So what are the best ways to test metal clay for optimal…
optimal everything. Optimal sintering,
optimal strength, optimal good looks.
When I last posted, I was running some test to determine the
highest temp I could go for phase two of my firing schedule because I believe
finding the highest temp where your piece still looks good is better than
finding the lowest temp where you piece appears to be sintered.
Until convinced otherwise, I believe pieces can appear fully
sintered based on superficial tests/appearances and conversely, fully sintered
pieces can appear unsintered based on tests that may have nothing to do with
sintering. I also feel like the porosity
of a piece diminishes with higher temps.
Anyway, got the results of the final test strip from my last
batch of tests. It was only one piece,
7-cards thick.
Ramp 1 500°F/hr
Holding Temp 1 1420°F for 1 hour
Carbon Under ½ inch
Carbon Over ½ inch
Ramp 2 full
Holding Temp 2 1460 (was previously 1470) for 2
hours
Everything seems okay.
Between that last test and now, I
discovered that I was using an out-dated instruction manual for Hadar’s clays.
So now, instead of a slow ramp for
phase one, I’m going to do a full ramp, but only to 1000°F where I’ll still
hold for an hour.
I’m keeping the carbon under and
over the same.
Between then (I wrote the above
back in November) and now, I’ve had continued success firing with the following
changes from before (way before, when things weren’t going well):
1)
I only use ½ inch (or maybe a smidge more) of carbon under the pieces
2)
Holding temp for phase 1 is 1000 degrees
Earlier this week, I ran my first
mixed metal test and it’s the first time the pieces EVER came out flat and
showing no signs of over-firing with phase 2 being only 10 degrees less than
the instruction manual. Could having a
thick layer of carbon beneath the clay have THAT much to do with changing the
firing temps?
Anyway, I finished my year-long course
and am now a fully accredited teacher of Hadar’s clays and techniques. I hope to start classes after the new year.
Here are a couple of my latest
pieces. Those who follow Hadar’s books may
recognize some of the techniques used to create these. Everything you see here is stuff I’ll be
teaching (in the Sacramento area).
Project Runway Wisdom and the
Color Green
On to other things. You all know I watch Project Runway… never
miss it. On the latest episode one of
the designers made a green dress and the adviser said something like, “Oooooh, green
never sells. Haven’t you noticed there’s
never a green dress on a magazine cover?”
Hm… this reminded me of something I heard a long time ago in one of the
beading forums… that green is the hardest jewelry to sell.
I was shocked. Do you have any experience with this? Do you agree?
Disagree?
So when I heard it again, in
reference to clothing, I wondered… maybe there’s something to this.
Speaking of Project Runway, here
are some things I’ve learned from the show over the years that relate directly
to being a jewelry artist:
- Be recognizably you… people should
be able to see your work and know you are the artist
- Catch people’s attention… well
constructed is great, but your work also needs to be eye-catching
- Make do… be willing and able to
change direction should the design or circumstances call for it
- Be able to explain… if Tim Gunn
(or anyone else) asks you about your design don’t say “I don’t know”
- Get out of your comfort zone… if you’re
good at everything you do, you’re not pushing yourself to new heights or
challenging yourself enough
Production Work
A couple of things happened recently to make me realize the
value of production work. I think there
was something inside of me that equated production work with assembly line
work, and it’s done me nothing but a disservice.
I have recently been discovering the value (and trust me, it’s
INVALUABLE) of doing production work.
When I tried to learn to solder, it was hit and miss. I soldered like one or two days, every couple
of years. No wonder my soldering skills
were so lacking.
A friend was recently telling me about when he was learning
to solder. He was told to put 100 fluxed
silver disks onto his soldering block, and place 100 solder chips onto those
disks, and then to start with row one, column one and solder an earring post to
each and everyone one of those disks, just one after the other.
By the 100th disk, he was much better at
soldering than when he started.
The value of practicing a skill over and over when first learning
it is something that can’t be over estimated.
I recently had occasion to make 100 pair of earrings… so
that’s 200 of the same thing. From
me. The person who can’t even stand to
make ONE pair of earrings because it involves repeating something that I just
did… once.
So here I am, committed to making 200 of the same thing.
200 times:
- Measure and cut a wire
- File the cut ends
- Shape the wire into a spiral with two extra curves
- Hammer the spiral
- Measure and cut another wire
- Wire-wrap a bead onto the spiral
- Polish the spiral
- Attach an earwire
Tada!
84 down,116 to go...
Was it boring?
Mostly. But becoming a better
jewelry maker isn’t all about keeping myself entertained. Did my skill improve? Most definitely. Anything else? As a matter of fact, yes. As I progressed, I found better ways to do
things. Slight improvements to my
methods happened here and there.
In 2014, I plan to continue my explorations in production
work, balanced with my usual one of a kind, time-consuming pieces.
And Photography
It’s not just about jewelry-making either. I’ve been pretty slack on listing anything
new for a month of so, so today I had like 17 or 18 pieces ready to list.
First, I decided not to struggle with photographing. I just shot everything on a plain light gray
background. I realize the pieces would “pop”
more if I used like gradient or all black or all white, but I just wasn’t in
the mood today to face any disappointment or antagonistic responses from my
camera So… basic photography.
One close-up shot of each piece from straight overhead. One angled shot of each piece showing the back
and the entire necklace chain. And one
shot of each piece on a model for size reference and drape.
I got all the shots of all the pieces done (shot and edited)
in a couple hours. To say that’s a new
record for me would be a huge understatement.
As I go on, I will try to improve my photography, but for
right now, simplicity is my friend.
Either way, production in photography is key. No more taking an hour just to shoot one
piece.
Sharing Time: Metalsmithing Videos, A (Gentle) Rant About
Pricing, and Where to Find the Christmas Lights
Sharing time includes links I’m passing along to you that
were brought to my attention from one of the social media sites I frequent each
day.
Liz Smith wrote this blog post that sparked a lot of
agreement by some of our SRAJD members.
It starts out: “I've been thinking lately about pricing for
handmade goods. It's so tricky, one of the hardest things to calculate for
makers and the first question they ask every handmade selling guru…” And it
leads to the question of what to say when someone requests a discount. To read the blog post, click here.
Totally off topic, but still important… here’s a great website that shows you where the big Christmas light displays are in your area. And here’s a site specifically for California.
Alright, that’s it for now.
Back to work. See you soon!
