Stone Setting and Surface Design on Art Clay Silver
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by: Adam Hunter
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Word Count: 520
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 Time: 11:42 AM
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Art clay silver is just one of those fantastic materials. Due to its versatility and easiness when working to mould and sculpt, the possibilities are pretty much endless as far as art clay is concerned.
It is however one of those materials that requires for the user to build up experience with working with the various tools and hone some of the often complicated, hard to grasp techniques.
Once at that intermediate level though, you will find new options that allow for more ambitious scope become open. Amongst these is the technique of stone setting and surface design in art clay silver.
Due to the fact that very few gemstones of natural production can withstand the kind of temperatures required for them to fuse to the art clay, gems created in a laboratory are used instead.
The stones are manufactured as such so that they mirror the chemical structure and physical properties. One difference is that they are created at such a high temperature that they can therefore withstand high temperatures without becoming cracked or discoloured.
When preparing the clay for setting the gemstones, it is important to allow for enough of the art clay silver to curl over the edge of the stone. This will help to ensure that the gemstone doesn't become loose for the clay. However it is also important to make sure the stone will not at the same time stick out of the back of the art clay.
Before setting the stone, it is important to make a hole in the position you determine for the stone to go. This should be done with a needle, but if not at hand, a coffee stirrer or a straw will also do the job just as well. By making the hole beforehand, you'll find that the process of setting the stone will be much easier.
Art clay silver does often have a habit of drying which can result in unappealing cracking when the stones are set. This can be frustrating it you've created an intricate border around where the stone is to be set as it could ruin your work. Luckily the solution to this problem is quite simple and requires a drop of water on the area you wish to set the stone. The area should be left for a minute or so to soak leaving the area easier to work with.
While setting stones into art clay silver is popular, for some it may prove to be too awkward or it may just be case of simply not appealing to taste, either way there are plenty of alternatives out there.
One of these alternative techniques is surface design. Surface design is harder to define, due to the fact that the way the art clay can be sculpted or moulded to fit various different looks. This ultimately leaves the final decision down the users taste.
Surface design can be used to give a piece texture, created custom embossment or to create holes etc. The choice really is up to the end user to be as experimental or traditional when applying surface design in using art clay.
About the Author
Adam Hunter - E-commerce Marketing Manager of cooksongold.com. Cookson Precious Metals offer a choice of supplies from over 10,000 products including gold and silver wire, jewellery findings, tools, polymer clay and art clay silver - gold, silver, platinum and palladium plus technical information for jewellers, jobbers, designer, craftsmen, artisans and students.
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Wed, 23 Feb 2011 at 9:36 PM, by
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