New versions of older designs and fun of learning :-)

Recently I am playing a little bit more with wonderful possibilities of hand creating prototypes of jewellery in metal clay and then translating them into pieces made with lost wax technique. I am pretty happy with the results and I definitely think this is a fantastic way of using properties of metal clay. I already posted here a few of my flowery designs, but recently I also made a few symbols, which I always loved. All the pieces in this post are made of traditional sterling silver.




This is only the beginning of a whole collection of symbols, but I wanted to start with motif of trees, Sun ("Solar mandala") and tiny, crescent Moon. All these designs were totally hand formed and carved (no ready moulds etc.), then made into sterling silver, and adorned with natural stones. I really enjoy the whole process.

On example of my first metal clay designs meant for lost wax casting technique I learned really a lot about dos and don'ts of the whole process. Avoiding undercuts, paying attention to thickness of all elements, thinking about how wax will flow when filling the mould etc.
And, yeah - this was a hard lesson - I also learned that if I don't say a loud STOP to myself, I can work on a design FOREVER. It's never good enough. But the funny thing is that it seems these imperfections are what make my pieces natural, and interesting to the eye. At least this is what I keep hearing from my clients. My inner perfectionst is crying ;-).

I am also super happy that I designed my own bails - they work nicely and correspond really well with the designs they are meant for (at least I think so ;-) ). They will probably be suitable for some other pieces I want to make and some of my one of a kind work. So, definitely no more generic, ready bought bails in my jewellery and I have some more ideas for this type of articulated bails coming.

As for other interesting things - I finally visited Wytwórnia Antidotum - jewellery making school based in Warsaw, to "collect" my prize for a contest I won last year with my pendant "Natura abhorret a vacuo". The prize were private classes in the school and I used it all to learn a little bit more about traditional techniques of stone setting. We focused on faceted stones. Here you can see some of my trials with different types of settings (yeah... A drunken hedgehog would probably do it better then I did, and I definitely need to practice, practice and maybe practice a little bit more ;-) , but hey - learning on your own mistakes also works :-) ). I generally knew how all these settings work, but it's a completely different story, to actually try it yourself under a guidance of someone experienced (big thanks to Remigiusz Grodzicki :-) ). I also did a few tube settings, but they are not in the photo. I had a lot of fun, but my hands really hurt :-))). After all - I am a delicate metal clay girl ;->.

Just one more nice photo for the end of this post ;-). One of my sterling silver "Twig rings", which also started their life as metal clay pieces, photographed in a pretty surroundings :-).

Three new workshops for 2016

Hello in 2016! 2015 was a really great year, full of smaller and bigger successes, lots of changes, travelling and meeting new people. One thing remains the same though - I am still  really great at writing regular posts on my blog ;-). Maybe this year, maybe this year... :-)
Today I want to tell you a little bit about my new classes for 2016. I will still teach my old ones ("Herbarium pendants" and "Twig rings") in a few places, but I felt need of something fresh and new. So here they are :-).

"Mushroom dreams"
I am particularly excited about this one.  It's a 3 days workshop packed with lots of different techniques, featuring a branch (empty inside, so it's perfect for a bead-strung necklace), various, 3 dimensional mushrooms, and a small, bezel set stone. Wonderful textures, interesting shapes, lots of tricks for creating secure openwork constructions in metal clay - this is what this workshop is about.



















"Heart Deco"
It's a 2 days workshop featuring really cool "pillow" effects, interesting filing techniques for creating lovely ornamentation, various ways of working with coils, clean setting of fireable stones, articulated bail or a little "dangle" and much more.  Pieces created during this class can look in many different ways - not necessarily like stylized hearts. As usually in case of my classes - using the same set of techniques everyone can create something different.

"Miniature Teddy Bear"
This one is a one day class for those who love tiny, cute creatures. Creating a tiny teddy bear, which is mainly empty inside (to save on clay) is not as difficult as it might seem. It's just about following certain steps and using your imagination. Your teddy bear can hold a tiny heart or have a miniature tie or maybe a necklace... This class is about playing with miniature shapes and having a lot of fun! You will learn working in a small scale, building tiny, hollow elements and creating details in both wet and dry clay.

I already arranged classes in a few countries for 2016 - in some places everything is set, in some places we are still talking about some details.
Sooo...

In the first half of the year I'll be teaching in United Kingdom, then Belgium, and finally Austria.

-> In UK you can meet me in Metal Clay Ltd. (Wareham, Dorset). I'll be teaching two classes. First "Heart Deco" - 30th April- 1st May
"Twig rings" - 2nd May

-> In Belgium I will teach yet again in Inge Verbruggen's studio. Two classes.
"Mushroom dreams" - 14th -16th May
"Miniature teddy bear" - 17th May

-> In Austria, I will teach in Vienna, at Sulie Girardi's studio.

The plan is...
"Mushroom dreams" - 27th - 29 th May
"Miniature teddy bear" - 4th June
"Twig rings" - 5th June

Later you'll be able to take my classes in several places in USA, we are still working on some details though.

For sure you'll meet me in

-> Pennsylvania, Philadelphia area (10th-12th September) ( I will teach there "Heart Deco" class and "Twig rings" - contact Lara Ginzburg and Christy Anne Miller for more info)

-> Florida, Sarasota (I'll be there 15th-20th September). The hostess of my classes is Silvie Waals. I'll be teaching two classes there - "Herbarium pendant" and "Twig rings".

-> Texas, in July, 18-22. "Herbarium pendant", "Heart Deco" and "Twig rings". The hostess is Judy Padgett Darrow ( Art On The Veranda dba Three Frog Alley ).

I also have already some plans for 2017, but it's far too soon to talk about this :-).
That's all for now :-).

Ah, and in case you forgot what are "Herbarium" and "Twig rings" classes, here are the photos :-).

Some exciting news :-)

This post will be quite hectic, but I start travelling again tomorrow, and still have a lot of things to do before leaving. It was just too long without writing :-).

First of all - that piece from the previous post - "Natura abhorret a vacuo" - actually won that competition it was made for. I am really happy, especially that I got the most wonderful prize - some free classes in Wytwórnia Antidotum jewellery making school! I will "collect" my prize this Autumn - I am super excited. I am sure this will be very beneficial for me.










Second of all (or maybe I should have made it "first of all", because I am just over the Moon about it ;-) ) my piece "Startled" was published on the cover of "Handmade Business", issue August 2015. You can even find a  post about its making here, on my blog :-). It was such a great surprise. Inside there is also a wonderful article about metal clays, written by Jeannette Froese LeBlanc.








Third of all (I wonder if this expression goes beyond this number ;-) ) I started  an exciting journey with preparing pieces for my permanent collection, using lost wax casting method. Finally! I was thinking about it for a year or more. I found a very reasonable caster, made a few models using metal clay and they made the molds. For that first time I prepared a flowery pendant, three of my twig rings, and some tiny items meant mostly for stud earrings. I was quite impressed with the result. Of course there were some issues, but the caster is willing to work on the molds a little bit more, to make sure they work perfectly.It actually seemed that they had a little bit of fun too, because they hadn't worked with this type of design before.

It's a long story, and I will surely write a separate post about it. For now I am just showing you photos of two of my casted pieces. In the pendant above  I left the place for the stone without a setting, so it can vary in size, type etc. and I can make each piece unique in a way :-). And the earrings are actually super tiny :-). I learned so much through this experience, and this is another thing I will continue this Autumn, when I come back. I have a lot of doubts and various thoughts about the whole idea. I am also preparing a presentation about the whole process for Metal Clay Mojo retreat in Chester CT - I will show some interesting things on example of a tiny owl, which started as a metal clay prototype






Conferences, classes and stuff ;-).
Another exciting thing are all the journeys which start tomorrow. First I go to Japan - mostly for vacation, but I will also visit Aida Chemical Industries' studio in Tokio. I will have there a little presentation of my work. So - if you just happen to be in Tokio on August the 10th - let me know, I will give you some details :-). Of course I am very stressed :-) - my whole jewellery making life I have somewhere in my head, this little voice,  whispering "when they (whoever they are at a moment) see my work in person, they all will think - 'yeah... we thought it was better'" :-). Having this meeting in mind I made a few new pieces with Art Clay Silver - this tree among them. It's a good example of one of the techniques I use. Of course I am freaking out about the finish, "askewness" etc. but I try to think that all my jewellery is Nature inspired, and you know what? There is no such thing as "perfection" in Nature. At least if we define perfection in our weird, human way.

Classes - Yes. When I come back from Japan, I will have four days to prepare for my trip to USA. In one of the previous posts I wrote about my schedule of classes there. I will visit three states - Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Illinois. I am hoping to see some familiar faces and meet new people :-). I will teach my "Herbarium pendant" class in all the studios I visit. When I come back, I will fly to UK, to teach in Metal Clay Ltd. And then I'll be back for good :-). I also prepared quite a lot of things made of PMC Sterling and other materials, to be able to show some new work, wherever I go.


Ok, so I guess that's all. I am just leaving a few more pictures of  my recent work, and come back to packing!

A few updates on my upcoming classes

Not so long  ago I came back from Belgium, where I taught three different workshops - my first classes abroad  in 2015. It was actually the second time I taught at Inge Verbruggen's studio (first was July 2014) - she is a great hostess and a friend. We met for the first time during my workshops in Netherlands in 2013, and later during a retreat in UK. This is what I love about metal clay community - it makes the world a really small place ;-).

Sooo :-), in this post I just wanted to leave here an update on a few of my upcoming classes that are already (or soon will be ) opened for registration.

First place is Hamburg, Germany:
10th April - Twig rings
11-12th April - Herbarium pendants
To register contact Susan Diana Wilson

And then, later in the year, you'll be able to meet me in several places in USA:

1. At the Metal Clay Mojo Conference in Chester, Connecticut I'll teach my "Herbarium pendants" twice, as a pre and  a post conference class - August 18-19th & August 24-25th.
The contact person is Lis-el Crowley.

2. Then I'll visit Lara Ginzburg in Philadelphia area, PA. August 29-30th I'll teach there my "Herbarium pendants" and then again the same class August 31st & September 1st.

3. The last place will be Chicago, Illinois. At Jackie Truty's Art Clay World USA I'll teach my "Herbarium pendants" class - September 5-6th.


I'll let you know about my other classes abroad this year (in Europe) a little bit later. We are still in the process of arranging things :-).

And here is a class sample I made during my "Herbarium" workshops in Belgium, in February. It was a Valentine's day ;-).

Every time a piece is a little bit different, showing possibilties of creating different shapes, looks etc.
I taught this class in so many places, and each time I am amazed  by how varied are the final pieces made by the students - all created with the same set of techniques :-).
So, stay tuned and, hopefully, I'll see some of you, my dear Readers, during my workshops ;-).

Classes in Vienna :-)

Last year I taught quite a lot in a few places abroad and it was a WONDERFUL, new experience :-).  I met so many great people and talented students from all across Europe.
It was really great opportunity for me, to practice my teaching skills, see beautiful places and make new friends at the same time. 
This year I already made some exciting teaching plans and I'm still working on details of a few more trips :-). In this post I want to tell you about the very first workshop abroad I'll be teaching this year...







I have some good news for those who live in Austria and want to attend my classes (or those from other countries who want to visit the wonderful city of Vienna :-) ).
In March 2014 I'll be teaching "Twig rings" and "Herbarium pendant" classes there - each class twice.
„Twig Ring“ is a one day class that will take place on Monday, March 3rd and Friday, March 7th.
„Herbarium Pendant“ takes place on two days: Tuesday and Wednesday, March 4/5th and Sat.and Sunday, March 8/9th. There are still a few places available.
More information (In German) can be found here: http://www.vienna-expressions-studio.at/12.html
English speakers, feel free to contact Sulie Girardi (the hostess of the class - amazing person - we met during my classes in Netherlands :-) ) through FB or email (vienna-expressions-studio@gmx.at) for details.



Just to tickle your fancy ;-)  - I visited Vienna a few years ago, and this is my favourite place there, and my favourite dish :-). It's a really magical city.

New experiences coming ;)

Long time since I last wrote here - it's not because I forgot about my blog ;) - I'm simply super busy. And productive. I had to add this, because being busy doesn't always mean that something constructive is happening.
This post will be very short, because in a few hours I have to catch a plane to United Kingdom, Leeds. A few months ago I wrote here about a class I would teach at Lynne Glazzard's studio. Well, it's happening :) and the class will take place this weekend. This is very exciting and a bit stressful for me (aaaa!! the first class ever I'll conduct in English. Luckily I can also draw or use sign language ;) ), but I really can't wait to meet all these wonderful metal clay artists that will attend the class. I'll finally meet those people whose works I admired for such a long time online.

I had been preparing for this class to the last moment, and this morning I finished a few new class samples (all but one from the photo above sold, so I needed to prepare something new to show). Here they are.  The photo isn't good, because my more "professional" camera is already packed in my luggage, but still, I'm quite happy with them :). I hope we all will have great time together, and some beautiful pieces will be created :). When I'm back, I promise, I'll write a long post :)))), this time about quite cool thing I tested recently - flash drive enclosure kit. Really neat tool, that helps to build nice pen drive enclosures, using metal clay.
So, wish me luck and "see" you soon :).

Something nice, something interesting, something weird ;)

First of all our jewellery auctions for The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity were very successful :). We collected almost 19 000 PLN (which is over 6000 USD). And The Orchestra, during The Grand Finale, collected in the whole country almost 40 millions PLN (which is about 13 millions USD :) ). It was great to be a part of this. So this is "something nice" :).

The "something interesting" is my article in the latest issue of Metal Clay Artist Magazine (well, I hope it is interesting ;) ). Some time ago I made this dragon pendant with a moonstone as a custom order and took a lot of photos of the whole making process. I decided it would be nice to write something about this. Originally I showed it only to the girls from Etsy Metal Clay Team, but Joy Funnell told me it would be a good material for an article. Thanks Joy! :) So here it is :). If you haven't read this MCAM issue yet, check it out. There is a lot of interesting things in there. My personal favourites are Michael Sturlin's article on time management, Wanaree Tanner's "how to" on sterling silver clay ring and an interview with Evelyn Pelati Dombkowski.

And as for "something weird" - this is a longer story ;). A few weeks ago I was invited to a free metalsmithing jewellery workshops organized by Wytwórnia Antidotum (jewellery making school based in Warsaw). I chose a class on casting and it will take place this weekend (can't wait!), but the fun began sooner ;). The official invitation I got by mail was everything but ordinary.
As you can see in the photo, it was a lovely wooden box, with a few weird things inside: a piece of aluminium mesh, a circle made of plexiglass, a cinnamon stick, playing card and a glass cabochon. There was also an instruction saying that I should choose at least two of these things, add anything I want and make this way a wearable piece of jewellery :). Just for fun!

I immediately had a few ideas, but finally I drew this and decided to use the cinnamon stick and aluminium mesh. The cinnamon stick because I liked it the most from the very beginning and the mesh, because it was so ugly I just felt I needed to do something to make it easier on eyes ;D. This project was totally not "me", but I just wanted to have some fun, so why not? :)

I chose to work with Goldie Bronze ™, simply because it's relatively cheap (so I wouldn't feel remorse that I'm wasting materials just to play) and I needed something warm-coloured for that project.
I constructed  a few cuboids, that I planned to put together in three segments that would form three parts of the pendant. I wanted them to be rather rough and slightly irregular.
Later I removed excessive clay with a file, added some texture and granulation. I also chipped them a bit...

After firing and some finishing they looked like this. I decided I would try something new for finishing touches and finally test Vintaj Patinas I bought some time ago. I used three colours - moss, cinnabar and rust. I used them for the first time, so I didn't do it really "professionally", but I guess I can say something about this product. Generally I like these patinas, but to be honest I wouldn't call them patinas. These are just cool semi-opaque paints for metal, that stick really well to its surface, are water resistant and generally durable. They look really nice and I already can see that it is possible to create very interesting effects with them, but this never will be a real patina look. They don't react with metal, they just cover it, so the look always will be different. But I still like them very much! I just wouldn't call them Vintaj Patinas, but Vintaj Metal Paints :).

Then I began assembling the whole thing. I cut the cinnamon stick into two pieces (I used a piercing saw for this) and put them in the right places (yes, I used epoxy glue for this, and yes, I'm very ashamed of this ;) ).

I needed two more cuboids I planned to make of aluminium mesh, but finally I decided I would also use the playing card from the wooden box. As you can see I just folded it and scotch taped it from the inside. Later I made the same shape from the alumium mesh.

And here you can see the finished pendant. I used Vintaj Patinas again on paper and mesh cuboids.  I painted the inner surface of the mesh with "rust" and the outer with "moss". It looks quite interesting when you can see orange colour peeking out from behind the green. I applied the same colours on the surface of the playing card cuboid. I just irregularly layered them one on top of another. When patinas dried I covered them additionally with glossy decoupage lacquer to make the cardboard cuboid more durable and harder.

So here it is :). I would never make something like this normally, but I have to say I had a lot of fun, I learned a lot and I got inspired! I will definitely make something else with cinnamon sticks (this time something more consistent with my aestethics ;) ). This is a wonderful material. Its texture and colour is so beautiful and the smell is heavenly :).

"Herbarium" openwork pendant workshop

I have really wonderful news to share :). Next year I'll teach a class on my openwork "Herbarium" pendants in Lynne Glazzard's workshop in beautiful Yorkshire, UK. The class will take place on 11th and 12th May 2013. You can find all the information here, on Metal Clay North website.

So, if you like my work, would like to learn something from me, but Poland is too far, maybe UK is an option to check out :).
This is an offcial description of the workshop:

"In this class you will learn to make an openwork, romantic pendant, adorned with a bezel set stone and precise, tiny ornaments. You will use silver clay to create lacy, yet strong and secure constructions, which you’ll decorate with extremely detailed tiny leaves, flowers, forest fruits or other ornaments of your choice. You will also learn to make a box like, elevated base for a stone and set it in a bezel setting. All these skills can be easily adapted to your own style, merged with your favourite techniques and used with different metal clays.
 Openwork designs are wonderful response to increasing silver prices, allowing you to save on material, but not on the quality of your works. Some previous silver clay experience is necessary."

And here are a few bigger projects I made using this technique:

"Herbarium - Misty Morning" - silver, green quartz, topaze

"Herbarium - spring rainbow" - ACS silver and labradorite

"Herbarium - blackberry" - ACS silver and amethyst

"Herbarium - summer scent" - silver, 22 K gold, labradorites

"Herbarium - forest flame" - fine silver and labradorite

"Herbarium - forest fruits" - silver, amethyst and garnet

"Herbarium - raspberry" - bronze ring with garnet

"Herbarium - gold vines" - bronze and olivine

I hope it's tempting ;). I'm very excited about teaching in Lynne Glazzard's studio. And, if UK is still too far, you can always check my tutorials in my Etsy shop :).
P.S. I'll also teach this class in Poland soon. More news coming.