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Trumpet Vine Ring of PMC and Sterling Silver
I created the table for the ring by molding Fine Silver Precious Metal Clay into an antique button mold to create the trumpet fine motif. After sintering the table, it was soldered to an adjustable bypass style ring of Sterling Silver, but the bypass of the ring passes under the table and is concealed. Liver of Sulfur patination was performed only to the top of the ring and then it was tumbled in steel shot to create a contrast in color of deep gold coloration in the background with the high points being burnished back to silver. The band or shank of the ring is bright polished Sterling Silver and the back of the Fine Silver PMC Trumpet Vine table is also bright polished Silver. Only the top surface of the ring is treated with the patination. It's a large table for a ring with a diameter of 23mm or about 7/8 inch. A sumptuous weight and size with an Art Nouveau flavor in the swirling motif of very detailed trumpet vines!
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Trumpet Vine Ring Back View
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Magic Lagoon Pendant Front
This complex, layered, pendant design has been artfully crafted from a stick from an Oak Tree, a leaf from my Ornamental Jasmine out in my garden, and a focal of elegantly layered dichroic glass in a large cabochon. Lab created gemstones of Citrine, Olivine, and Orange Sapphire accent the scroll work at the top of the pendant and Fine Silver Granules accent the piece at the leaf and the scroll. All of the silver work is from Precious Metal Clay. The Fine Silver (99.9% pure Silver), the art glass, and the lab created gemstones have all been carefully annealed for a long enduring quality and beauty. The piece has significant weight (not flimsy) and measures 2 3/8 inches side to side. Top of the bail to bottom of the leaf measures 2 inches. Front to back measures 11mm at the scroll work. It's a one of a kind design collaborating my PMC work with the dichroic cabochon work of Carolyn Relei.
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Magic lagoon Pendant Back
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Lace on Water Fine Silver and Gemstones Pendant
I textured both sides of this pendant so that the fold over bail at the top reveals an interesting contrast in texture with the watered texture of the main body of the pendant! Lace work has been extruded over the surface around one Amethyst, with trails like ribbons streaming at an angle across the water! More lace work has been extruded over the bail section with five tiny accent balls of silver where the fold over bail attaches at the front of the pendant. The Fine Silver work was created with Precious Metal Clay, rendering a pendant of Fine Silver (not Sterling) that is 99.9% pure Silver. The Amethyst and Cubic Zirconia are all lab created gemstones. Natural gemstones have inclusions that crack and get ugly when exposed to the high heat necessary to reduce Precious Metal Clay to Solid Silver. Lab Created gemstones do not have inclusions and tolerate the necessary heat very well. An oval faceted Amethyst, a round cabochon Amethyst, and a round faceted Cubic Zirconia have been utiliz...
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Lace on Water - another view
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Lace on Water Pendant Back View
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Second Dichroic Pendant Element
On the First Pendant element I backed the dichroic cabochon with the Silver Setting. For this one the back of the cabochon is left free of Silver and is wrapped in a girdle of silver that spirals to capture three lab created stones. An Oriental Jasmine leaf left over from some of my other projects accents below with a granule of pure silver where it joins the vein. Above, I burned out a small stick of oak that was coated in 9 layers of Silver paste and it is permanently joined to the pendant at the back. Next I will be wire wrapping the stick with Sterling Silver wire in vine style to serve as connectors for Sterling chain to complete the necklace! This composition is sizable and measure 2 3/8 inches across on the stick. Top to bottom measurement is 1 1/2 inches. Of the pieces that I have designed so far, this is the one I feel would best benefit from a Liver of Sulphur Patina. It would provide some golden highlights and with extra treatment to the leaf and applied granules, I think th...
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First Cab Set Heart Charms
Rolled out Silver clay was texture, poked for holes at the top, and tiny hearts were cut out and applied to the front and then textured as well.
A small round cutter was used to cut round windows to mount lab created gemstones in. This cute little heart compositions will make great charms for a bracelet or earrings and measure 1/2 inch.
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First Dichroic Brooch Element
This is my first attempt at several techniques. Creating a bezel to support a cabochon, flush setting a stone, creating a bezel setting for a small stone,adding texture to a large surface, and adding casting granules to a design. It has about 45 grams of pure Silver in it, and two lab created gemstones of Amethyst and Citrine. It is quite large, measuring 1 3/4 inches.
While this is pretty, I am not satisfied with it yet. I made a few blunders with the composition even after having read lots and lots of material on all of these techniques. There is nothing like actually doing a thing to really understand the complexities.
The composition is solid Fine Silver, all of the elements of the composition are securely fused, and the stones are well set. Those are the positives. The errors I made are these. I heated the brooch to 1650 and held for 10 minutes. I should have heated to 1450 and held for 30. This would have kept the cabochon from flowing and creating a slight wave...
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Baby Acorns of Fine Silver
I selected this specimen from my mother's back yard. A dry stick fallen from her Oak tree, still has baby acorns attached. Heavily coated with PMC3 Paste and fired at 1650 for 30 minutes, the organic material has been burned out. What remains is a jewelry component that I am still trying to decide how to treat. Perhaps I will use a stone setting drill point and drill out the centers of each acorn to accept a gemstone, or maybe add vines and leaves for a more complex composition. It is so beautiful just as it is that it will take some thought and careful planning.
"This is beatiful, Mona! L..."
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Morning Glory Leaves
Fall is here and my Morning Glories are almost gone. They have greeted us each morning with their lovely lavender faces. Now I have captured some of their leaves as a reminder of the loveliness that we have enjoyed from them all summer long!
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Ornamental Jasmine Leaves
The patch of Morning Glories in the center of our oval cameo garden has a thick surrounding border of Ornamental Jasmine. The leaves of the Jasmine are small and precious in shape. I expect these will make lovely drops for some earrings!
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Oriental Jasmine Leaf Necklace
Layering 9 coats of precious metal paste of Fine Silver to the backs of Oriental Jasmine leaves, I torch fired these precious leaves from my garden! The eight leaves are not dipped or plated. They are 99.9% pure Fine Silver and are imprinted by the leaves that have been burned away. The necklace has an adjustable length of up to 19 1/2 inches. Necklace chain and lobster clasp are all of Sterling Silver and the chain is finished with another of the Fine Silver Oriental Jasmine Leaves. The longest leaf is 1 1/8 inches with a maximum width of 1/2 inch. The smallest leaf 5/8 inches long and 3/8 inch wide at the end of the chain!
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Oriental Jasmine Leaf Necklace Closeup
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Fine Silver Leaf
After about 8 or 9 coats of Precious metal clay slip painted onto a leaf, it was ready for the kiln. Once out of the kiln, the leaf was tumbled, then treated with Liver of Sulphur to produce the colorations you see in the picture! The leaf is quite large.
If you are working with PMC for the first time, I suggest a smaller leaf. It is much easier for many reasons. If at any time I decide I don't like the coloring that the Liver of Sulphur treatment resulted in, I can simply burn it off with a torch and have my leaf back to bright and shiny Silver in a matter of a few minutes without disturbing the integrity of the leaf shape.
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Fine Silver Filigree Beads
Formed on bicones of formed cork medium, Silver Precious Metal Clay was drizzled in sort of a Cornelli Lace design. After burnout, the result was my first lacy Solid Fine Silver filigree beads!
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Fine Silver Shell Charm with Garnet Heart
I created this little charm by imprinting Silver PMC with a shell stamping, then making a penetrating hole through the clay with a straw. The hole was lined around the top with precious metal clay from a syringe to create a bezel and the heart faceted Garnet was pressed into the hole deep enough for the bezel to close around it's edges when fired. I also treated this charm with Liver of Sulphur, which turned the charm to a slightly golden color.
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Fine Silver Dragon Pendant
My first Pendant. Silver PMC was rolled out to 6 cards thickness and stamped with a dragon stamp. next it was rolled over and a long stringer of PMC was rolled around a straw and attached to the back with PMC paste to insure that the spiral bail would attach and become solid with the pendant. This piece was burnished in a tumbler and I am planning to experiment with some applied enamel in the next few days.
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Dragon Pendant Back
Here is the back view of the Dragon Pendant. There are many ways to form a bail for the back of a pendant, this was quick and easy. I was anxious to keep moving. She showed me several different styles of bails and all of them were fairly easy to do.
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First Molds For PMC
These to molds (impressions) were taken from vintage buttons. The left mold delivers a design that looks like a rose and the right mold is a nice sea shell impression! I am delighted to have learned how to make impressions that can be reused again and again!
I will probably spend a lot of time gathering impressions of items to use with PMC!
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