Congrats to Tammi!

Who won our July blog giveaway! She will receive the Dogwood Earrings in Silver from Erin of Heartsabustin. Our next blog feature and giveaway will start mid-August, please stay tuned! Winning is easy and you could be the next winner!

I really, really love what I do - Erin

Metalclayheads blog feature and giveaway - July 2012

Our featured Metal Clay artist this time is Erin of Heartsabustin, who grew up in the Smoky Mountains where Organic shapes and textures fascinate her. Her devotion to nature is expressed through many of her precious metal clay artwork. 

Why did you pick the name Heartsabustin?
Hearts-a-bustin' is a wildflower that grows in the mountains where I am from. It was my great-grandmother's favorite flower, and when my mom and I were looking for a name for our then-joint shop, we hit on heartsabustin.

When did you first become interested in Metal Clay? How long have you been designing jewelry using Metal Clay?
I was first intrigued by the fact that you could SO many things with metal clay about five years ago. I started actually working in metal clay about three years ago.

Sunflower Necklace by Heartsabustin

What was your first piece of Metal Clay jewelry?
A heart charm - I still wear it as one of my personal pieces.

Would you tell us your creative process?
I'll get an idea - I may or may not draw it out, although I find it helpful to do so. Then I go through the steps in my head of how I would complete the project - I try to work out the potential trouble spots ahead of time. This is merely academic - everyone knows that things pop up that you could never anticipate in the course of a project. I always learn something new from a project, whether it comes out the way I wanted it to or not!

What inspires you?
It may sound cliche, but I love nature. I grew up in the Smoky Mountains, and you can not grow up in an environment like that without it affecting you in some way. Organic shapes and textures fascinate me.

Why did you design the giveaway piece? What is special about your giveaway piece?
I love dogwoods - they are harbingers of spring in the mountains, and our property was covered with them when I was a kid. This was my first design with soldered ear wires, which I considered a huge step for me in my journey of jewelry making.

Dogwood Earrings by Heartsabustin

What are the major challenges when creating metal clay jewelry?
Most of the time, the clay doesn't do what I want it to. It can be very frustrating and enlightening all at the same time.

What do you enjoy most about working in Metal Clay?
The ability to create beautiful things out of silver without having to have a traditional casting set-up.

What is your greatest ambition as a Metal Clay artist?
To keep learning - I'll never know everything, but I'm going to try.

What is the biggest mistake you've ever made? What did you learn from it?
Not believing in myself. If I lose my belief in myself, I've lost everything else.

Basketweave Texture Necklace by Heartsabustin

Erin is giving away the Dogwood Earrings in Silver for a lucky winner! To win these beautiful, nature-inspired earrings, 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 August 3rd. Good luck!

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.

Summer Romance Challenge Winner

Congrats to Ghislaine of GSCreations who won our September Challenge with her Love is ... pendant! We had 142 polls. Thanks to all who voted!

The Runners-up:

Turtle Love pendant by Robin of Adornedbyrobin

Summer Romance Ring by Erin of Heartsabustin

Our October Blog Giveaway is coming soon, our featured artist is Jennifer of EnvyDesignsJewelry. Don't miss it!

Ah … Summer Romance…

Welcome to MC Heads September challenge. This time our theme is “Summer Romance” chosen by last challenge winner Betty of Faccia Felice. Following are brief descriptions on each piece by the creative metal clay artist. Our poll is on the right column, please start voting! Don’t forget to post a comment to enter our October blog giveaway.

Summer Romance Ring by Erin of Heartsabustin

Summer is just about over, but it's romance will linger forever with this beautiful wide ring.

* Fine silver ring and roses

* Tiny cubic zirconia accents


Romantic Hearts by Anise of Seavbeach

Romantic Hearts necklace is created by painting onto a beautiful handpicked heart shaped leaf. Many layers go into painting metal clay onto each one. Oxidized to bring out each leafs veining. Reminiscent of a warm romantic summer coming to an end and the anticipation of a brisk autumn breeze.


Tree of Love necklace by Sue of Somethingxtraspecial

The tree where love grows! This highly detailed tree has a central heart focal, and on the branches many more fruits of love growing. It has a green sheen showing through.



Kauai- fine silver, pearl necklace by Jennifer of Envydesignsjewelry

This fine silver necklace was made for the Metal Clay Heads team bi-monthly challenge.
The theme is summer romance. What is more romantic than Kauai, Hawaii?



Love Grows pendant by Vicki of Jewelflyt

...from the smallest seed...grows love...

This handcrafted pendant is made from precious metal clay - fine silver.

Rectangular in shape, love grows features a garden of raised spirals. The largest is set with a sparkly pale pink 4mm cubic zirconia (lab created).




Turtle Love pendant by Robin of Adornedbyrobin

My Turtle Love pendant was inspired by two things, a love of nature and the gulf oil crisis. Sea turtles in particular amaze me because they are so helpless on land and seem to soar in the water. I used my torch to create a heat patina for the first time, which was more difficult than I expected.



Love is ... - Fine silver pendant with Love is... inscription by Ghislaine of GS Creations

These two intertwind hearts are made with 99.9% pure silver. They are stamped with the words "Love is...". These letters have been oxidized to bring them out and the center of the piece has been filled with transluscent red glass paint.



Fine Silver Spinner Ring by Tammi of Mybrownwren

This is my summer romance challenge piece. It is a fine silver spinner ring. There is a heart sitting atop a summer flower.

Challenge: Patriotism

The Metal Clay Heads team has a challenge every other month, to foster creativity and to encourage us to try new things.  Each challenge is chosen by the winner of the previous challenge.  Janie from LifeArtDesigns was our winner last time and she has chosen "Patriotism" as our theme this time.  Below are the entries.  Please vote on the voter to the right.  Voting will be open until July 22 at midnight, EST.  The winner will be announced the next day.   Also, commenting on this blog will give you an entry in our first ever giveaway next month!

The entries are:

Scales of Justice by Jennifer of Envy Designs Jewelry

The scales of justice usually held by the goddess Themis, or Lady justice. I have to thank my husband for this idea.

 North America by Ghislaine of GS Creations:

My July challenge piece. Since I am Canadian and I live in the U.S. and my son is both Canadian and American I decided to honor both countries.  I created this fine silver pendant with the maple leaf representing Canada and the Stars for the U.S.

Memory of Holland by Esmerelda of SilverBlueberry

It has part of a Dutch poem that for me is Holland more than anything else.  I added red, white and blue (rubies, quartz and sapphires in the front, freshwater pearls in the back) for our flag color.  The translation of these first sentences is:

Thinking of Holland
I see wide-flowing rivers
slowly traversing
infinite plains,

It's written by H. Marsman

Remember September 11 by Tammi of My Brown Wren

This is my third try at the Etsy Metal Clay Heads July Challenge on Patriotism.  It is an artistic rendition of the Twin Towers.

I Heart my Country by Betty of FacciaFelice

This is the piece I designed for the Metal Clay Heads Team Bi-Monthly challenge Patriotism.
I used the signature red, white and blue colors on a fine silver heart to express my love to my country.

The star is the state where I'm living in now - California.

Patriotism and Hope by Anise of SeavBeach Designs

This one of a kind piece was created for my MetalClayheads Team Challenge. The theme being patriotism. Having grown up in a military family, there was no question as to what patriotism meant to me.

American Flag Earrings by Erin of Heartsabustin

Lady Liberty by  Patsy of OxOriginalArtJewelry

Polish Coin Necklace by Terri of Nineteen Thirteen

One clear cubic zirconia and one red lab corundum garnet have been added to the bail to represent the Polish flag. The words "SUPA DUPA" have been added to the back...this can either represent "Super Duper" or "Nice Butt" which is my very loose interpretation of a Polish saying my grandmother used to repeat!

America the Beautiful by Lisa of Willow and Me Jewelry

This pin was made for my Metal Clay Heads team challenge.  The challenge was to make something patriotic. The first thing I thought of wasn't the flag or the national anthem, but the song all Americans learn in grade school: "America the Beautiful".

Please vote on the gadget to the right and comment below if you would like an entry into our first ever giveaway next month!

A note about the photos.  Some of the pieces are listed in the artist's shop, while others are not.  Where they are, they were linked to the shop and can be found by clicking on the photo.  The others were taken from their uploads to the Metal Clay Heads group on Flickr.  They, along with alternate views of the items, can be seen here.

Who's afraid of the BIG, BAD Torch?

Good morning, Metal Clay Heads!

We're going to talk about something today that scares the crud out of even the most seasoned of Metal Clay Heads. THE TORCH. There are a lot of professional metal clayers who will tell you the torch doesn't work. It doesn't sinter the clay properly. It's just ..... not ...... good enough. You "must" have a kiln to be a "real" metal clayer.

In my humble opinion, hogwash.

As long as you're not trying to fire a foot-tall scale model of the Eiffel Tower, you'll be just fine. (If you're THAT good, WHY are you reading MY article, anyway??) ;P As long as the pieces you are firing are under 25 grams of clay and less than 1.5" (3.8 cm) around (for the Americans, that's about the size of a half dollar), your pieces should sinter just fine.

Let's talk torch for a minute - it's lightweight, it's small, it's inexpensive, and you can store it anywhere. Just make sure little fingers can't get to it - little ones have an uncanny ability to make "childproof" items work just fine. You can buy the butane fuel canisters for your torch easily - Wal-Mart and Lowe's carry them. I tried my local hardware store, but they didn't carry the ones I need, but yours might. Give them a try, as well. One thing I did find out this winter - if you fuel your torch outside (I do, for safety reasons), you need to wait about 30 minutes before firing for the fuel to come up to room temperature. My dear husband had to point that one out for me. *blushes* Filling the torch is fairly easy, although all canister nozzles are not made the same. They may or not fit perfectly into the fill nozzle on your torch. If you're careful, this won't be much of a problem. You fit the nozzles together and push down on the can. When the fuel sputters, your torch is full. Let the torch rest for five minutes after fueling. *NOTE* The can will get quite cold during fueling.

Most (or all) torches will have a child safety lock - when you're ready to fire, push this down. Press the button above the safety to get your flame. Off to the left is a continuous flame button - press this button in (and LET GO!) so your hands will be relaxed during firing. When you start firing your (completely dry!) piece, it will smoke. It will smoke and THEN it will catch on fire. Yes, that's normal, and no, you don't need to panic. Those are the binders in the clay burning off. Don't drop your torch and scream. After it's done burning, you're beginning to sinter the piece. Sintering is defined as heating to a coherent mass without melting. Remember that - you're NOT melting your piece. That's bad. During the firing process, you will maintain a peach or salmon color in the piece. If it starts to bubble or turn silver, you are wayyyyyy too close - back off a little. The flame has two "cones" - one is hard to see unless you're in a dark room, and the other is blue. Don't use the blue part of the flame - it's the hottest and it will melt your silver.

Here's a firing schedule for torch firing silver clay:

5 grams or less - 1 - 1.5 minutes

6 - 15 grams - 1.5 - 2.5 minutes

16 - 25 grams - 2.5 to 5 minutes

Large pieces need a little more time under the torch, but I will tell you, so far, I've NEVER had a torched piece break because of improper sintering. Matter of fact, Patricia Kimle - my personal metal clay hero - torch fires ALL of her pieces.

Now, I'm not putting down kilners. If I had $700 and a place to put one, I'd get one! I want to try some of the other clays - BRONZclay and COPPRclay have to be kiln fired. However, I'm still playing with the limits I can push with the torch. Plus, it's just more practical right now. I have kids, limited space, and not enough production to require a kiln.

I guess my point is this - don't let not having a kiln stop you. There are some amazing things you can do with a torch and a little bit of precious metal clay.

Happy claying, Metal Clay Heads!!

Meet our Members: Heartsabustin

Heartsabustin:

Okay, my name is Erin. I'm in Wilmington, NC, near Seavbeach, and I am married with two boys and two dogs. I just started working with ArtClay Silver this past January, and I LOVE it. Totally addicted. I torch fire, and I've done almost every stupid thing imaginable, so if you need help, lemme know. LOL I'm not anything cool - I have no certifications or anything like that. I'm just a SAHM that LOVES to create and Etsy is my way of making money to support my various hobbies.

If you see a crazy lady named 1mADwoman come on here with a purse for an avatar, that's me, too. I pop in and out both ways, so you can call me mad or hearts or Erin - I really don't care. ROFLOL

Note to our members, if  you would like your mini-bio on the blog but haven't submitted it yet, convo it to Lisa at willowandme.  Thanks!