Finishing up from Tuesday and Wednesday's posts about comparing the three types of bronze clay - Prometheus Bronze, Hadar's Bronze and FastFire Bronzclay.......

Each of the bronze clays had their own individual firing schedules.  We didn't want to do three - actually 4 separate firings (as Hadar's has two firings) so decided to fire Hadar's pieces on their own according to her schedule and then fire the Prometheus and FastFire Bronzclay together.

Hadar's clay was fired according to her instructions which includes phase I for half an hour  in carbon and then cool followed by phase II for 3 hours in carbon.   All Hadar's pieces fired and sintered fine on this schedule.

For the other two clays, we followed the FastFire Bronzeclay schedule where you fire in carbon for 2 hours with full ramp but we had read that some people found that they needed to increase the temperature from 1525 to 1550 degrees F - so we went for the higher temperature.  That is higher than the temperature recommended for Prometheus - but we thought it worth a try.  Again - all pieces fired and sintered fine and there was no blistering on the Prometheus despite it firing at a higher temperature.

(As an aside....On my "anyone" piece I tried adding a hat to the FastFire Bronzclay made from Hadar's copper clay, and Marly tried combining Hadar's copper too on some of her beads but the copper didn't sinter on any of the pieces. Obviously combining the two metals and brands needs a little more fiddling with!)

We used our usual techniques for finishing and found quite a few differences between the clays.  I found that with Hadar's, getting a smooth finish was not easy.  On my bird, it seemed that there were "pits" - that couldn't be sanded out. I'm thinking that may have something to do with unevenness in the mixing and the pits are where there was concentrated binder but not metal??? but Marly really shook the powder well to begin with and mixed thoroughly and carefully......Finishing looked fine with the textured pieces but for that plain finish I guess I would have to refill and refire etc to get the finish I like.

From left to right: Fastfire Bronzclay (FF), Hadar's (H) and (unfinished) Prometheus (P)

Prometheus didn't seem to sand to a smooth finish - I just couldn't get it to have that lovely satiny silky feel that I like in my pieces.   I gave up even trying to do my bird in Prometheus I'm afraid.

The Fastfire Bronzclay finished really nicely however.  As you can see from the photos, I got that satiny silky finish on the bird and anyone (without his hat!!!) and it also finished really well on the textured and carved pieces.

There were big differences in shrinkage between the clays too as the photos show.  The beads I didn't make in uniform length but they were all made with three card thickness.  The least shrinkage occurred with FastFire Bronzclay and the most with Prometheus.

FF, H, P.  You can see the difference in how the clays take texture

FF, H, P.  All beads were rolled 3 cards thick. This photo shows the differences in shrinkage.

So the conclusion of all this is that I actually enjoyed working with the FastFire Bronzclay.  It is a totally different clay from the Bronzclay released 2 years ago and they have made some great improvements.  It was easily my favorite amongst the three types in all categories - and both Marly and Angie also chose it as their favorite too. For once, I am excited to try bronze on some larger pieces and see how it goes - but first I'll give it a try on something small in my kiln and keep my fingers crossed it works like Angie and Marly's kiln!!!


But I reiterate - using these clays is a very personal experience  - both in our individual senses  of what feels good and how we use it.  We are lucky to have choices in our clays that can used for different applications.

 Keep watching and I hope to show you some bronze pieces in the not too distant future!

I'd love to hear your experiences with any or all of these clays.  Do leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Following on from yesterday's post about our testing out the three types of bronze clay.....

I began with Hadar's bronze clay and made a round tube textured bead, a square tube plain bead, a little songbird and a wing for carving.  The clay took and kept the texture just fine on the round bead.  When it came to the square bead, there was some cracking in the clay, but after it dried, it was easy enough to fill in the cracks and sand it down - although when filling you do lose some of the texture.  The bird was easy to shape and the wings joined relatively easily.  When it came to carving the wing, it was quite difficult to carve - even after I had moistened the surface a little. I also tried carving the square bead but it wasn't easy.

Hadar's Bronze Clay

Next up was Prometheus and I made the same pieces as above.  The Prometheus clay did not seem to hold it's shape or texture.  The texture on the round bead reduced considerably and the shape of the bird slumped so that the base of the bird was just flat where it sat.  It just couldn't hold it's shape.  Making the square bead, there was a lot of cracking and these didn't seem to fill very easily.  Joining was OK both on the seams and the bird however I found I couldn't make a small bird like I could in the other clays - it just didn't seem easy to manipulate in small scale.  Carving, like Hadar's, was difficult and not enjoyable.

I do want to make a comment here about Prometheus.  I tried Prometheus when it first came on the market and it was a joy to work with. I liked it.  Recently I got two more packets and the clay is totally different in every way from my initial packet. I don't know if they have changed the formula or changes occurred as they ramped up production but these last two packets just don't seem to "work" like the first one.  I emailed the manufacturer/supplier after I had tried this new batch a few weeks ago, expressing my disappointment, but they never responded.

Prometheus Bronze clay

Finally - I managed to wrestle the FastFire Bronzclay from Marly to try that.  Wow!  No wonder she didn't want to let it go.  It is a joy to work with.  It takes and keeps texture well and the seams on the beads joined very easily.  There was no cracking on the square bead and the songbird was just as easy as anything. I embedded some bronze wire into the bird too.  The wing was a delight to carve - like running the carver through butter.  What a difference to the other two.  There was no need to moisten the surface or anything.  Just a dream.  I was so enjoying this, I decided to try it out on an "anyone" figure too and he worked just fine.

Fastfire Bronzclay

 You'll have to wait until tomorrow for me to tell you about firing and finishing the three clays.

You can see more of Marly's work at Studio 28 - Waterloo,  Canada.

Oh dear! We’ve been so busy with summer projects and get-aways that I almost forgot that its THIS Monday that my next guest blog is due. Where does the time go? Its been fun having time for new projects like updating the little kitchenette in the front apartment and putting in a perennial garden in the front of the house. And we had a little get away to see Sting perform with the London (England) Symphony Concert Orchestra here in London (Ontario) on Wednesday night. Wow! What an amazing concert!

Not much time for the studio these days, but I’ve managed to create a few new pieces in the last while that I thought I’d share with you. I’ve grown to love working with copper and bronze clay along with fine silver clay. Although bronze and copper can be a bit more difficult to work with sometimes, the result of three metal colors in one piece is really worth it. Both Angie and I have found working with Hadar Jacobson’s bronze and metal powders to be our preferred choice. You can mix just the amount that you need, and the clay when it is first mixed is supple and very easy to work and manipulate. I currently am working with the three metals in a collage form that looks like a little temple. I like the form and hope there is lots of room for playing with texture and shapes within this format. Here are some of my initial pieces using this format.


I purchased some tree stamps at the art clay conference last year and decided to make a few pieces using this tree design.





The next two pieces incorporate some “Lake Huron Series” earrings that I had left in my “odds and ends” box.





I’m looking forward to playing with more copper, bronze, and silver soon. Just a few more projects....like clearing some space in the studio and I’ll be on my way!

Here's a new little friend to introduce to you.  This time a sweet little chicken.


His name is Terry........can you guess his last name?



OK.  I'll tell you - he's Mr Yaki!! ....as in Terry Yaki..... as in Terry Yaki Chicken!


As you wear Terry, he's there to remind you not to be a chicken but be brave!


He's made from white bronze and hangs on a 24 inch chain.


You may recall that the last time I tried Hadar's White Bronze, it came out yellow - well this time it came out white! Didn't do anything different - but Hadar said that sometimes the color change just seems to happen.

I’m sitting at the table amidst piles of last year’s receipts coaxing my shy and often timid left brain to step up and make sense of the numbers, tables, percentages, and schedules that make up my income tax return. As I look over a receipt from one of myToronto suppliers, my right brain merrily skips into my head and says, “Remember on that particular trip to Toronto you also went to Massey Hall to hear the Canadian Songwriters Tribute to Neil Young.”  “Oh yes!” I enthusiastically respond, “What a great
concert!” Which inspires me to go over to my computer and click on iTunes...a bit of music in the background to help me get through this tax thing would be perfect! Oh and while I’m here at the computer, I might as well check my email. Ah yes, an email from my dear friend Ruth inviting me to be a guest writer on her blog. What a great opportunity! How exciting!  But wait, now I need to write something!  How does one begin? Looking back at the pile of receipts on the table, I decide that, indeed, this is the perfect time to think about my first guest blog entry.

So let’s go back to spring of 2008. Angie, my good friend and business partner, and I have dabbled in metal clay for a few years, but its when we spend three days with Celie Fago in her lovely Vermont studio, learning about the tear away technique, doming and keum boo, that our excitement about this incredible medium really takes off! 


During our time with her, we are introduced to bronze clay which Celie has been testing for Bill Struve and Rio.  We also learn that she will be teaching the first introductorycourse in bronze clay at the PMC conference that summer. Mmmm.....another exciting opportunity presents itself. Angie is lucky enough to make it in Celie’s bronze clay course which fills up within days of its posting. It is in this course that Angie has the very very good fortune of sitting beside a lovely British woman named Ruth Baillie.  Both of us continue to enjoy her company during the course of the conference, discussing seminars and people we have met each evening over a glass of Ruth’s very own Birdland Merlot. And the rest, as they say, is history.





Little do we know that when we say our sad goodbyes at the end of the conference, that we will all be together again in a few months. Wait...what’s that? Oh dear...the left side of my brain is wringing her hands, glancing over to the pile of now neglected receipts, and telling me in a very forced whisper that there are tax deadlines to meet.  I guess, the next chapter of our adventures with Ruth have to wait. But, at least now I know what I’ll be writing about in my second entry. I really wish I had invested in that nifty “receipt reader” thing that Ruth talks about earlier in her blog. I might be a little less reluctant to go back over to the table. Maybe, I should go online and learn more about those receipt
readers, or perhaps go for a walk on this beautiful, sunny day to clear my head a bit before I get back to the numbers...isn’t there some dirty laundry that needs attention?...and so it goes.

Someone asked if the first cats  I made in Prometheus bronze were available for sale.  As I wasn't happy with the little chunk that fell off one of them, even after I'd sanded it, nor the mottled color, I said I'd try making her another pair. Here are the second pair - a definite improvement on the first pair:



More predominant rosy color than yellowy bronze......  I prefer the cat on the right - shown below:



I'm trying a repair on the first pair of cats I made - by adding a new layer and refiring...I'll see how that goes today.

I've just tried out a new bronze clay that doesn't require activated carbon for firing. It's made in France and called Prometheus Bronze Clay.


I decided to test it by making a simple sculpted pair of cat earrings. Meet Claude and Claudia (get it?..Clawed??)

I liked working with it in it's clay stage a lot. It had a nice feel to it, parts attached very easily with just a little water, smoothed and sanded nicely..... It reminded me of Original PMC in it's feel.

For firing, you can fire it wrapped in paper towels and kiln blanket or fire it open. For my first experiment, I tried it wrapped. Each piece was first wrapped in half a paper towel, then both were rolled together in a kiln blanket. They were fired for 30 minutes at 700 degrees C /1292 degrees F. It was straight forward.


After firing, I took them out and quenched them in cold water. At this stage, black oxidised flakes came off. On one of them, a large chunk came off the front, causing a big indentation. Both seemed fully scintered.

The result was two very pink colored cats. I polished them and tumbled them.

My main comment re. the fired pieces was that the bronze looks mottled in color. There is definitely a rosy tinge to the bronze, but it seems a little patchy in the pieces. A more golden color shows through in some areas as you can see in the photos.


Anyhow - I assembled the cats, as I wanted to figure out how to do the four legs! The legs now ring very gently against the body - making them sound like quiet little bells!

Anyone else get this mottled rose and golden bronze in the same piece? What have your experiences been trying out this new clay? I'd love to hear. I'm going to try and open firing next and see how that compares.

My little bronze and copper songbird is featured in Hadar Jacobson's latest book about bronze and copper metal clay: Mixed Metal Jewelry from Metal Clay


I've done very little with bronze and copper, but it's lovely to see my little bird in such good company! The book looks great, stuffed full of information and ideas.

Last summer I made a bronze necklace called "comfort me" which a friend bought before she went on a trip to Kenya. The necklace has the words of the 23rd psalm on it and hanging in front, the tag says "comfort me". She was planning on taking it with her on her trip. This week she emailed me her story about the necklace:

"Since returning from an other worldly trip to Kenya in October, I have wanted to let you know how very special the "Comfort me" pendant became. As much as I treasured it for myself, when I became of aware of the ever present stresses in the life of my hostess, Mary Hinga, it seemed only right that she have the pendant. (Our church is partnering with the Kihumo Parish, and Mary, as a longstanding member of session and head of the women's guild, is constantly reaching out to serve those less fortunate. She hasn't seen her husband in a couple of years as he's been under medical care in the states. ) Point being - Mary was thrilled with the gift. In taking photos the day we visited a refugee camp, I was lucky to get one shot which shows off the pendant beautifully. As you create your jewelry, do you ever wonder where it will find a home? This piece traveled far!"


Thanks so much for letting me know Judy. Glad that comfort is being spread around the world.

Just spent a couple of days up with my parents in Lincolnshire. We had a lovely day yesterday at the seaside at Sutton on Sea. Whenever we go to the coast in CA, we always look for whales and, to be honest, most times we see some......

So I was joking about seeing whales at Sutton and then saw this big black thing come out of the water. It was quite angular, and if it hadn't gone back under, I'd had tried to convince myself that it was a large piece of wood......but it bobbed underneath and then a few minutes later I saw it again, quite a way down the beach. The rest of the family saw something too.... There was a fisherman there so we asked him what it could be and he said there are sometimes seals in the area - but this was much to big to be a seal........

It remains a mystery - although I was going to check the web in case there was this big report about unusual close up whale sightings just off the coast in Lincolnshire.....They do get whales there and a couple of years ago there were a male and female stranded very close to Sutton on Sea.... So who knows...

Also quite a good birdie day (- which is good as I don't have any whale necklaces or earrings!!!!). A saw a kite, some fast running sandpipers, a curlew and a great blue heron...Yes, I'm a little bit better are bird identification that black blobs in the ocean!!!

So for the birdies - I'll show you my latest little bronze bird. Just a simple little bird, quite elegant in shape.

I've finished my mixed metal bracelet. It's made with three types of metal clay. Firstly, the usual silver clay, then bronze clay and also copper clay.

The design has a lot of movement as each little
piece can twist around. When the pieces are twisted and not laying flat, it reminds me of jacks - that game we played as kids with little funny shaped pieces and a ball.

I'm thinking that that's what I'll name it - maybe "relaxed jacks". But I'd love to hear if you have a better idea.

So here's where this week's competition comes in. Think of a name for my bracelet.

And please - not mixed metal bracelet! You know what sort of names I normally choose.

My other thought was "indecision day" bracelet. Especially as it is election day today. You can't decide what colour metal to wear for your jewelry today - just one too many decisions, so instead you wear three colours - silver, bronze and copper!!!

So you've had two of my ideas - none of which I really like. Let's hear yours!!! I'll give a prize to the name I select.........

The bronze seems to be quite popular - I've sold all the pieces I had made so I decided to finish up a few other bronze shapes I had sat in my studio.

The colour of the bronze is very pleasing. I know alot of artists are looking for rainbow patinas and the such, but I actually like the brushed finish, in the soft golden bronze colour. It's just a nice tone and goes well with all skin colours.

The pieces are just simple shapes - not sculptural like my other work, as when I made them, I was just getting used to the product. But as they are simple and made in bronze, and don't take a long time to make - they are very affordable.

I've decided to list them on my smashing darling webstore. I have listed with Smashing Darling for a while now and it was really quiet for ages.....Then I recently looked at my statistics from them for visitors and I was amazed! So I'm now paying some attention to my store there. I think the simplicity of these bronze pieces might work there .... We'll see....

So here are a couple of pieces:

This first one makes me think of elephant trunks! Not quite sure what I'll name it - but I did just go to a safari park this weekend...so I guess it's timely!! It shows some carving in the twisted "trunks".





These two pieces I'm calling "having a ball". I'm not even sure if the phrase "having a ball" is used in the US....??














These are my relic earrings! They have script on both sides - one side in Latin and one side in Greek.....and have gentle cracks on the edges, suggesting they have been dug up from some ancient dig site!



And these are my Asian ladies! I think they look a little like the cone Vietnamese hats....and the hats have an Asian texture on them...

I did another bronzclay firing this week - and hope to do one more today. The firing all went well and I'm using some of the pieces to experiment on with patinas and different finishes. I just made some simple shapes, such a hair clips etc and my firing today is more sculptural pieces.

This piece is a hair barrette with a design like a row of trees. (Looks like a type of crown in this picture!). It came out of the kiln with more colours on it - but they disappeared quite quickly. Which got me thinking about how to form stable patinas. I now have what my husband calls, a chemistry lab set up in the laundry where I'm working on what colours can come from the bronze....

This piece is one that I started at my pre-conference workshop. It is a reversible necklace with
different text on each side. I had been wondering how to string it - so yesterday tried it with some beads - larger ones in a bronze colour and the smaller ones in the highlighted text colour. I left one edge of the necklace "torn" looking with the idea that the whole piece looks aged. It sort of reminds me of something that has been found in an archeological dig.....

The last piece I made as a book mark - a musical bookmark. It has the impression of grapes and vines on it - but the real joy of this piece is it's sound. Bronze has just such a beautiful tone so I added a couple of tiny bell time shapes to this piece - one on with the square (hidden in this photo) and one on the end of the bookmark. When either of these hit against the square, they make a beautiful tone. I could see myself fiddling with these as I read my book...ringing my "bells" as I read! Hopefully not in a library or somewhere quiet!!

The sound of the bronze is just so pretty - it made me want to do more "sound" pieces...... something to mull over for a while and see where it takes me......

Hopefully I'll have some patina pieces to show soon.

Anyone else out there have some experiences with the bronzclay?

I'm on my way to a "silver" conference in West Lafayette, Indiana! I'll tell more when I get there. Looking forward to it - especially as it is the launch of a new bronze clay that I will get to play with for a couple of days...plus lots of other interesting sounding presentations......and I'll get to meet some other silver clay artists.