Silver Clay-my first piece

I am soooo hooked on metal clay after finishing this first project.

This piece is for sale at $45.

The silver pendant and matching medallion are 999 fine silver. The pendant is 1 1/8" wide, the medallion is 1/2". The chain is silver tone metal. I don't know what the metal is because I recycled the chain from a estate sale piece. The chain length is 28", there is no clasp due to the length of the chain.

10 grams of Art Clay 650 were used to make this pendant and matching medallion. During firing, the organic filler is burnt away and all that is left is 999 fine silver.

After a couple of years experience with polymer clay I wanted to try the metal clay. The silver clay works much easier than polymer. I had to start over on the medallion because I stamped the heart too hard and squished it. On the second try it worked very well.

LOL Yup, squished is a technical term. :D

I then fired them both with a torch. I had read about using butane or some other gas but hadn't read anything about using propane alone. I wanted to use propane if I could because it was available in my BF shop in his barn. Free is good, NO? I did a search to see if I could learn how hot a propane torch will get. Then about half way through I thought about the fact that the clay can be fired over a gas stove burner. AHA! So I gave the torch a try and I must say it worked very well.

The intent was to make a piece with an antiqued look. Now this is going to sound really icky but I used a hard boiled egg to give the silver an old appearance. If you want to try this, just place a hard boiled egg in a plastic baggie and mash it well. Then just put your fired silver piece in with the egg, making sure it is completely covered on all sides. Let it sit for 15 minutes to half an hour. Wash it and wire brush and burnish it until it has the look you are after. I think this is a great organic and safe alternative to using some of the chemicals that are made for this purpose.

I was confident that I would be able to get through the firing without melting my creation because I have many years of welding and soldering most metals. I know what most metals look like just before they melt into a shapeless blob. LOL

But I had no experience with silver. So I made a little ball with a little bit of the clay before I made the pendant and medallion. This little ball was fired very slowly so I could watch the progression toward the melt down stage. This way I knew exactly how it would appear when it was in the sintering stage, just before melt down.

If you are reading this and are stressing about opening the little package of silver clay for the first time, I have one thing to say. Make sure you have all the tools you will need within handy reach to save time. Decide what you want to create with the silver clay....Just do it.

If you have worked in polymer clay you could do as I did and make a prototype from polymer so you know what tools to have handy. It will also give you an idea of the steps you need to take to finish your piece.

You must work quickly with silver clay. I was told it is a lot like ceramic clay but I have no experience with that at all so I was clueless about how soft the silver clay was in comparison to polymer.

Just work as quickly as you can and have some water handy in case your work starts to dry out. A teeny bit of water will do the trick.

Now I have my second package of clay (20 ounces WOO HOO!) waiting to be made into a ring, and maybe, if there is enough left over, a couple of medallions for earrings to match this pendant. I think the ring should match the pendant too.