New tutorial - 3-dimensional fun with base metal clays!

New tutorial for the New Year! I am so happy I finally finished it. This is my fifth tutorial, but actually the first one I wrote since 2013. Those three years were so busy, I couldn't find time to write anything.
This is also my first tutorial describing a project made of bronze clay (other four were written with silver clay in mind). I am pretty excited about it :-). Ok, so what is it about and what you can find inside?
"Wings of Summer" shows how to make a bronze, flower-shaped bead cap, adorned with a 3-dimensional butterly. It is available in my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/drakonaria








 It has 39 pages (!) and  includes 99 nice quality photos. The instructions are super detailed and easy to follow.
This time I chose a project perfect for advanced metal clay users and those, who are looking for a good introduction to working with base metal clays. In this tutorial I work with bronze clay – Goldie Bronze – but it can be easily adapted for other metal clays, including all varieties of fine silver .







 

"Wings of Summer" tutorial is a great proposal for those who like truly 3-dimensional, romantic jewellery.
Being quite advanced, this tutorial doesn't present basics of working with metal clay (for example checking clay consistency, maintaining clay moisture, drying etc.). This information may be found in "Fingerprint of Love" which I highly recommend for total beginners.

The tutorial shows you how to make a 3-dimensional butterly sitting on a flower, but you can use all the elements in a lot of different ways. Make two butterflies and you'll get a pair of amazing, feminine earrings. Add a bail behind a flower and use a butterfly as a dangle. Use those elements in your rings... Possibilities are endless :-).













ADDITIONALLY with "Wings of Summer" tutorial you'll also get a separate file with my updated test of Goldie Bronze clay (its original version may be found on this blog), showing how to run a proper test of a new clay and what you can learn from it :-).
It also gives you a lot of additonal, valuable information about working with base metal clays.
At the end of the tutorial you'll also find exhaustive answer to a few, frequently asked questions, concerning most common problems you can encounter while working with bronze metal clays.




Ok :-) So "Wings of Summer" tutorial may be found in my Etsy shop. I hope you'll enjoy it :-). I had a lot of fun writing it. It couldn't be done without my amazing partner, Sebastian, who patiently took all the photos :-).
Aaaand, if you prefer to learn face to face - check my previous post, about my classes abroad in the first half of 2017.

Classes in the first half of 2017

In this post you''ll find some information about my teaching trips this year, specifically in the first half of 2017. I'll be pretty busy till May, visiting really exciting places and events :-). Can't wait!

1. First, like every year, I will visit my friend Inge Verbruggen in her studio, Temse, Belgium. After so many times of doing classes together we already work like a good team :-). Inge is a wonderful hostess.
I'll be teaching there three classes - "Mushroom dreams"  (January 23-25) , "Heart Deco" (January 28-29) and "Twig rings" (January 30). Both "Heart Deco" and "Twig rings" are already sold out. There is only one place left in "Mushroom dreams" class (you can contact Inge about this class via her website)
You can see little posters for each class at the end of this post.

2. My next trip will be to USA - two states - Pennsylvania and Florida - just like last year.
-> First I'll teach in Sarasota, Florida "Mushroom dreams" (February 24-26) and "Heart Deco" (February 27-28). Contact person is Silvie Waals ( http://www.silsartstudio.com ). I totally fell in love with Sarasota - really fantastic place to visit - so - if you are thinking about taking a class with me, it might be a great idea to come to Florida :-).
-> Then I'll travel to Pennsylvania, specifically Chadds Ford (Philadelphia area) to teach in Christy Miller's studio, "Mushroom dreams" (March 3-5) and "Night Scene pendant" (March 6). Contact person is Lara Ginzburg at lkeginz@netscape.net
I taught at Christy's and Lara's already twice and can't wait to see them again :-).

3. Later in March you'll be able to meet me in United Kingdom. I'll teach my "Night Scene pendant" class during a fantastic event - You Can Make It conference in beautiful Wareham, Dorset. My class is already full, but there are other classes from really great tutors still available. I am really excited about this event - about meeting metal clay people from all around Europe (and not only!) and attending interesting presentations and demos (I am also preparing a demo and a presentation for this conference). 

4. After that, at the beginning of April I'll be teaching some private classes in Romania.

5. At the end of April I will visit USA again - this time McKinney, Texas. The hostesses are fantastic Judy Padgett Darrow and Dana Brock ( you can contact them via Art On The Veranda dba Three Frog Alley ). I'll be teaching there three classes. First "Night Scene" pendant in a little bit more complex, two days version (April 21-22), "Miniature Teddy Bear" (April 24) and "Mushroom Dreams" (April 25-27).

Below you can see some photos advertising the classes :-).