This Sunday: Creative Marketplace in Verona (for the second year!)

Once again, I’ll be joining some other members of the Western PA Chapter of the Precious (and non-precious…) Metal Clay Guild out at the Creative Marketplace that’s to be held in the Municipal Park (down by the Allegheny River) in Verona, PA this Sunday, June 1, from 11 am to 3 pm. I will likely take off by Noon, myself, but I’ll leave a collection of pieces under the care of my fellow guild members. If you’re in the neighborhood, please stop by!

The photo with this post shows two of the pieces I’ll have for sale there. The rectangular one was made from Hadar’s “Dark Champagne Bronze” and I’ve embellished it with a “clear” CZ stone on this side, to add an extra bit of sparkle. The round one was made from Hadar’s “Friendly Copper” plus a “lavender” CZ (which is more sparkly in person than this photo might lead you to believe; though the “clear” one is much brighter still…). On their “other” sides, the designs involve several layers, to add more visual interest through varying depths.

Many of the pieces I’ll have for sale (including these two) were textured using some interesting vinyl wallpaper bits and pieces I was lucky enough to get last month at a “designer samples” give-away sponsored by the wonderful Pittsburgh Center for Creative ReUse. I’ve been having a lot of fun playing with those: the underlying texture and the printed-on pattern are often very different! The pattern is what your eyes first see on the sample, but it’s the texture that shows up on these pieces. And as you can probably see here, while some of the textures end up looking fairly rough, some come out all smooth and shiny, and still others can be polished to reveal interesting contrasts. Until I figure out for sure which samples yield which results, I’m sticking to making fairly simple pieces with them. Most of the pieces are reversible (of course!), but still just basic shapes with small highlights (rather than the more complex, and longer-to-make, ones like various hollow bead structures with different kinds of openings, channels, etc.).

For marketplace customers, of course, that means these new pieces of mine will fall into the more “affordable” range this Sunday!

Softly Draping Hard Metals

I have to admit something: I love “draping” metal clay! The clay is so soft and pliable, and the end results are so satisfying!

I am impressed with many of the effects that can be obtained via various “metalsmithing” techniques, but this draping is just sooo different from working with “solid” metal (sheet, wire, etc.). Yes, there are a lot of little “tricks” involved in successfully draping a mix of powdered metal, binders, and water, but it still is a relatively easy process for achieving a look that is much more difficult to achieve via any methods used with, say, sheet metal.

All the photos in this particular post were made with Hadar’s new-ish Friendly Bronze metal clay powder. At one point or another, I’ve draped every clay I’ve ever tried: every brand, every metal, etc. (OK, no, I haven’t done this with gold. It should work, but I don’t feel I can afford to use gold for anything this big. Of course, if you can afford it, I’d be absolutely thrilled to “drape” a gold piece for you on commission!) But all the different brands of silvers, coppers, bronzes, steels: yes! I’ve draped those.

In fact, there’s one very-special thing I do with draping that I teach in my metal clay workshops. Yes, while I do share a lot here on the blog, there’s even more that happens in person! You see, this little post is not only about draping metal clay. It’s also a little bit about workshops. (My plan is to mention workshops a few times, in this and several other posts over the next few months, then tie that together with one specifically about classes and workshops, both ones I offer myself and those offered by others.)

Anyway, the two draped oblong shapes are ones that I made in advance of a recent workshop. They were fun to make. I fired them both before the class; they ended up being about 37 mm long (excluding bail) and 25 mm wide. The idea was for me to have finished polishing one completely, and use the other one in my demonstration illustrating some techniques (and potential issues) in polishing such drapings. They also served to illustrate two of the many different bail-mechanisms that can be used for hanging the piece.

The long and narrow piece was begun during the in-class demo. It illustrates a different kind of draping, and a different kind of bail structure, both of which are harder to describe (but still easy to show) compared to the first two (oblong) pieces. It’s 66 mm long by 24 mm wide, and contains a little over 24 grams of metal.

The last photo shows two sides of a fourth piece. Also constructed mostly during in-class demos, it’s the biggest of this lot: 45 mm high by 56 mm wide. It weighs a little over 33 grams (including a CZ on each side, but excluding all the chain on which it’s hung). While I was manipulating it in class, we talked about things like overall size and weight versus maneuverability and polishing constraints. (You may notice this piece has a separate backing, while the two oblong ones do not, and the longer-narrower piece folds over on itself.)

Have you tried draping metal clay yet? If so, please leave a note about it in the comments!

This Weekend: Open House and More in Regent Square

This Saturday is the annual community-wide Yard Sale organized by the Regent Square Civic Association.

Because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around the neighborhood that day, it’s also the first day of the Wilkins School Community Center‘s Spring fundraiser, the Herb and Used Book Sale from 9 am to 3 pm. (See the poster, above-right.) There are tons of books available for $1 each (including lots of children’s- and cook-books) but, if you want any of their plants, it’s usually wise to arrive early. (The hanging baskets, in particular, are looking gorgeous this year!)

And, because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around WSCC, at the same time as the Herb and Used Book Sale I’ll hold an Open House in my studio too. For years I’ve been describing its location as “upstairs, above the front door” at WSCC, but I now have a room number: it’s 25!

In addition to my usual Art Jewelry selections, this year I’ll have a collection of Aloe Vera plants for sale too. I see those as consistent with my art because they are great to put on burns, as in those little mistakes with torch or kiln…! I’ll have a few of the plants outside my room for “early birds” to buy on the “honor system” … and will try to get there by 9 to open up the room for the jewelry. (I’d planned to be there in plenty of time for 10, but just realized the WSCC sale starts at 9 this year….)

Then, on Sunday from 12 – 3 pm, WSCC will continue their Book Sale (a whole bag for just $5!) and I will be there running a workshop from 12 – 5 pm. If you can’t get to Regent Square on Saturday, you’d be welcome to stop by on Sunday instead, as long as you understand that the class is first priority. You’re welcome to look at what’s on display, and I can stop and talk to you for a few minutes during various break-times.

After that, the next chances to purchase some of my creations will be in our Metal Clay Guild’s booth at the Creative Marketplace in Verona on June 1, and then in the Koolkat both down at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, June 6 to 15. More on those shortly! I look forward to seeing and talking in-person with some of my “local” readers at one or more of these events!