Here is my little copper horsey roaming out in the wild west without his saddle. He is free! Just like me!
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I'm heading over to Hadar's for class today and I have a lot to do.
* I'm going to mix up some of the dry bronze powder into clay form.
* I'm going to ask her if the bronze clay I have been working with for the last month and still have some left is still good to use or if I have to add more water or something.
* I'm going to polish a bead and a rose shaped connector I made a couple of weeks ago.
And
* I'm going to build silver rings around the bronze domed cabochons I made a while back.
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Here is a bracelet I made using some bronze ovals and some links I forged with thick hammer textured bronze wire:
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How it looks on my wrist:
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What a perfectly fired textured link looks like up close:
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A link that didn't fire well.
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It looked pretty good when I polished it but a few hours later I noticed that little bits were crumbling off the surface where I circled them. That means it isn't sintered.
* I need to fill it in with some more bronze clay and fire it again. It IS that simple.
Horsey after he was tumbled looking like a shiny copper penny!
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Do you see that he is an angel?
I wanted to share a little bit about why I chose Hadar Jacobson for an interview for my zine. Click on the link to go to her new blog where she is posting about her experiences with metal clay and firing the temperamental new metals.
She is a very clever, creative woman with a head full of ideas! I met her in person at one of my metal clay guild meetings and she had just finished publishing her first book. I was very interested because I already had the idea that I wanted to do this zine but needed some guidance and I guess maybe someone to tell me how it could be done.
She shared some great information at that meeting and I was going to do it! Around Christmas time she and her students had a big sale at a church hall in her community. It was being held in Berkeley and that was only 15 minutes away from here. I went. I met some people there that I already knew and I left with 4 pairs of earrings from 4 different vendors. I decided to take a series of classes from her and the rest is history. For me anyway.
But what I meant to say is that in her interview she says "teach what you know" as advice to artists who want to teach. She does just that. I am pretty experienced when it comes to clay and jewelry and she lets me go at my own pace and ask questions no matter how simple or complicated. I have learned a lot from her style of teaching, which is pretty much an open studio and you can do any of the projects she has already done herself and lay all about her space. I'd say that there are about 100 or more completed pieces of jewelry/objects laying around there that are a feast for the eyes.
When I taught the class at my house, I used her method of letting everyone go at their own pace and also each person make what ever they wanted. It was very relaxed and with 10 students, much easier to manage than the 20 students I have in each class at Artfest.
Each time I go to Hadar's, I am the last to leave. We talk for a few minutes after class and I go and let that sit and come back the next week with a new plan. She is very supportive of each student there. Some come every week on the same day and some just come for a few days in a row. I love meeting everyone and anyone who shows up. We are all sharing our experience and what we know, the ground we have covered getting there and where we want to go creatively.
I like her and I admire her. I also like the supervision over my learning something new and finding that it is easier to have a teacher this time than blazing my own trail.
Photo of different pieces I made from Hadar's formula of bronze clay in various states of finishing.
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The ones that look like they are covered with dirt have just come out of the kiln. The shinier ones are polished with a mini fiber wheel.
The bracelet polished with the fiber wheel with my hand fabricated clasp.
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Another great teacher I included in my zine is Mona Clee. (no blog - YET!)
I took a silver etching class from her a few years ago AND she was kind enough to write the class up for me and include it with photos for
the zine. It has been a good refresher for me.
I wanted to post this ad for her upcoming 2 day class on copper, brass and silver etching coming up on April 4 & 5 at the
Mendocino Art Center in northern California.
The Mendocino Art Center is going through a hard time lately and financially needs our help. By taking a class you can help to keep the Center going. I have taken many state-of-the-art classes there over the years and can say that it has helped me become a better artist.
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Mona says:
"Hello everybody,
Help!
The Mendocino Art Center needs all the help it can get during these difficult times, even though this year is the Center’s 50th anniversary. I want to spread the word about
a new etching class (and all the classes at the Art Center).
This time around I'm adding a new feature to the class, image manipulation in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Whereas in previous classes we have only been able to etch designs previously copied onto PnP paper, in this class we will have the ability to scan your own designs that you bring to the class, manipulate them in Photoshop, and copy them onto PnP paper using carbon-based toner – all in the classroom. This is possible because I have acquired the equipment to do so and am dedicating it to etching class use.
I hope you can come."
Mona's classes are really good! I learned so much about silver for one thing and she teaches the only class I have found on etching silver in the last two years that is available to a person like me who isn't in any sort of degree program.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this idea I had to expose you to two of my favorite teachers. It's always a good time to take a class and improve your skills.
And now a little picture from the neighborhood:
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A group of turkeys is called a rafter, although a gang is also an acceptable name.
And here are the trees at Mona's house full of cherry blossoms! Beautiful! Spring is here in everything but the date on the calendar.
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Now some sleep, and whatever my birthday brings!
