MCHs Team Challenge: Fan-fiction Challenge

Welcome back to our team challenge. This time we challenge our team members to created a piece of metal clay art inspired by a book, movie, music or TV-series. We have received four wonderful submissions from our super-talented MCHs.

1) Divergent Movie Inspired Soaring Bird Silhouette Necklace by YorkAvenueStudio

Divergent necklace with soaring bird silhouette in Bronze with gold filled chain. The movie Divergent tells a story of people who live in a world where everyone is divided into groups, labeled by their function in society in order to keep the peace. Divergents do not fit just one group, and have creative minds adapting far better and faster than most, which makes them "uncontrollable" by authorities enforcing their rules.

Check out Kathy's creation here.

2)  Fan Art Silver Pendant by MostlyStoneware

Inspired by shields and GOT, specifically the Greyjoys

Check out Kathy's creation here.

3) Handmade Dragon Eye Pendant Game of Thrones by TheSinteredArtist

Handmade White Copper with Copper accents Dragon Eye Pendant. Hand sculpted metal clay is fired in a kiln to produce a solid metal piece of jewelry.

Check out Anise's creation here.

4) Hobbit mailbox by Envydesignsjewelry

Hobbit mailbox handmade in silver with a really cool rainbow patina.

Check out Jennifer's creation here.

Please vote using the Poll to the right. Share this post with anyone that might not otherwise know about the Challenge. The Poll is open to the public. Any comments are welcome! Poll will be closed on October 13th.

 Don't forget to check out the Artist's work as well by clicking on their name/shop name! Enjoy!

Congrats to our Add Some Color/Enameling Challenge Winner Carrie!

We're so glad to announce we've a winner for our Add Some Color/Enameling Challenge -

Shelyn's Holy Symbol from CarrieMichael

Carrie's first attempt at a champleve finish with enamel won our hearts! The vote results are 50% of popular vote and 75% of technical vote (by the MCHs). Carrie won the bragging rights of being the Queen of Coloring Metal Clay Art 2015!

Thanks to all the talents who participated and all who made their votes. We will have another challenge soon so please stay tuned!

MCHs Team Challenge: Add some color/enameling challenge

Welcome! This time we challenged our Metal Clay Heads to add color or enamel their work. Member can use alcohol inks, ceramic/glass paints, enamel, resin, epoxy or colored pencil. The style or design is completely open. As is the metal. The possibilities are simply endless. 

These are the fabulous, handmade entries.

1) Rag-A-Dolly Necklace from YorkAvenueStudio

Little girl necklace is 1.25 inches. Kathy named her Rag-A-Dolly because through all the steps to design and enamel her, that was what was going around in her mind. This project was specifically intended to push Kathy to try enamel and learn something new. View more pictures here.

Check out Kathy's creation here.

2) Ginkgo and Lizard Necklace from LynnCobb

Lynn used enamel powders and pmc3 combined to make slurry, molded, kiln fired on pmc3 a ginkgo leaf. View more pictures here.

Check out Lynn's creation here.

3) Shelyn's Holy Symbol from CarrieMichael

This is Carrie's first attempt at a champleve finish with enamel, and using 24K gold foil with silver so that warm colors won't react and turn brown. View more pictures here.

Check out Carrie's creation here.

4) Leaf Earrings from Envydesignsjewelry

Jennifer used alcohol inks on her design this time to achieve the vibrant colors on metal clay.

Check out Jennifer's creation here.

Please vote using the Poll to the right.  Share this post with anyone that might not otherwise know about the Challenge.  The Poll is open to the public.  Any comments are welcome! 

Don't forget to check out the Artist's work as well by clicking on their name/shop name! Enjoy!

And Santa is coming to ....

Jennifer R!!!!

Jennifer won our December Blog Giveaway! Congrats! She will receive the Sea Inspired Necklace handmade by Barbara Alcock Gurlek of Fishbonesilver.

Sea Inspired Necklace by Fishbonesilver

Thanks for your partcipation. Biggest thanks to Barbara who contributed to the feature and the giveaway! Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you all in 2015!

Congrats to Linda M. who won our November Blog Giveaway!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I'm sure our lucky winner Linda M. (llhm) will have a good holiday as well since she won our November blog giveaway! Here are the prizes Linda is getting:

Thanks to everyone who had participated! Our feature artist Kathy McDonald beautiful handmade collections can be reviewed here. Please stay tuned for our December feature.

That magical connection of human hand, earth, and fire -- Kathy McDonald

Welcome! Our November’s feature artist is Kathy McDonald, a Canadian ceramic and jewelry artist who operates WillowTree Design near Brandon Manitoba.

This is what she says of her journey after several decades of art and craft.

A little bit about me: I live in Manitoba Canada and have operated WillowTree Pottery here for more than 25 years. My training is in psychology and education. I owe my pottery skills to many potters, jewelry artists and mentors, students, and workshops that I've been part of over the years. Clay has been a wonderful muse for me for these decades.

Pottery Chip and Dip Platter by Kathy McDonald

I think it is that magical connection of human hand, earth, and fire that has been entrancing people for centuries that draws me to the process and keeps me wanting to learn more and more.

I particularly like the diversity of combining my work as a potter with work in the metals and metal clays. They overlap and often one inspires or supplements ideas for the other. 

My most recent endeavors have included a series of wheel thrown fairy garden lanterns and sculptures and some new designs created with silver clay and gemstones.

The giveaway this month will feature one of each:

Fairy House by Kathy McDonald

This charming handcrafted stoneware fairy house will please even the most discerning woodland creatures that inhabit your garden. Each house is unique and has it's own special personality.

The silver piece is a hand sculpted leaf with a 3 mm topaz. Ten grams of clay, it is made from PMC 360. Comes with an oxidized sterling 1 mm chain. Value at $75.

Here are the rules to enter the MCHs blog giveaway:

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 here 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/MetalClayHeadsTeam and click Share) = 1 entry

The giveaway will run for two weeks. We will announce the winner the week of 24th. Good luck!

October Blog Giveaway result is here! And the winner is ...

Bethany!!!!

Congrats to Bethany who won! Thanks to everyone who has entered the giveaway. In the meantime please continue to admire our October featured artist Anna Siivonen's amazing creations here.

Kit and Caboodle Shop -- September Feature & Giveaway

It's September and Fall is here. Nature is in full force. Our September featured artist Gayle Dowell lives in the heart of the flint hills prairies of Kansas where she finds most of her inspirations from nature.

Why did you pick your shop name? 
When I first opened my Etsy shop, my two daughters were making and selling jewelry with me. All three of us had different styles and preferences in design when we started, so we named ourselves, Kit and Caboodle Shop, which comes from the phrase, "the whole kit and caboodle" which means a collection of things. It seemed to fit the fact that we were selling a little of everything. What started as a hobby for the three of us to share continued to a business minus the help from my daughters. I'm a one woman business now, but the name stuck so I've kept it. I also sell under my own name, Gayle Dowell, at www.gayledowell.com.

Peppergrass Textured Ring by KitandCaboodleShop

What inspires you?
I'm most inspired by organic textures and shapes. I live in the heart of the flint hills prairies of Kansas where I find most of my inspiration from the grasses and flowers of the prairie. I've heard that many people think that Kansas is flat and boring, but I think that is only true for those who have not taken the time to really stop, stoop down, and look closely at what the prairie is all about. I'm hoping that my prairie grass textured pieces will cause people to realize the wonderful beauty and diversity that this part of the US has to offer. Each prairie grass piece that I make comes with a card stating the name and a photo of the grass or flower that was used to make the textured piece.

When did you first become interested in Metal Clay? How long have you been designing jewelry using Metal Clay?
After my beginning beading phase in jewelry making, I was looking to expand my skills by taking a beginner's class in metalsmithing. From there I decided to incorporate metal clay to give me more design possibilities that could be incorporated with the metalsmithing. Metal clay for me, has become a way to add the textures of the prairie into metal pieces that will last. I've been working with metal clay since about 2010 and have enjoyed the journey.

Mixed Metal Flower Necklace by KitandCaboodleShop

What do you enjoy most about working in Metal Clay? 
I enjoy the flexibility and the unlimited design possibilities that metal clay gives me. Because I love organic textures and shapes, metal clay makes it easy for me to mold and shape pieces that reflect that inspiration, and because I can incorporate it into my metalsmithing, I have even more design opportunities.

Why did you design the giveaway piece? 
What is special about your giveaway piece? My daughter just got married a few days ago and I designed the bridal party jewelry using different grasses for each bridesmaid's pendant and then customizing it with the first initial of each person. I've been wanting to do custom work for some time, making each piece of the prairie a personal experience. I'm giving away a customized prairie grass piece similar to the one shown using the winner's choice of a first initial.

Sterling Silver Personalized Initial Pendant Necklace, Textured with Peppergrass, Prairie Grass from Kansas by KitandCaboodleShop

A lucky winner will win ONE (1) Peppergrass & Prairie Grass Textured Necklace. Here are the rules to enter the MCHs blog giveaway:

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 here 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/MetalClayHeadsTeam 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 September 25th. Good luck!

Winner Announce for our August Giveaway!

The lucky winner is Susan Jolly Lokaj! She will receive the amazing Tree of Life Silver Pendant handmade by Lynn Cobb.

Congrats to Susan. Big thank you to Lynn. Thanks to everyone for your support. We will have another feature + giveaway coming in September, don't forget to come back and enter again!

Artist Carrie Michael Feature + Blog Giveaway Result is here!

And the winner is ...

Barbara!!!!!

Congrats to Barbara! She won the Copper English style ocarina pendant with an included purple sapphire beautifully handmade by Carrie Michael.

Big thanks to Carrie who devoted her precious time for the interview and giveaway. Thank you for your support and time to read the blog feature and to enter the giveaway. Please stay tuned on our next blog feature!

We Have a Winner for Our Recycle Scraps Challenge!

Congrats to .... drumroll ...Anise of SeavBeach whose Vintage Mother of Pearl Button Necklace won our challenge this time! We have a tide on the popular vote with 8 votes for both SeavBeach and Allegro Arts but SeavBeach led the technical poll by having 4 votes while Allegro Arts received 1.

Thanks to everyone who participated, including you who voted! Our next challenge will come in next quarter, please stay tuned for the new challenge theme.

MetalClayHeads Challenge - Recycle Scraps with Bezel Set Stone

Welcome everyone! Our challenge this time is to recycle bits and pieces of leftover, rundown, or just badly fired projects. Use imagination! We have also added the technical challenge of bezel setting a stone or piece of glass into the piece.

We received three beautiful, handmade, green art pieces this time.

Mended Heart Pendant - Fine Silver by AllegroArts

The heart base started as a mistake. I was making origami hearts for a custom order, and this one turned out badly. Some air had gotten trapped between the layers and formed bubbles. So I drilled out the largest bubble and set a 4mm square cut cubic zirconia in there. A second layer of silver with a cross cut in it is layered on top to hold the gem in place and acts as a bezel. The whole left side is brightly polished.

On the right side, a random collection of silver scrap shapes was layered over the heart, and given a dark antiquing to bring out the details and contrast the left side.

Feather Palm Bracelet by YorkAvenueStudio

Goldie Bronze Peacock inspired bracelet that is designed to be worn just below the knuckles on the back of the hand. the focal "stone" is polymer clay inlay.

I used scrap twisted bronze wire for the bracelet, an old wire-wrapped feather was used for the texture in the metal clay, and polymer clay scraps to form the focal stone.

Vintage Mother of Pearl Button Necklace by SeavBeach

This Vintage Mother of Pearl hand carved button is the focal point. The handmade setting is oxidized to show the detail.

The story behind the making:
I made this necklace as a part of a challenge on my Etsy Metal clay Heads group. The challenge was to use recycled scraps that we currently had. Everything in this piece is recycled. The metal used was recycled from past projects, the bezel set was made from scrap pmc paper clay and the button of course was a vintage treasure I had on hand.

Please vote using the Poll to the right. Share this post with anyone that might not otherwise know about the Challenge. Everyone can vote, and there are so many people that would enjoy viewing the entries.Comments are welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment below this post.
As you view the entries, please click the artists' links to visit their shop and learn more about their work and see more photos.

Voting will be open for two weeks and will close February 4th. Spread the word and vote NOW!

Recycle Scraps Technical Poll

The Technical Poll is limited to Metal Clay Heads members only!

Cast your vote here.

Another way to look at Marketing

I am in no way a marketing guru - I do however have access to some very talented and knowledgeable experts in the field, that I pump for information at any possible opportunity!

Marketing

I recently attended a workshop on marketing and thought I would share some of the points that were discussed.

It was a bit of an idiots guide to marketing, some great points came up that might just set you thinking along a line that could give you an idea or two – hopefully.

What is the market?

"A market is any place where the sellers of a particular good or service can meet with the buyers of that goods and service where there is a potential for a transaction to take place. The buyers must have something they can offer in exchange for there to be a potential transaction."

Market segmentation:

The process of splitting customers, or potential customers, in a market into different groups, or segments, within which customers share a similar level of interest in the same or comparable set of needs

This was an interesting one, that once you start breaking it down, shows it can be further and further broken down.

Say you were selling language skills (an area I know), who wants that? Well of course once again it isn’t everyone, or maybe it is, but it can be broken down.

People who want to pass an exam

People who want to go to university

People who want promotion in their job

People who want to travel.

You can see once you break it into segments, how you reach each group is suddenly very different.  The person who wants it for Uni is probably in the late teens early 20’s cool hip dude, the person who wants it for promotion in their job, may well be late 30’s / 40’s.

Which leads us to the 4 Ps

Product

Price

Placement

Promotion

Product/Service

• What  customer needs does it satisfy?
• What features does it have to meet these needs?
• How is it positioned in the market?
• How and where will the customer use it?
• What does it look like? How will customers experience it?
• What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?
• What is it to be called?
• How is it branded?
• How is it differentiated against competitors?

Price

• What is the value of the product or service to the buyer?
• Are there established prices for products or services in this market?
• Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin?
• What discounts should be offered to specific segments of your market?
• How will product price compare with competitors?

Promotion

• Where and when can the marketing messages reach the target market?
• Will press advertising, TV, or radio, or billboards be used to reach the target market? Or will it be direct marketing, PR or the Internet?
• When is the best time to promote? Is the market seasonal? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of a market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions?
• How do competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence the choice of promotional activity?

Place

• Where do buyers look for the product or service?
• If they look in a shop, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?
• How can the right distribution channels be accessed?
• Is a sales force needed? Exhibit at trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalogue companies?
• What do you competitors do, and how can the product be differentiated?

The main point here is this:
Imagine a drill – what is it? How would you sell it?
Imagine a mirror – what is it? How would you sell it?

No one buys a drill or a mirror they buy the benefits a drill and a mirror give them, the ability to make a hole in the wall, or the aid to help them look their best in the morning.

So when you are advertising your mirror – yes it is 18 inches by 12 inches, yes it is made of glass, and yes it does have a very nice catch on the back to hang it on the wall, but that isn't really what anyone is buying, they are buying the opportunity of being able to look at the wall and make sure their hair is just right, that they don’t leave the house with their skirt in their knickers, or their belt all caught up at the back.  The more someone's appearance matters to them, the more they need a mirror!

PEOPLE DON'T BUY THE PRODUCT - THEY BUY THE BENEFIT!

Moving on to the different types of marketing – which are vast:

Different types of marketing:

Today we have traditional and modern modes of marketing:

The traditional ones cover things like newsletters, brochures, direct mail, (email) branded gifts and events.

The modern ones are more like blogging, SEO, social media, podcasts and videos.

What is the most noticeable thing in those lists? Yup – the modern methods can often be done for free or at a low cost, whereas the traditional ones were probably the ones where you needed a huge budget.  Good news for those of us in the small fish large pond category.

Blogging? Great way to get people to connect with you, if you can find them.  Personally I don’t have the time to do it, and you need to keep the content fresh and up to date.  Relevant to all online stuff is that it needs to be kept fresh to generate interest (and views).

SEO? Sounds horrendous, but once you get the idea, it starts making sense.  Essentially, if you want to be found, firstly try and find yourself online.  Ask a friend to do the same and see what keywords you used.  Those are the keywords that need to be used.  Not too general, not too specialised.  

Imagine hiding one of your pieces in a shop of very similar pieces.  Then you have to get the shop assistant to retrieve it for you, purely by describing it.  Save the words you used, they are the ones that describe your piece, and they are the words you need in your titles and tags.

Social media?    DON'T SELL - BE SOCIAL!

Well here again is blogging, plus the likes of facebook and twitter.  At the risk of repeating myself, it isn’t a great idea to ‘sell’ on these things.  They are supposed to be ‘social’!  You know what it’s like when you go to a party and someone is trying to sell you their pyramid cleaning products or someone comes to the door hard selling something? We all turn off.  The idea is to engage. To make contact with people through anecdotes, stories, shared successes a little plug once in a while – probably done quite subtly but hard sell on facebook and you’ll get yourself unliked / blocked / unfriended quicker than a rat up a drainpipe. (I regularly remove people from my FB feed who just keep posting me their etsy listings and nothing else).

Podcasts? Not sure on that one, though sure someone can come up with a great idea.

Video?  I have seen some fab videos.  With flip cameras and ipads making the taking of videos so much easier now, getting something like this on your website or blog, either to show off your range or to share a tip is a great way of connecting with people.  Who of us haven’t scoured the net to find a clip that shows us how to achieve something we’re trying to do? If you don’t mind sharing your tips, this seems like a great idea.

So, to sum up;

 We’ve covered market segmentation, the 4 P’s, selling the benefit not the product and some of the different types of marketing.  The key phrase that encompasses it all I think is:

Marketing:

Selling goods that don't come back, to customers that do.

Metal Clay Heads Your Style Challenge

Our theme this time is ”your style”. Make a production piece that could be reproduced efficiently after it has sold. Something that looks intricate but is less work than it looks. The first one, the one you enter for the contest probably is a lot of work, but you should be able to reproduce it easily. Use your own textures/molds and make a piece that is very you. Here are the amazing entries:

Amethyst stone cage necklace cats by AnnaSiivonen

Rustic, cool and unusual cat necklace. A bronze cage with two sculptured cat heads in each end hold a tumbled purple amethyst. Comes with an adjustable brass chain. The first one I made, you get the one pictured. I don't have other amethyst stones like this at the moment. Amethyst is the birthstone of February.

Bronze Star Anise Spice Jewelry by SeavBeach

Very delicate, this bronze star anise spice seed is made of bronze and silver color bronze. The twig is a silver color bronze and the star is bronze. The chain is .925 sterling.

Crescent Moon Pendant in Fine Silver by PartsbyNC

I made this Crescent Moon Pendant out of Metal Clay, which consists of reclaimed silver particle in an organic binder that can be formed, shaped and sanded just like normal clay and once it's fired in a kiln becomes .999 Fine Silver. After the piece is fired, finished, and polished, the last step is to add the blue inlay using a wax paste that once it dries it's very durable.

Celtic Tree of Life Pendant by Mcbisco

This Gaelic inspired bronze pendant is my original design. I have two available in bronze for purchase at this time.The first version was made in silver Precious Metal Clay. (Silver version is NOT for sale, but pictured to show the original) This bronze version was created from a mold of the original design. After making an impression in the bronze clay, I dried it and carved in the details. The details are slightly different if you look carefully. The high points are burnished and polished after firing.

Jasmine silver ring botanical imprint by StuckOnSilver

Jasmine silver ring--a sprig of Jasmine from my garden is reproduced on this one of a kind ring. It's .999 fine silver. The fine silver includes recycled silver. 

Dolphin Necklace by Lifeartdesigns

This is one of my handcrafted pure silver dolphin necklaces. It hangs on a teal beaded necklace. The silver dolphin pendant was made from .999 pure fine silver metal clay. I sculpted the dolphin and then added it to a larger oval base of fine silver. I applied a texture to the base of the dolphin pendant with a stamp of ocean waves. I rolled the top of the base around to the back of the Dolphin pendant to create a self contained bail for the beaded cord to slide through. The dolphin was kiln fired at the appropriate temperatures and tumble polished afterwards.

Silver Tree of Life Necklace by Lynn Cobb

This Made in America, silver tree of life necklace is impressive in fine silver, the pendant was made from a mold that was hand carved by me, I call it my pine bough series. This one has a dark patina to really show off the carving, but I also make these without any patina at all and they just glisten in bright .999 pure silver. This one hangs from a "liquid silver" sterling chain which really enhances
the flowing design of the pendant itself. 

Please cast your vote at the right hand column. The poll will be closed two weeks from posting and results will be announced after closing. Technical poll is limited to members of the Metal Clay Heads Team only.

Your Style Challenge Technical Poll

The Technical Poll is limited to Metal Clay Heads members only!

Cast your vote here.

Congrats to Vickie!

Who won our October blog giveaway! Vickie will receive the Textured Teardrop Hoop Earrings from Pennee Parker of All Wired Up Jewelry Designs.Sincere gratitude to our featured artist Pennee who give such beautiful metal clay earrings as prize. Thanks to all of you who entered the giveaway! We will have one more blog giveaway before the holidays come. Please stay tuned!

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!

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 ideá 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!