I shared Shahasp Valentine’s Modern Artifacts Collection with you last week.   Normally I don’t turn around and post about the same artist again the following week, but Shahasp’s mastery of this material is such that I felt a second post on a separate collection was warranted!

This collection is called the Organic Series of Naturally Inspired Forms.   It is inspired by nature and natural forms, including Waves, Freeform Organics, Lilies, Habitats, Knife Edge and most recently Twigs. Waves represent the cleansing and regenerating abilities of the sea. Freeform Organics are inspired by the rich shapes found the deep forest and celebrate nature’s embrace. The Lilies are flower inspired forms, beautiful and elegant in their simplicity. Habitats are a representation of tide pools with marine creatures living amongst the nooks and crannies, symbolizing harmony with nature and one’s surroundings. Knife Edge represent the purity of life itself.  And finally, Twigs represent birth and new growth as buds form, grow into leaves and flowers refreshing our world. Each piece in the Organic Series is signed and numbered in a series with no two pieces being alike.

JJ Singh is a metal clay artist based in Northern Virginia.  She creates gorgeous pieces that she says are all about the passion!  Couldn’t we all use more passion in our lives?  Well, JJ is inspired by those who enjoy boldly proclaiming who they are and who make no apologies for it.  Just look at these beautiful pieces:

Ileana earrings – fine silver metal clay plated in 22k gold with green tourmalines.

Carnival Gypsy Ring – fine silver metal clay. Colored resin, with faceted pink sapphire
Carnival Gypsy Earrings – fine silver metal clay, faceted pink sapphires and PMC granulated silver balls.

Etruscan Ring – fine silver textured metal clay with bezel set blue sapphires

Joe Rissin, owner of Rissin’s Jewelry Clinic in Manhattan has been making and repairing jewelry since he was in high school.  Now his clinic is the destination for people who want their fine jewelry or even their costume pieces repaired or upgraded.  Joe also enjoys working with metal clay, and sent me a couple of shots of some custom work he’s done.

Joe writes:

These are pieces that I have designed and made. Above is a genuine butterfly wing encased in an 18KY gold frame and back with a quartz crystal on front.  Below is a back view showing a removable and interchangeable necklace.

A custom designed silver “Hummingbird”

Just look at the detail on these pieces! Maureen and Rebecca Worth of Sylvan Spirit , a mother-daughter team, create their botanical jewelry designs with Precious Metal Clay. Without the use of molds, flowers and leaves are sculpted in fine silver, bronze or 24k PMC.  The rich tones of silver and gold are softened with veined textures and gentle curves and then enhanced with pearls, crystals, or semi-precious stones.  Collections of jewelry accessories and headpieces are available in upscale boutiques, museum gifts shops, galleries, and Saks Fifth Avenue bridal suites.

Technique Tuesday!

The leaves that I showed you yesterday are really easy to make, but take quite a bit of time. Plan to do them when you’ve got other projects going on so that you don’t have to sit around waiting for the silver to dry.  Choose fresh leaves with deep veins: you’re going to be applying the paste to the bottom of the leaves, so you want the underside to be textured, but not “fuzzy” the way some leaves can be.  Smooth, but bumpy is good!

Step by step instructions

Make Art Monday

This month, I’m going to be focused on bringing you wonderful work by artists who specialize in metal clay: gold, silver, bronze, and the new copper. To start off, here’s a very simple project that I did with silver clay paste and some teeny tiny new leaves from our maple tree. These are each only about 3/4 inch across:

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you the method that I used to make these.  In the meantime, if you’re interested in working with silver clay, there are two brands available that you can research.  Rings & Things carries Art Clay, and Rio Grande carries PMC.

If you are a metal clay artist and would like to share your work with us, just drop me a line at cyndi @ b5Media.com (remove the spaces).

The 2009 Metal Clay World Conference will begin with a Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening, July 15th. Hour long lecture/seminars will begin on Thursday morning and run throughout the day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. On Thursday evening there will be an open studio available for those wanting to play around with their new tools and or supplies. The Keynote Speaker will be the internationally renowned metal smith and author, Alan Revere, founder of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, in California.

The regular conference runs from July 16 to 18, 2009, while the pre-conference classes take place on July 13 to 15.  All information and registration forms can be found at the link above.  One of the teachers will be the talented Lis-el Crowley, whose work is pictured below!

Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry
by Tammy Powley

When the author, Tammy Powley, approached me about creating a project for this book, I was very excited, but also a bit scared! I’ve been involved with a couple other projects with Tammy, and I already knew how much detail and effort she puts into everything that she does. I knew that this was going to be an amazing and very complete book for beginners. And I wasn’t the slightest bit disappointed when I received my copy of Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry. Tammy’s instructions are excellent and very thorough, and the DVD is just the icing on the cake!

Here’s a picture of the project that I made for this book, using a pendant blank from HHH Enterprises. Those little maple leaves on the cover? Those are mine