Thursday, December 23, 2010

PMC Pro

PMC Pro has just recently been launched onto the market, the fourth generation of Precious Metal Clay™ made by Mitsubishi.
PMC Pro silver clay is significantly stronger than the other Silver Metal Clays making it the ideal choice for rings and functional components such as clasps, hinges and prongs.
PMC Pro is made of 90%silver, 10% copper alloy, water and organic binder. It has to be fired in a kiln at 760°C for 1 hour embedded in coconut shell–based activated carbon. This is because of the copper content having to be fired in an oxygen free environment. I purchased some from http://www.metalclay.com.au/ and made a simple flat band adjustable ring to try it out.
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This is the fired ring. The left hand side has been burnished with a soft brass brush. The right side appears grey just as it came out of the kiln.
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This is the ring formed on a mandrel. It is strong despite being fairly thin (3 cards thick). I’m giving PMC Pro a thumbs up and will experiment more after the holidays.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

R & R on Rottnest Island

Just back from a couple of days on Rottnest. It’s one of my favourite WA destinations. I love the relaxed atmosphere, the scenery and the snorkelling.
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This is Little Salmon Bay. Here you can step off the beach into pristine waters and see dozens of fish and colourful coral.
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This is an Osprey on her nest.
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I saw a Dugite which is a very venomous snake. It was over a metre long. It was just lying in the sun under a cliff. You have to be wary of these snakes, looking out for them while walking along the footpaths. Generally they will disappear if they hear you coming.
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Quokkas are in abundance, you see these little marsupials everywhere.
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Bathurst Lighthouse
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Yummy lunch at Aristos before catching the ferry back to the mainland.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Electroforming 4

These are the results of my play with the faux jade polymer.
I am pleased with the results and am planning to do more with the polymer clay beads and copper.
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Sunday, December 05, 2010

Open House–Sales

A couple of weekends ago I was invited to give a display and sell my jewellery at a friend’s house. There were about eight of us who were allocated a space throughout the house. I had the dinning room table and set up my silver and polymer jewellery on it. We all had invited friends and family to call in during the day to shop for Christmas presents. We had a steady stream of people popping in and everyone had good sales.

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Someone looking at my polymer pendants

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My display

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Textile Items for sale

Friday, December 03, 2010

Electroforming 3

More experimenting with my electro former. I am trying to build a texture onto a bead. I sanded and buffed some of the faux jade pieces I made as examples in the recent Polymer Clay workshop this week.
Here a couple waiting to go into the bath.
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Polymer Clay Faux Jade Workshop

These are items made in the recent workshop. We experimented with translucent clays, alcohol inks, embossing powders to name a few. Our aim was to imitate Jade.
I think the students did really well.

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                 Davinia

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                    Merryl

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Electroforming 2

I’ve had another play with my electro former.
I have a bead with some leaf canes applique. I painted conductive paint around the edges of the leaf canes. The copper is very bright so I’ll play with some patina soon.
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This experiment is conductive paint around the rim of a polymer bowl shape and then stripes down toward the centre.
I quite like this one, if I add a bead in the centre it would make a nice ring.
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