Friday, September 28, 2012

Metal Clay Heads Winged Flight Challenge Results

Our Winged Flight Challenge Results Are Here!
We challenged our team members on creating a design with the theme "Winged Flight" with any technique of their choice and received eight amazing entries. Here are the results:

By Popular Vote:
1. Winged Steampunk Escutcheon Necklace - Zoeowyn with 11 votes
2. Conjoined Twin Cat & Dog Bronze Pendant - AnnaSiivonen with 10 votes
3. Fairy Wing Necklace with Rainbow Spinel & Sapphire - Envydesignsjewelry with 9 votes

By Technical Vote:
1. Conjoined Twin Cat & Dog Bronze Pendant - AnnaSiivonen with 3 votes
2. Fairy Wing Necklace with Rainbow Spinel & Sapphire - Envydesignsjewelry with 2 votes
2. Winged Steampunk Escutcheon Necklace - Zoeowyn with 2 votes

Overall (based on percentage recalculation of the two above):
1. Conjoined Twin Cat & Dog Bronze Pendant - AnnaSiivonen (26%/38%)
2.
Winged Steampunk Escutcheon Necklace - Zoeowyn (29%/25%)
3.
Fairy Wing Necklace with Rainbow Spinel & Sapphire - Envydesignsjewelry (24%/25%)

AnnaSiivonen won our Winged Flight Challenge by wining the technical category! Zoeowyn's work is amazing and won the well-deserved popular poll. Congrats to both of them!



Thanks for all the MCHs who participated, and thanks to YOU who voted! Our next challenge will be mid-November. In the meantime, don't forget to enter our blog giveaway here.

Monday, September 17, 2012

The possibilities with Metal Clay are endless - Harriet

Our blog feature artist for September is Harriet from HGWjewelrydesigns. Harriet enjoys working with a variety of materials, including gemstones, pearls, wire, copper and brass. She uses fine and sterling silver to create her unique jewelry. Harriet is interested in making bold pieces with sophisticated and natural shapes. Her preferred medium is metal clay, with its endless possibilities!

Black and Yellow Geometric Design Enamel Pendant by Harriet

When did you first become interested in Metal Clay? How long have you been designing jewelry using Metal Clay?

When I was laid off from my position as curator of American art at our local museum, I wanted to find something I could do that would still be art related. I began taking classes in metalsmithing and Metal Clay. I do both, but prefer Metal Clay, because the possibilities with this medium are endless. I have been designing Metal Clay jewelry for three years.

What was your first piece of Metal Clay jewelry?

The first piece I created in Metal Clay was a simple pendant with a hole in the top for a jump ring. There were no stones or other intricate work, just easy so we could see how the medium worked.

Double Teardrop Silver Enamel Pendant with Large Dichoric Glass Stone by Harriet
 
What inspires you?

I am inspired by my background as an art historian. I love all periods of art. I take inspiration from classical and abstract art. I know this sounds like opposite ends of the spectrum, but you would be surprised how much abstraction is in classical art.

What are the major challenges when creating Metal Clay jewelry?

Making rings is my most challenging Metal Clay activity. Because of the shrinkage I am never certain the size I want will be the size I obtain even though I use inserts and follow instructions. Sometimes I create the ring flat and fire it in the kiln or with a torch and then mold it to the size I want. This process works very well with band rings.


PMC Silver Dichroic Glass Cabochon Pendant by Harriet

 What do you enjoy most about working in Metal Clay?

I enjoy the manipulation of the clay. The freedom it gives me to make changes, additions and corrections. I can actually explore the design while creating it, along with changing and reinventing as I go along.

What is the biggest mistake you ever made? What did you learn from it?

I have made this mistake several times before realizing what I was doing wrong. I was setting dichroic glass into my Metal Clay pendants, firing them at the correct lower temperature and ending up with a very nice pendant. But when I used a flexshaft on the silver to polish it I cracked the glass. The first time I thought the glass cracked in the kiln, but the second time I was very careful to check the glass and only noticed the crack after using the shaft. I learned not to use a flexshaft anywhere near dichroic glass jewelry. The vibrations can cause the glass to crack.

Harriet is giving away a Scalloped PMC Pendant with an intricate pattern adorned with a 3mm CZ in the middle. The pendant is generous in size of 1 1/4 inches in diameter! Talk about bold!



To enter our blog giveaway please follow these rules:

Every person is eligible to enter the blog giveaway with up to FOUR (4) entries. How can you get an entry? You can do any of the following and then let us know that by leaving a comment under this feature so we can keep track.

1. Follow our blog = 1 entry
2. Check out featured artist and post favorite piece on the blog = 1 entry
3. Heart featured artist’s shop = 1 entry
4. Follow featured artist on Facebook = 1 entry
5. Make a purchase = 2 entries
6. Refer a friend = 1 entry
7. Tweet about the giveaway using key word metalclayheads = 1 entry
8. Share the Metal Clay Heads blog giveaway link on FB (Go to http://www.facebook.com/MetalClayHeadTeam and click Share) = 1 entry
9. If you voted and commented on our last challenge = 1 entry

The giveaway will run for two weeks. We will announce the winner on October 2nd. Good luck!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

MCHs Winged Flight Challenge

Our quarterly challenge is back, cast your vote NOW!

This quarter we challenged our Metal Clay Heads to create an art piece with the theme "Winged Flight," with any technique that is best for creating the work. Here comes the amazing work from our talented members!

Silver Wings Earrings with Garnet by YorkAvenueStudio

 



Genuine Garnet gemstone earrings shaped like wings. This design style is organic and natural and each pair is made to order fresh just for you. Wings have so much personal meaning and I hope these earrings will give you inspiration. Comfortable and lightweight, these wings can be worn everyday.

Collector's Flight Pick Monument by Mcbisco

 


The Flight Pick Monument includes this beautiful display case, The Flight Pick Necklace, one thin Flight Pick and one thick Flight Pick. The Pick Monument can sit on a table or hang on the wall. The picks sit in a bamboo pedestal, making them easily to pick up and use. The necklace can be removed by lifting up the roof. The Flight Picks are part of a limited edition of 25 picks. (number one and number 2) The picks are made with Bronze Metal Clay.

Winged Steampunk Escutcheon Necklace by Zoeowyn

 


This handmade copper necklace features a pendant with gears, and dial and winged Victorian styled escutcheon. The necklace chain is highlighted with small gears, and the lobster clasp is part of the design up front.

Conjoined Twin Cat & Dog Bronze Pendant  by AnnaSiivonen

 

Siamese cat & dog twins with bat wings. This started outh with me thinking it was a fun ideĆ” to make a cat and a dog share a body, but the conjoined cat and dog pendant didn´t hang right and I felt it needed "more umph", and what could be better to umph it up with than bat wings.

Silver Wing Pendant, flight by Jewelflyt

 

This beautiful fine silver pendant features a unique feather texture. A wing shaped flight of fancy, created from an original hand-drawn texture.

flight has been given a soft brushed silver finish, with selected areas polished to a high shine to enhance the texture.

Night Flight by Satorydesigns

 


A beautiful swallow with a lovely peridot set in, flying around a circle with 3 black diamonds. Flying thru the night on a delicate chain 16 or 18" in length. One available in this combination of Peridot and Black Diamonds.

Fairy Wing Necklace with Rainbow Spinel & Sapphire by Envydesignsjewelry

 


This fairy wing pendant, I made with recycled fine silver. Hanging from a handmade chain of sparkling rainbow spinel and sunny yellow sapphires. The gemstones are wrapped with sterling silver wire. Dropped off the bottom of the fairy's wing is a mystic Imperial topaz briolette.

Moonbat I Necklace by ElementsArtifacts 

 


Bats are lucifugous little creatures, often associated with the night, Halloween, and vampires. The folklore on these creatures is vast, including the belief that bats taking wing in the evening are departed spirits coming to visit the living, or that after death the spirit of the departed hovers near his or her body as a bat.

Vote Now!

Please cast your vote using the Public Poll at the right.  Voting will be open for two weeks and will close September 25th. The Winner of the Challenge will be announced shortly after. (The Technical Poll is for MCHs team members only.)

Please leave a comment below to be automatically entered into the next Jewelry Giveaway Drawing held soon!

Winged Flight Challenge Technical Poll

This technical poll is open to MCHs team members only, all other entries will be deleted. Thank you!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Yes, Sandra! You Won!

Congrats to Sandra who won our August blog giveaway! Sandra will receive the beautiful Mars Exploration jewelry set created by Kathy of Mostly Stoneware. The Mars Exploration set "was inspired by the recent exploration of Mars" and Kathy's vision of "how Mars might look" if she was able to see the surface.


Thanks for all of you who have entered and don't miss our next blog giveaway scheduled mid-September by following us! Thanks to Kathy who participated and giveaway such an amazing jewelry set. Our September challenge will be up pretty soon as well!

Happy Labor Day to you!