Textured Precious Metal Clay™ Earrings
By Celie Fago
Part II of II: The PMC and polymer clay earrings.
Beginner-to-intermediate project.

Photo: Donna Chiarelli

We created the pattern in the teardrop-shaped earrings made last month by carving out shards of PMC. Here, we'll use those shards to texture the PMC part of the second pair of earrings. We'll then make the polymer cone.

When fired, PMC shrinks about 30%. You can use a copier set at 30% reduction to help design earrings that will be wearable size.

1 oz. Precious Metal Clay™ (PMC) PMC slip in airtight container (a plastic film container is fine) Work surface -- I prefer 1/4" plate glass with smoothed edges (available from auto parts stores); Plexiglas, acrylic, or marble will also work Manila folder or other heavy paper Rolling tool 5/8" O.D. (outer diameter) PVC pipe (available from hardware stores) Fine-tip watercolor brush Deck of playing cards Scissors Tissue blade or craft knife Pin tool or doll needle (long needle) Scrap polymer clay (optional) Non-stick cooking "cloth" (I use Teflon bakeware liners) or other drying surface Olive oil poured into the foam in the box the PMC is packed in Kitchen sponge cut to fit in this box Plastic wrap (heavier is better) 3/4" Kemper brass circle cutter (available at craft stores) or a penny and pin tool Incising tool (1st choice: 2mm "V" gouge Micro Carving Tool, available from Prairie Craft Co.; 2nd choice: speedball "V" gouge; 3rd choice: linoleum cutter, available from art stores -- this tool is duller, making it safer but harder to control)	Nail boards (thicker than emery boards; available in packs of 2) Leather thimble (optional) Rotary tool, pin vise with a drill bit, or lightweight metal hole punch Brass brush Liquid dishwashing soap Kiln (or access to kiln) that will hold temperature at 1650°F (900°C) Kiln shelf Vermiculite Unglazed ceramic dish, such as one you'd place under a flower pot (a.k.a. saggar) Rawhide mallet (optional) Tumbler with sterling silver shot (optional) Liver-of-sulphur, Silver Black, or Black Max 0000 steel wool of synthetic steel wool Rouge cloth 400- or 600-grit abrasive paper Rouge cloth Kix cereal Sobo or other white glue 2 wooden skewers 2 eye pins Approx. 2" 20-gauge sterling silver wire Chain-nose pliers Round-nose pliers
For information on supplies, please see the Annual Buyers' Directory.

STEP 1.
Choose 2 relatively round balls of Kix cereal and make handles for them by poking a wood skewer into each. Lightly coat both pieces with Sobo glue (the only purpose of the glue is to make the PMC stick more readily to the cereal). Plant each skewer into a hunk of scrap polymer pressed onto the edge of your work surface within easy reach.

Tear off a piece of plastic wrap about 12" long and set it aside. Position about 1/3 oz. of PMC between 2 stacks of playing cards, each 4 cards high, and draw the plastic wrap across it all. Working through the plastic, roll the PMC down to the level of the card stacks.

STEP 2.
Visualizing the size of the circle necessary to completely encase a Kix ball, flip up the plastic tent and cut 2 circles, each approx. 1/8" larger than a quarter. You may want to lay a quarter on the clay and cut around it with an oiled pin tool. Out of each circle, use the tissue blade or knife to cut 2 or 3 pie-slice-shaped darts.

Note: If this is unfamiliar territory, try it once or twice with polymer clay.

Using an oiled tissue blade or palette knife, carefully transfer one of the circles onto a glue-coated Kix ball (be sure to recover the second circle with plastic). Remove the wood handle with a twist. Press the PMC onto the ball, starting from the top and working your way around, smoothing the seams together with a little bit of water on your watercolor brush and then with your finger. Close the other darts and smooth the seams. Try to keep track of the hole as you work. You may stretch the PMC slightly, trim any excess with the blade, or add more as needed. When all the seams are closed and the Kix ball is entirely covered, roll it vigorously between your palms. This will transform it from a lumpy mass to something resembling a sphere. Reposition the handle in the hole, gently poking a new one if you've lost track of the old one, and set it aside. Repeat with the second ball. Gently push both handles into the polymer clay hunk and allow the PMC spheres to dry.

When dry, fill any cracks with PMC slip. When the slip is dry, refine the shape with nail boards or fine sandpaper (400- or 600-grit). If the handles are loose, reaffix them with a dot of white glue.

STEP 3.
To begin the texturing process, assemble the shards leftover from Part I into a pile on a piece of paper. Using a brush or palette knife, slather the first sphere with thick slip. (Your slip should be thick enough to hold soft peaks.) Be quick, not neat. When it's covered, firmly roll the sphere into the pile of shards, adding more with your fingers as you roll. Press the shards well into the surface, refining the shape with your fingers as you roll. Don't worry about a few bare spots, since you will have an opportunity to add more shards later. Set the ball aside and repeat with the second. When dry, dab on more slip and PMC shards, if necessary.

STEP 4.
Using wire cutters, cut off the wood handles so that the ends are flush with the surface of the spheres. The bit of wood left inside will burn out during firing. Nestle the spheres into a bed of vermiculite or alumina hydrate in an unglazed ceramic dish, such as one you'd place under a flower pot (a.k.a. saggar). Leave the top third or so of the sphere protruding above the surface of the vermiculite. Put the dish onto a shelf in the kiln and fire at 1650°F/900°C for 2 hours.

STEP 5.
Finish as explained in Part I (STEPS 6 and 7). The pieces shown have been scrubbed with a brass brush, but not oxidized.

STEP 6.
We will now make the polymer clay cones. To make these, you will use what I call "moku." In this simplified version of mokume gane (a Japanese metalworking technique that has been developed for polymer clay), you will use the natural tendency of the mica in the metallic and pearlescent clays to shift or reorganize when disturbed. Directing the shifting mica into patterns in the clay is the objective of this technique.

Condition 3 colors of clay (12-16 times through the pasta machine or twist and roll until the texture is smooth and even, and until the clay is uniformly colored. Form the clay into a rectangle measuring approx. 2" 1 1/4". It should be 1/4" to 3/8" thick. Press it onto your work surface so that it is anchored there. Roll the top until smooth.

STEP 7.
Make a pattern of impressions. Press your V-shaped chisel (see Toolbox for alternate impression tools) through the clay until it meets the work surface. Do this again and again until you have covered the surface of the clay with closely spaced marks.

The rectangle will tend to spread out as you push into it. Counteract this periodically by pushing from the sides with the metal ruler. Roll the top until smooth.

STEP 8.
Hold your tissue blade parallel to the work surface, between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, bowing the blade slightly with your thumb. Using a gentle side-to-side sawing motion, shave off 5 or 6 slices from the top, the thinner, the better. Lay the slices upside-down on a piece of waxed paper.

Hint: The newer your tissue blade, the thinner you'll be able to make your slices.

STEP 9.
Cut 1/4" or so from the end of the rectangle and roll it into a snake a bit smaller in diameter than a pencil. Arrange your design slices along the snake, then roll the snake until the seams disappear. Cut 2 segments, each 3/8" long.

Slightly pinch down one end of a segment and lay it on your work surface. Now roll it into a cone shape with your ruler held with one edge against the work surface at an approx. 30° angle.

Hint: If your design has blurred, add a thin slice from what's left on the waxed paper. After you've made the last design adjustment, you may lightly dust the cone with talc or cornstarch if the clay is getting sticky.

STEP 10.
Let the clay cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then trim if desired. (My cones are 1/2" long.) It's easier to trim to roughly the right size and correct the size and shape after firing. Fire upright at 265°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

STEP 11.
When the cones are cool, correct the shape and any size differences with 400-grit wet/dry sandpaper, dampened and laid on a flat surface (glass or metal). Rub the cone back and forth, adding water as need, to true it up. To sand the sides of the cone, cup the sandpaper in one hand and rub the cone on the paper. When you are satisfied with the shape of the cone, proceed to 600-grit to prepare them for buffing.

STEP 12.
Drill a hole for the 20-gauge wire in the top of each cone. Polymer is soft enough that you can easily do this with a pin vise. Make your hole 1/4" deep.

STEP 13.
Cut 2 1" pieces of sterling 20-gauge wire. Make 2 matching eye pins.

Practice assembling the PMC bead with the polymer. Trim the eye pin to fit. You may need to slightly flatten the bead on the side that meets the cone. Rub it back and forth against the dampened 400-grit sandpaper just as you did for the base of the cone.

STEP 14.
Firmly grasp the loop of the eye pin with your chain-nose pliers, then slip the PMC bead onto the pin. Holding it so the bead won't fall off, put some glue on the end of the eye pin. Slip the cone onto the glue-covered pin and correct the orientation.

Hint: Practice this a few times before you open the glue.

Clean off any excess glue with paper towels. Allow to dry for 1 hour.

STEP 15.
Buff the cones now. If you do not have mechanized buffing equipment, lightly sand with 1000-grit wet/dry sandpaper, then rub with 0000 steel wool. For a final soft glow, rub vigorously on your pant leg.

Variations:

1. Condition the 3 colors of clay separately, then mix them only partially before forming into a rectangle. Proceed as described above.

2. Add a very thin layer of conditioned black clay to the top of the rectangle before proceeding with the impression tool.

Celie Fago is a Bethel, VT-based jewelry artist.

Click here for Part I of II: The carved earrings.