Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Pre-Workshop Necklace Hadar's Clay - my pre-workshop necklace February means Tucson!   It’s the Gem Show and The Bead Show with warmer weather than Prescott!   This year I started with a 3 day intensive class with Hadar Jacobson.   Twelve artists met at Lyle Rayfield’s studio in the beautiful Tucson Mountains to learn how to make architectural style jewelry using Hadar’s clay.   Our Class! As a member of a Face Book group, I’ve been reading for quite a while of artist’s challenges occurring in the process of sintering (when clay becomes metal), firing, etc.   I was totally intimidated.   Intimidation is not a state I’m comfortable with but I continued to delay using the clay myself.   One day I received an email and phone call from my good friend, Lyle, who also certified me in Art Clay.   Lyle wanted to invite Hadar to teach ‘Pictorial and Architectural Jewelry’ and needed attendees.   I whined a little and said, “OK.   I guess it is time to tackle this.”   I sent

It’s been a while since I made a ring.   In fact, it had been years.   And when I was going through my supplies, I realized that I needed to use more of my silver clay stash.   Now might just be the time to make a ring. The design I had in mind incorporated holes into a shaped band.   Out came my books and I started reading and remembering. I wanted a size 6 ring and measured 2 sizes larger.   In the end I should have made it 2 ½ inches larger for the shrinkage…next time. Should have made the size a little larger for shrinkage I rolled my silver clay 4 cards thick, planned where the holes would be and cut them with a fine pointed tool.    Since I wanted a shaped ring that was higher in the center than the edges, I dug out my seldom used cork clay and dampened it.   Then I rolled a snake with tapered end and put the clay over it as I wrapped the clay around my ring mandrel that I previously covered in a wrap paper.   Marked where the ring should be and started shaping the b

Several years ago I went to an estate sale wanting to find something to buy to remind me of family friends who lived in that house.   They were such interesting people who were creative, talented and so much fun.   I looked through everything upstairs and eventually found my way to the basement.   There it was! An old ornate brass doorknob.   It went in my box of treasures.   Recently I rearranged my art studio and found it.     My 2 part mold mix came from Cool Tools and just for fun I made a mold of the top of the doorknob.   Then I made a silver medallion using the mold and drilled a tiny hole in it because I wanted to incorporate polymer clay some way.   I know I’m supposed to figure out the entire piece of jewelry before I start anything so it comes out the way I want.   But this time the piece just grew!   I also made a bail that I thought might look good with it…or not.   I fired the pieces and tumbled them and patina’d them.   They sat on my desk for two weeks – until

Last time you read about the tortoise project, the silver clay was ready to fire.   After programming the kiln and waiting the required time, I held my breath and opened the door.   There it was!   Of course I had to try it on to see if it fit before I did anything else.   Success! When silver clay gets fired, the organic part of the clay burns up and the heat fuses the micro filaments of silver to become 99% fine silver.   After the firing the silver looks white.   Once I brush it with a brass brush, the color turns to the silver color one expects.      Now comes the sanding and polishing.   I want to be able to see the pattern of the tortoise better and that requires a patina of liver of sulphur.   The water is warm when I put a small amount of the liver of sulphur gel, mix it, and put in the silver pieces.   After the silver pieces start to darken to the color I want, they will go into a separate dish of water with baking soda to stop the color change.   The fin

 2 Silver Clay Tortoises and 1 original sculpture  The last post about the tortoise left you hanging…..... with a mold ready to use!   The original sculpture was done with polymer clay and baked.   The mold was made with 2 part mold compound and I was concerned about his head and made a second one.   Just a note here….the first one was the best! For those of you not too familiar with silver metal clay, here is a brief description.   The clay is made of micro filaments of silver (recycled I understand) and blended with an organic mixture so the clay is malleable.   It dries pretty quickly so it is important to work quickly and keep the clay moist.   Getting the two parts ready In the case of my tortoise, I conditioned the clay and pressed it into both parts of the mold and let it dry.   Then I removed it from the mold and was anxious to see how the two parts fit together.   With a little adjustment they did well!   After cleaning the insides and sanding them so that the sides

 Just how I felt!  Last week I went to Cosanti, Paolo Soleri’s Gallery in Paradise Valley Arizona.   This is a place I have wanted to go since getting my college design degree.    Ceiling of the Gallery  Soleri is a world-renowned architectural innovator and Cosanti is a place that he designed and built that features experimental earth-formed concrete structures in terraced landscaping.   It is once again gaining in popularity because it was originally built to be ecologically friendly.   More with less!   It is one of Arizona’s historic sites and over the years many architectural students have studied here.   Cosanti   ( http://www.cosanti.com/ ) is a non-profit organization and   produces bronze bells that Soleri is famous for designing.     There is a foundry on site and I was able to watch the process of the pouring of the bells and of course take pictures.   Some bells are polished, some have patina, some are signed by Soleri and the prices range from $79(sale price) t

 see the silver metal clay pendant at the end of this post  I have to confess that I am not a mushroom lover.   I also must confess that I am intrigued with their appearance and have taken a great many photos of them from the east coast to the west; from forests to mountains and in my brother’s front yard in Missouri.   Many of the books I read (you know- the romance novels about Ireland and Scotland) often talk about the importance of fungi in medical treatment and in witch’s brews!   So I thought October would be a great month to share some of those pictures as well as share some of their history. The ancient Egyptians (about 4600 years ago according to hieroglyphics) thought the mushroom was the plant of immortality.   Mushrooms were declared to be the food for only royalty; no commoners could touch them much less eat them.   Other civilizations thought the mushroom could provide superhuman strength and could lead the souls of men to the land of the gods.   Louis XIV is thoug