Oval Contemporary Earrings • Page 1

Round Hollow Metal Clay EarringsBy Janet Alexander www.janetalexander.net

Senior PMC metal clay instructor, Janet Alexander, shows step by step how to create these beautiful hollow star earrings with an embedded earring wire in this beginner metal clay course.

TECHNIQUES TAUGHT

• Texturing metal clay

• Attaching a second layer

• Doming metal clay

• Creating a hollow form

• Making oil slip

• Embedding earring wire

• Adding embellishments

• Bending wire into earring hoops

SUPPLIES

• 16 grams PMC3 lump clay

• PMC 3 paste

• 5" Argentium round wire 20 gauge

• Distilled water in small bowl

• Olive oil

• Lavender oil

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

• Texture mat

• Craft brush

• Brush to spread oil into texture

• 2 stacks of 2 cards taped together

• 2 stacks of 3 cards taped together

• Clear plastic report cover

• Perfect Match® needle tool

• Perfect Match® round dome kit

• Perfect Match® star dome kit

• Fine grit nail file

• Triangle needle file

• Wire cutters

• Wubbers® flat pliers

• Wubbers® large bail pliers

• Flat clay shaper

• Kiln

• Ruler

• Clay roller

• Plastic wrap

• Hot plate or Dehydrator

• Pencil

PREFACE

I roll my clay inside a heavy plastic report cover. This keeps debris, like dog or cat hair out of the clay. It also keeps the clay moist for a longer period of time. If I need to stop to answer a phone call or talk while teaching, I close the report cover and the clay stays moist. I also rehydrate clay by rolling it thin as possible inside the report cover, open the cover and spritz it with water, close the cover , fold the clay up, and then roll it thin again. I then scrape the clay off the report cover, using a spatula, and then roll it out again until the water is worked through the clay.

We will be using Argentium metal instead of fine silver or sterling silver. The Argentium offers strength like sterling silver does but it doesn’t tarnish like the sterling silver. Fine silver metal stays very malleable and never becomes stiff or hardened well enough for use as earring wires. Argentium has a melting point of 1477°F (803°C) so when firing the clay with the embedded wire we will use a lower firing temperature of 1250°F (677°C).

MAKING OIL SLIP

Open a fresh jar of PMC3 slip/paste. Add 3-4 drops of pure Lavender oil to the mixture and stir. The oil slip aids in attaching fired pieces or metal to the unfired metal clay. As the slip/paste dries, add water to the mixture keeping it the same consistency as when it was new. The oil slip can be used on all unfired fine silver metal clay and on fired metal clay.

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THE STEPS

1. Make 4 ea. round earring discs without texture. A light texture will be painted on them at a later time.• Grease the round medium size dome in the Perfect Match®

round dome kit. The inside of template 6B should come just outside of the end of the dome.

• Roll the clay out to an even 3 card (.75) thickness. Stack 3 cards on each side of the clay inside the report cover. Close the report cover and roll out the clay [1] between the cards. Don’t try to roll it out at one time. Making several passes creates an even thickness.

• Place the clay on top of the greased round medium sized dome, patting it down against the metal plate [2]. This removes any trapped air between the clay and the metal base.

• Place the PerfectMatch® Round 6B template on top of the clay [3] aligning its edges to the dome’s edges. This centers the template over the dome.

• Holding the PerfectMatch® needle tool perpendicular, drag the tip around inside the template cutting the clay [4].

• Remove the template and then lift the excess clay off the metal dome. Store the unused clay in plastic wrap, keeping it from drying out.

• Press the cut circle’s sides down lightly against the metal dome making sure there are no gaps.

• Place both the dome and clay onto the hotplate or inside a dehydrator.

• After 5 minutes remove the clay from the dome and dry completely on the hotplate or in the dehydrator. (The underside of the domed clay will still be moist.)

• Repeat these steps three more times making a total of four domes.

2. Make the textured center accent for all four sides. • Apply a very light coating of oil to the texture using a stiff

brush [5] getting it down into the crevasses of the texture. I like to use a tooth brush. Note: using too much oil breaks down the metal clay over time.

• Roll the clay to an even 2 card (.50) thickness. Place the texture inside the report cover. Stack 2 groups of 2 cards high on top of the texture. Place the clay between the stacked cards. Close the report cover and roll the clay flat between the cards into the texture. Roll out from the center each time. This keeps the clay from having a double image of the texture. Don’t try to roll it thin at one time. Making several passes creates an even thickness.

• Remove the textured clay from the texture by flipping the texture upside down on the report cover and then lift it off the clay.

• Place the Star template (5C) over the clay and cut out the [6] shape using the needle tool. Since the shape has four tight points, start the cuts at each point and drag outward

inwards the other point. Repeat a couple of times making sure the shape is completely cut out.

• Remove the excess clay and wrap it inside plastic wrap keeping it from drying out. Note it is easier to remove the excess clay by cutting a line from the cut out shape to the edge. This keeps it from warping the shape while removing the excess clay.

• Dampen one clay domed disc on its top using a wet craft brush, [7] preparing it for attaching the star shape. Carefully pick up the star shape (using the needle tool to lift the points) and place it on the top of the dome, centering it as best as you can. The water acts as slip/paste attaching the star. Pat the star’s tips down onto the clay [8]. If you see any edge not attached, apply water to the area and press down with the craft brush. Note: placing the disc onto the dome supports it while pressing on the clay.

• Remove disc from dome, dry completely, and repeat steps for the other three sides.

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3. Prepare the wire for embedding into the clay. • Cut the 5" Argentium round 20 gauge wire

into 2.5" (6.5cm) pieces.

• Crimp one end of each wire [9]. Using a gentle touch, lightly squeeze the wire cutters over and over along the last ¼" of the wire. This creates ripples in the wire that helps it adhere to the metal clay.

• Bend the same ends at a 45° angle [10].

4. Embed the wire into the clay. • Decide which way is top on two discs. Match two discs up

so that one of the star points match together towards the top [11]. Mark top the edges of both discs with a pencil.

• File a groove into the back edge [12] of both discs under the pencil mark, using a triangle needle file. This is where the wire will come out.

• Paint oil slip onto the crimped wire’s end and in the area around and over the groove [13].

• Place a small amount of lump clay [14] over the end of the wire. This holds it in place better than using just the disc’s edge.

5. Attach the two discs together. • Paint, very thickly, slip paste around the edges of both discs

[15].

• Press them together matching the tops to the pencil marks.

• Hold for 30 seconds [16] making sure all edges match without any gaps.

• Dry completely.

• Warning: never pick the earrings up by the wire! It will pull out! It’s very fragile until it’s fired.

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6. Refine the earrings outside edges and add a decorative ball over earring wire entrance.• Clean dry excess clay off the seam and around the wire.

• File and sand the edges removing the seam line [17].

• Paint a texture [18] onto the smooth are of each side with slip/paste using a craft brush.

• Dry completely.

• Make a small round decorative bead by rolling lump clay into a small ball. Wet the area in front of the earring wire and attach the ball [19]. Repeat on other three earrings. This ball helps the clay stay strong where the wire is embedded into the earring. If not used the clay may crack over the wire as it shrinks will being fired.

8. Bend the earring wires into shape. • Using Wubbers® large bail making pliers bend [20] the

earring wire around the larger mandrel on the pliers.

• Using Wubbers® flat nosed pliers [21] bend the earring wire’s end into a 45° angle. This angle keeps the earring from slipping out of the ear.

7. Sinter the clay by firing in a kiln using a fast ramp and holding at 1250°F (677°C) for 30 minutes. Allow oven to cool before removing.

9. Finish the fired metal by tumbling in steel shot or hand polishing. It’s easy to polish the earring wires by putting them into a tumbler with stainless steel shot and a little soap.

10. Work-harden the earring wires. After firing in the kiln, the earring wires have become annealed (soften). They can be hardened by compressing the wires. Compress the wire by squeezing pliers on the wire in all different angles.