How Make a cane from Metal Clay

Materials you will need:

Clay extruder and discs- this will cut the circles and also extrude your canes

Pick at least 2 clays clays you would like to use. I will be using copper, bronze and steel pearl gray metal clay ( Hadar Jacobson brand)

6, 3 and 1 card stacks

olive oil, roller, suran wrap, small razor to lift circles

Step one:

Preparing for the cane

1. Take your copper clay and roll it 6 cards thick. Using the clay extruder cut 6 circle discs and place them on your board with suran wrap on top to keep them from drying out.

2. Take the bronze clay (or white bronze or both) roll it 3 cards thick. Cut 6 circle discs and place each one on each of the copper discs. Cover with the suran wrap.

3. Lastly you will roll the pearl gray steel 1 card thick. Again, cut 6 discs and place those on top of the bronze clay discs. cover with suran wrap.

**The copper needs to be approximately two times the amount of the bronze (or white bronze) because it creates an alloy where it connects. If the copper is not dominant the bronze will take over. This may also make the detail in your piece not so crisp. 


Copper 6 cards thick
Bronze 3 cards thick
White Bronze 3 cards thick
Steel 1 card thick

Step two:

Making the cane

1. Pick the shape disc you will want your cane to be. 

If you can't find a shape you like, make your own. Take copper clay (less shrinkage) 4 to 6 cards thick and make your shape. Dry it, clean it and fire it and you are ready to go!

2. Stack all the little stacks on top of each other. Starting with copper, bronze and steel, copper bronze and steel and so on. 

3. Load the clay stack into the extruder starting with the steel and ending with the copper. 

4. Place the disc of your choice into place and screw the top on.

5. Start to extrude. I make my canes about 3 inches long. I find any bigger they start to get distorted.

6.  Set each one to the side and cover while you make more.

7. Save all your left overs. it makes a great mix for backings or even just to add swirls of color to a plain piece you are making.

8. Store what ever you are not using in a sealed contain that you stick in the freezer. It keeps indefinately. When you are ready to use it again just pull it out. By the time I start slicing pieces off it already is softening.

Next blog post will be about creating a piece with your cane slices and creating mokume-gane.


Visit me on Etsy at DaVoria and my Blog

Canes from Metal Clay part 2

This is how you turn your clay canes into patterned pieces.

1. Lay your cane out straight

2. Slice it down the middle to check out your design

3. Keep making slices throughout the whole cane

4. Place the sliced pieces in your mold patterned side down.

peeking on the other side to make sure you like how it is coming a long

5. Lay it on the cup warming plate making sure it's protected by sticks or something so the mold doesn't melt. The piece will loosen and fall out of the mold when its dry.

6. This is how it comes out of the mold

7. There are some cracks so I start my sanding in circular eight  motion with 150 grit sand paper. sometimes the sanding makes the cracks disappear, sometimes it doesn't. I am showing you 2 different pieces. One has just been sanded and the other has been filled in and is ready to resand.

8. Continue the sanding. I go from 150 to 220 to 400. I stop when I'm happy with the piece. And I don't forget the sides. Adds such a cool touch to the piece. Once this is done I will add some sort of bail. (not shown here)

9. The last step before firing, when your piece is exactly how you want it, you will burnish it. Burnishing condenses the clay and makes sure the metals you are  joining are in fact joined.

Once this piece is fired and I'm sure it has sintered, I will clean it off with radial discs. If There are any cracks I will fill them and refire, unless I think the cracks are fitting to the piece. 

****This ring has cracks that need to be repaired. I will fill in the cracks and then just do the second phase of firing. Any uneven spots after it is fired I will sand and grind until it's smooth.

When my piece is as I like it, I buff it to a shine with 800 grid polishing paper and then 1200 grid. Then I treat it with Baldwins Patina which brings out the colors in the metals and shows the beautiful patterns that the canes have made.

Visit me on Etsy at DaVoria and my Blog

This is where we turn our creative juice into juicy creations!

MCHs Bench Roll Call Mini Series Part I

It could be the kitchen countertop ... it could be an old hand-me-down desk ... it could be an iron desk from the corner office ... No matter what it is, we jewelry artists call it the bench -- our little piece of heaven where we spend hours after hours perfecting our jewelry. It could be neat and tidy but many times it's quite messy.

Let's show you where we turn our inspirations into reality!

My Fabulous Work Station! -- Dawn of DaVoria Jewelry

I fell in love with this hoosier cabinet when my husband and I were browsing in an antique shop a few weeks ago. I had been wanting one for the longest time to use as my work station. More ...

Anise of Seavbeach Wins our May Team Challenge

We'd absolutely stunning entries this time, thanks to all who participated and his/her great work! Here are the results by categories:

By Popular Vote:

1) Fairy House by DaVoria with 26 votes
2) Message in a Bottle by Seavbeach with 19 votes
3) Butterfly Chrysalis Necklace by Envydesignsjewelry with 13 votes

By Technical Vote:

1)Message in a Bottle by Seavbeach with 17 votes
2) Vila Queen by Stardust with 7 votes
2) Micro Bucket Bouquet Necklace by SparkleBeeDesigns with 7 votes

Overall (based on percentage recalculation of the two above):

1) Message in a Bottle by Seavbeach
2) Fairy House by DaVoria
3) Micro Bucket Bouquet Necklace by SparkleBeeDesigns

Congrats to Ansie of Seavbeach! It was a very closed call. Anise will have the honor of picking our next challenge theme! Thanks to all who voted!

Our June blog giveaway + feature is coming up soon, don't miss it!

"My Favorite Place" Challenge Winner is ...

Mother and Child Pendant by Ghislaine of GS Creations with 56 votes.


Palette Necklace by Dawn of DaVoria Jewelry came in second with 53 votes.


And Harp Necklace by Jennifer of Envy Designs Jewelry came in third with 31 votes.

Congrats to Ghislaine! Thanks to everyone who voted. The ones who posted a comment will be entered in to our February blog giveaway featuring Kristan of SilverWishes.

January Challenge: My Favorite Place

Every other month we Metal Clay Heads do a challenge and the winner of a challenge sets the next.  This challenge is:  My Favorite Place, which was set by Jennifer of Envy Designs Jewelry.  Our entries for the My Favorite Place challenge are below.  Please vote for your favorite at the poll on the right side of the blog.  Voting will end on January 29th.


Paris Earrings by Evelyn of Evelyn Pelati Jewelry:  I wanted to go to Paris my whole life, and in 2008 I finally did! It was a dream trip and I loved it as much as I thought I would. I made these earrings featuring a tiny map of Paris in honor of that time.

Palette Necklace by Dawn of DaVoria Jewelry:   For some reason when I see a painters palette it makes me feel so serene. It brings me to a place I love to be. It could be painting, drawing, quilting, giving a haircut accented with outstanding hilites, or, as of late, making jewelry with metal clay. To me the painters palette represents my creativity.

Mother and Child Pendant by Ghislaine of GS Creations:   My favorite place is not a country nor a city, it is not a building nor is it a garden. My favorite place is wherever I can be with my son, especially snuggled up in the morning as he drinks his bottle. There, all my worries fade away and a certain calmness reigns over me. It is where I am the happiest and feel at peace with the world.

Sew Perfect Charm by Anise of SeavBeach Designs:  My favorite place when I was a child was my mom's sewing box. It had many mysterious things inside. Bobbins, spools of thread, buttons, needles, vintage skeleton keys that went to locks in another land.

 

Fern Necklace by Esmerelda of SilverBlueberry:   My favorite place is the forest and the garden, so I made two overlapping fern leaves soldered to a neck wire (clasp behind one leaf) and below hangs a beautiful idocrase drop cabochon, cut by Rod from FoxCabochons.

Pavillion with Persian Illumination by Laura of Zoeowyn:  My favorite place is "far far away." I don't have a favorite physical location, it always tends to be "some place else" and definitely someplace ideal and perfect and exotic.

  
Mardi Gras Mask Pendant by Kathy of York Avenue Studio:  My favorite place is New Orleans! There isn’t anywhere in the world that I would rather be than visiting the French Quarter. There are festivals almost daily for music, art, food, fun, history, etc Steering clear of Bourbon Street, I spend most of my visits there browsing unique shops that sell candles, art, perfume, jewelry and treats! There are so many amazing people that work and live there and I will never get bored of the jazzy sounds, the spicy smells of Cajun food, the Pecan Prailines, the Coffee Shops, the lush green foliage, even the muggy heat!

My Favorite Place Necklace by Lisa of Willow and Me Jewelry:  When the challenge was set, I had just returned from a short family vacation at a beach in Alabama, that is one of my favorite places in the whole world. It has gorgeous white beaches, which are not packed with people, and warm Gulf of Mexico water. During this last trip, the beach was full of Portugese Man of Wars (Men of War?).  Using a shell I found on this beach, I made a mold from which I made the base of this piece. Using texture, I tried to duplicate the look of a beach with shells, starfish and even a Portugese Man of War, made from a sapphire cabochon. The bottom portion of the pendant has been covered with resin to emulate the surf rolling in.

In the Garden Necklace by Erin of heartsabustin:   In the dead of winter, I dream of my garden in the spring. The daffodils, the hydrangeas, and the lilies are all very special to me.

Harp Necklace by Jennifer of Envy Designs Jewelry:   My favorite place is Ireland, where I spent my honeymoon, and returned to 7 years later. I fell in love with the people, the beauty, the music and the rich history Ireland is known for.  The Harp is an ancient instrument that was used by the Bards of Ireland, whose history and stories were told with the accompaniment of beautiful harp music.

Bronze Flower Garden Pendant by Deb of Prairie Mud Studio:  My favorite place has always been my family's farm - and this piece represents my mom's flower gardens and my dad's cornfields.

 

St. John Passion Pendant by Mary Lou of Sweetleaf Sisterz:   The image on this pendant reminds me of St. John in the US Virgin Islands. It is one of my favorite places in the world. Sitting on the beach at night with rolling waves and the stars bright in the sky, there is no other place like it.   This pendant of fine silver illustrates that vision. The surf is rolling below stars brilliant in the nighttime sky. 

Please cast your vote on the right column; and if you post a comment, you will be automatically entered into our February blog giveaway.