 17 Meeting

Jen Finley will be demonstrating using PMC oil paste on porcelain and Art Clay overlay past on glass to add dimensional silver to porcelain or glass.

Meeting begins at 7 pm at Harder Driving School.
If you have done anything for the Kansas City Fountains Challenge, bring it to this meeting!
To work along at the meeting here is the list of tools to bring:

PMC3/Art Clay paste

• paper type and/or syringe type metal clay (optional for decoration)
• CZs or fireable stones (optional for decoration)
• paint brush
• water container
• sanding supplies
• work surface
• pipe cleaners/chenille stems

Supplies for glass or porcelain:

• Art Clay Overlay Paste
• glass cab, china shards, etc.
• paint brush
• water container
• work surface
• pointy tool to scratch off metal clay for sgraffito, like a sewing needle

Jen will have some bisque bead blanks and dichroic glass cabs available for purchase.

April - Guest Speaker Jean Noren

Thanks to Jean Noren of Blue Springs who spent her evening with us. She shared her various methods of incorporating PMC Silver onto her porcelain pottery - from silver embellished porcelain figures (such as dragonflies) added after firing, to pieces with PMC paste or clay painted or embedded onto pieces that have been through two firings (bisque and glazed stages).

She brought samples - which we forgot to photograph! But included pit-fired and horse hair fired pieces. Her colors were muted and lovely, her pots graceful and sturdy. Wish we could show you.

Thanks again, Jean.

Plasma Cutter Fun!

Thanks to Robin MacIntosh and LeAnne Doljac for their riveting demonstrations of plasma cutting and connecting metals.

Robin brought the plasma cutter - her's is a small one, but was still the size of a shop compressor - plus a small shop table, heavy duty clamps, leather aprons and gauntlets, protective eye-wear and a bag of tins to cut. Everyone got a chance to try out cutting thin tin (the type used to package cookies or popcorn ).

The cutting produces sparks but was really pretty easy to cut various rough shapes. Fine control of the cutter obviously takes practice! as seen by these rough shapes.

LeAnne uses a much larger plasma cutter and cuts heavier metal salvaged from old cars! From this, she creates pieces with amazing detail, requiring a practiced hand to control cutting small details.
She brought some dog portraits - made from layering cut metal with pop rivets.

Her dog portraits looked so amazingly real it was hard to believe they were once car hoods.


 You can view more of LeAnne's work here. She demonstrated using riveting tools and pop-rivets as well as eyelets and other types of cold connections.

Robin uses smaller pieces of cut tin for making jewelry and wall art. This angel's wings were cut with the plasma cutter...

What fun we had! Thanks again to LeAnne and Robin.