Art Clay Silver Professional 950 review

Binnenkort komt er een nieuwe klei op de markt: Art Clay Silver 950! De klei bestaat voor 90% uit zilver en koper legering en 10% is bindmiddel en water. De krimp is circa 11-13%. De zuiverheid na het bakken is 950 zilver. Dat heeft als grote voordeel dat de klei na het bakken veel sterker is dan de reguliere Art Clay Silver klei.

Het vormen en drogen is hetzelfde als je gewend bent van de reguliere Art Clay Silver klei. Het bakken duurt echter een pak langer:
1. Plaats je werkstukken in de oven bij kamertemperatuur.
2. Bak 30 min op 500°C.
3. Bak daarna 60 min op 850°C.
4. Laat in de oven afkoelen tot minstens 200°C.

Op vraag van Craftlines heb ik de nieuwe klei uitgetest. Hieronder vind je mijn testresultaten.

Ik vind de klei heel aangenaam werken en ook het afbakken verliep prima. Ik heb 2 teststrips mee in de oven gestoken en die na het bakken gebogen met tangetjes en dat lukte prima. Geen barsten in de teststrips dus alles perfect gesinterd. Daarna heb ik de teststrips terug recht proberen trekken. Daarbij is de dunne teststrip gebroken.

Voor de eerste ring wou ik testen hoe dun ik zou kunnen gaan met de nieuwe klei. Voor de ringband heb ik de klei heel dun gespoten met een spuitje en bovenaan een kleine decoratie met een bezelcup gemaakt. Na het bakken was de ringband nog lichtjes plooibaar. Na extra uitharden door te hameren met een metalen hamertje is de ringband 1mm dik en 1,5mm breed en verbazingwekkend stevig.

       

 

Verder heb ik ook getest of je de ACS950 en de reguliere spuitpasta, ondanks het verschil in krimp, kan combineren. Er is bij mijn cliënteel veel vraag naar de 'lijntjesringen' dus ik was hier heel benieuwd naar. Ik heb de basisring (1mm dik) en de roosjes gemaakt van de ACS950. Voor de lijntjes heb ik de reguliere spuitpasta gebruikt. Ik heb de ring afgebakken volgens het bakproces van de ACS950. Alles is mooi aan elkaar gehecht. De ACS950 en de reguliere spuitpasta kan je dus perfect combineren.

Met de derde ring wou ik nagaan of de klei makkelijk te modelleren en graveren valt. Ook hier ervaar ik weinig verschil met de reguliere klei.

Alledrie de ringen hadden voor het bakken Japanse ringmaat 20 en na het bakken Japanse ringmaat 14,5. Ze zijn dus beide 5,5 maten gekrompen.

Underwater Love

This set of pendants, named Underwater Love, was created for the Art Clay Silver Accessories Contest 2015, organised by Aida Chemical Industries and Art Clay Japan. I am very grateful that this piece won a special award in the contest. An overview of all the winners can be found on the Art Clay Japan website.

The theme for this year's contest was 'My Favorite'. Of course I choose the underwaterworld. I love freediving and I love to be in the sea or the ocean. :)

My goal was to create a set of pendants that, when you hold them together, show 1 underwater scenery, but that can be worn separately. By using the underwater theme in my art work I hope to create awareness for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and reefs that are slowly being destroyed by overfishing, plastic and garbage dumped in our oceans, global warming, …

I choose to combine Art Clay Silver with different materials. In the 1st pendant I used a small glass cabochon that I melted myself with a torch. In the 2nd pendant I used a little shell that I made with Art Clay gold. The 3rd pendant has a cubic zirconia. I used a bezel because this color of zirconia could not be fired in place. The last pendant has only Art Clay Silver. The bails are made using Art Clay Syringe around a straw. The texture on the pendants is made with silver paste and a paint brush. All pendants are oxidised with liver of sulphur. I also tried to play with the character of the pendants. Some of them are rather sober while some of them show a lot of movement.

 

As you can see on one of the pictures, there were supposed to be 5 panels instead of 4. To be honest, I completely messed up one panel by overfiring gold paste on it. It was the evening before the deadline and I did not have the time neither the energy to fix it again.

Even though throught my eyes the set was not complete anymore, I decided to send in the 4 remaining panels anyway, but I never expected to win an award. Imagine my surprise when our distributor called me to tell the happy news. 

So important lesson learned: Never give up on a piece. Even if you only see the 'mistakes', other people can still see the beauty of it! ;)

Circle Dot Collection

I am happy to present my latest work, the Circle Dot Collection. :)

It all started with this stamp! It is accually a stamp for ink on paper, but it works perfectly with metal clay as well.

I started with creating different type of circles in Art Clay Silver. In the middle of the pendant and the earrings, I have placed a bezel for a cabochon. After sanding and firing, I have put cateye cabochons in the bezels. 

For the necklace I have put dfferent circles together with silver paste. In 1 of the circles I also attached a bezel for a cabochon. After firing I have attached a necklace. 

All pieces are oxidised with liver of sulfur. 

 

 

I love roses

I love roses! They are ancient symbols of love and beauty. So I often decorate my designs with little roses. They look gorgeous and they are very easy to make.

I made a mold of a resin flower that I bought in a craftshop. You can find them in many sizes and shapes. I used two component silicone to make the mold. 

When using the mold with metal clay, the trick is to use only a little amount of clay to get a delicate and fragile look. If you use too much clay, the rose becomes too thick and it becomes harder to attach it to your piece.

Using this little roses in my designs regularly gives my work a uniform look, even though I combine metal clay with many different materials and techniques.

Here are some pictures of designs decorated with the roses... Enjoy the eye candy! :)

Keepsake Vessel

One of my recent keepsake vessels. I really enjoy making them. I think I'm getting addicted! :)

This piece is made of Art Clay Silver, decorated with tiny roses and oxidised with liver of sulphur.

Art Clay Master Award

Today I had the honor of receiving the Art Clay Master Award.

Thank you, Craflines and Art Clay Europe/World, for believing in me!

Red Roses

A ring made with Art Clay Silver and Cernit polymer clay, inspired by spring!

I love the combination of the dark oxidised silver and the bright red polymer clay. I hope you like it to! :)