Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

   My last post told how a mixed media wall piece combined wood, metal clay, feathers and ribbons to produce a story.   I introduced the 'Gastornis' - an extinct flightless primitive bird.  This week I'm sharing the 2 pendants I made at the same time I made the 'Gastornis' wall decor.   This post is about telling a story with jewelry and shows how color can add to the message. The pendant on the left above combines warm brass beads, meaningful red prayer beads and a handmade bronze wire clasp.  Does it made you feel excited?  The pendant on the right combines Hubei turquoise with silver and bronze.  The greenish color along with the silver cools the bronze.  Maybe this pendant makes you feel calmer?   Each of us bring our own color experiences with us.  I find it helpful to understand what we like and why.  That makes selections more meaningful and enjoyable.   Let's look at the pendant on the left and...

When I start a project I try to have a plan – at least a loose idea of where I’m heading.  This experiment started out with me wanting to make links for a bracelet with mokume gane  that I learned to do in Hadar’s class in Tucson.  I used Friendly Copper, Friendly Bronze and Pearl Grey Steel clay in my extruder to make a long square rope that I cut into sections.  The sections had all 3 types of clay in concentric circles that mimicked the Japanese mokume gane. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokume-gane  I made the back layer for the 8 links in bronze and placed the cut squares in rows making sure I had good contact with the backing.  The nice thing about using these there clays is firing them all at one time and in one stage.  So much easier.  Before I started the project, I made U shaped wire tabs (nickel chromium) to insert between the bronze backing and the mokume gane squares.  I thought that would be the best way to connect...

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 diffic...

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 m...