Posts

Showing posts with the label Hadar Jacobson

A Flurry of Metal Clay

Image
Flexible Copper (Hadar's Quick Fire) There's been a flurry of metal clay in my studio.   My late winter goal was to use the older Hadar  clay that I have so I can focus on her new One-fire clay.   Over the years (yes it keeps that long in powder form) I've collected many containers of Quick-fire bronze, copper, steel, etc.  They take longer to fire and have 3 stages of firing instead of 2.  Hadar's Flexible Copper  My mid-west background of using and saving kicked in and I would not allow myself to use the new One-fire clay until all the other was gone.  So I started creating.  First I was just going to make some simple earrings and then a pendant.  Pretty soon I wondered how I could make some pieces using tools not used before.  One thing led to another. Crisco Ad Engraving A metal engraved stamp for a Crisco ad that my mother saved became a necklace.  When this piece was fired, it separated in two parts.  I liked it so much I repaired it and fire

Meet Turq the Paperweight Lizard!

Image
One of the techniques I learned at Hadar's Tucson workshop used flat floral ribbon to make the shapes for clay.  The floral ribbon is flexible and can be cut with scissors.  Once it is bent into a shape, clay is cut and dried against the ribbon.  It is removed after the clay dries and one can proceed assembling the pieces.  At the class,we worked making jewelry but I wanted to experiment a little more and decided to make contemporary lizard for fun.  I used Goldie Roman Bronze clay as one of my goals this spring is to use all my various metal clays from several companies and then decide which I really like.  This turned out to be my largest piece I've made and just fit in a rectangular pan I had. Something I had to consider when I designed Turq.  His finished size is 3"x 5". My basic design with the floral ribbon Placing the dried clay pieces on a background Decisions:  do I want a bronze lizard that covers the skeleton or not? Nope!  I

So Many New Directions!

Image
It became obvious when I was in Hadar’s metal clay class in Tucson recently that there are so many new directions I can take my designs.  I think the fact that I have always wanted to learn new techniques makes it difficult to focus on making a cohesive ‘line of jewelry’.  And here I am again learning new ways to experiment.  Eventually it may become important to focus but right now I’m having a great time playing! I love the patina on this one! The class was fun because of the easy flow between students and Hadar (the teacher), Lyle Rayfield’s great studio and patio area in the beautiful Tucson mountains, Barb’s terrific meals and all the new ideas.  Even with me getting up and down often, exercising often and icing my knee through lunch, I managed to produce several pieces that I am sharing with you. We used Hadar’s Friendly Brilliant Bronze clay and her special inlay powders. One of my largest pieces did not get fired in class so I brought it hom

Thinking about Structures - Skeletons in Nature

Image
One of my goals is to use my last container of Hadar’s Steel XT clay!  I want to start on some of the new clay and am determined to use patience as I deplete my stash of the older clay.  Here goes a new project! Usually I just thumb through my new book Art Forms in Nature book by Ernst Haeckel but for this project I wanted to get serious and really think about the underlying structure or skeleton forms in nature.  Focusing on a couple of pages that reminded me of what sea creatures might look like under their shells, I sketched some ideas, closed the book and started to create. Mixing Hadar’s clay is so easy – as long as I creep up on the amount of water and not get it too wet - and it has a reasonable working time.  After mixing the steel XT clay it went into the refrigerator as I made the molds for my creation. Several months ago, this muffin pan, a treasure from a thrift shop, was sawed in half to fit into my convection oven for polymer clay.  It worked great. 

Quothe the Raven

Image
As I sit at my desk or at my work space, Ravens swoop between the tall swaying pine trees.  In the evening they gather in those same trees and ‘talk’ to one another with their varying individual voices.  I am entranced with them. The Raven is the subject for my latest base metal clay pendant.  I want a pendant to feature the Raven and relate to its environment.  I want to use a piece of Poe’s poem and have the finished project look rustic and a bit organic.  I’m using some of the older clay from Hadar’s clay line-up; this time I used Quick Fire Copper, Friendly Bronze and Quick Fire Steel XT.  The Quick Fire Copper was used for the back and the bail.  All three clays were used for the applied sections.  I put them on coconut carbon and set the stainless round bowl on the camp stove.  When both sides were black, I added carbon and put the bowl in the kiln firing on the mid-fire schedule. Finished Piece Waiting is the most difficult part of this process in my opinion!  Whe

The Saga of My Copper Paperweight

Image
Hadar's Friendly Copper Paperweight For the last two weeks I've been experimenting with a copper paperweight that I started making in Hadar’s class.  My last post explained base metal clay and I showed you some of my successful jewelry projects.  (While this post might be a little technical for those of you not working in metal clay, it does illustrate my tenacity or perhaps just my stubbornness.)  And perhaps you will enjoy the pictures. This paperweight actually started out as a possible pendant.  The basic hexagonal box was made with Hadar’s Friendly Copper clay.  I rolled the bottom layer 4 cards thick (that’s playing cards) and added the 6 sides after the bottom dried.  Since I was going to put on a top, I needed supports.  The supports were to be placed less than ½” apart.  I think I made mine a little too close but I did not take a picture of each step.  I wish I had.  The supports dried and I placed the top on my 2”+ box.  The next step was to texture 1 card

Learning from a Master!

Image
In the Tucson Mountains For months,I've been looking forward to Hadar Jacobson’s class on mokume gane using base metal clay.   I also knew this was an opportunity to learn more about her new clay. ( http://hadarjacobson.com /)  Lyle Rayfield ( www.lylerayfield.com ) hosted the class in the Tucson Mountains.  What a beautiful setting for an intense 3 day class!  Taking a class with a master teacher like Hadar adds so many dimensions to the process.  I have all her books and now that I know some techniques first hand, it will be so much easier to follow the text.  Meeting other people interested in the same things helps make the class more fun and creative.  I have new friends I can email and share information. I love the texture and ease of the base metal clay which makes constructing something a joy.  It’s that carbon and firing that makes me crazy.  So I’m going to focus on using Hadar’s clay for the next few months and improve my metal clay skills as well as make frie