Kind of Strange

As a bit of an experiment with bronz metal clay I wanted to try something a bit less abstract to see what the results were.  I took the earlier design of Happy Fox and applied it to this material, trying to adjust for shrinkage rates and some of the quirks I’ve seen with the Bronz.

The result:

Some notes:

• Bronz clay is trickier to use when attempting a very specific, outlined piece.  It’s stickier in nature than PMC3, which makes it harder to move pieces around before they’ve dried more, which presents its own difficulties.
• When firing a piece, put the side you want to have a smoother surface face down in the carbon.  The bit facing up appears to suffer from far more ‘bubbles’ and other surface distortions.  These can be sanded and polished down, but it can be a pain.
• Dichroic glass should really be bezeled in after firing.  While it doesn’t reach melting temp in the kiln, it distorts, changes color, etc.  I have very little experience using glass outside of firing with PMC, so this was news to me.
• Rubberized sanding wheel + Bronz metal clay = fantastic

Photo care of: http://www.designsbyvictoria.com/

I’ve finally gotten around to adding a gallery to the site.

You can find it by either clicking the Gallery link in the upper right corner, or shortcut there using this link:

http://www.kindofstrange.com/gallery/

‘Tis nifty, no?

Thus far I’m really enjoying the material, though it can be a bit tricky to deal with at times.  The price makes it possible to experiment with an idea without feeling too guilty at ‘wasted’ material.  This is harder to justify with PMC Silver, even with the prices dropping in recent weeks.  The shrinkage factor takes a bit of time to adjust to, even knowing that you need to plan a good 20-30% difference between initial piece and finished piece.*

For reference, I’m firing with coconut shell carbon in a 6×6x4 stainless steel tray.  One thing that I was unprepared for: The carbon dust gets bloody everywhere inside of the kiln and all over the tray.  I’m not certain if this is just the container I’m using to fire it, but every time I open the kiln it’s coated in micro-fine carbon dust.  It’s very easily vacuumed out, just something to be aware of and not panic over.

On patinas:  Pieces fired near the bottom of the tray, buried by an inch and a half or more of carbon take on a very pretty red, green and coppery patina.  It’s just a top coat and can be easily burnished off, but I’m generally pretty happy with leaving it as is.  For a bright gold with little to no patina, firing near the top with less than half an inch coating the piece is the way to go. 

Surface texture:  I’ve noticed that on many (nearly all) of the pieces I’ve fired thus far the surface texture can change greatly after firing.  Though a piece may go in with the surface very smooth, it often emerges from the kiln with small bumps and ripples.  Most of these can be polished away without much trouble, but it can be a bit disconcerting when you put extra effort into the surface before it goes into the kiln.  I think it may have something to do with the piece not being fully dried out before firing.  I’ve had a harder time recognizing the fully dried state with the bronz clay than I have with PMC3 Silver, so it  may just be a case of trial and error I haven’t fully worked out yet.

Overall, I definitely recommend playing around with the material if you have access to a kiln.  It’s a great way to try out new ideas and create something unique.  The feel of it is wonderful when finished and can be combined with PMC3 Silver for a nice Bronz & Silver combination to create some very fun and interesting combinations.

* I’ve seen anything from 15% to 30% quoted.  In my experience thus far, it’s been around 20-30% for most pieces, with some of the smaller ones shrinking a bit less.

I’m really impressed with bronz clay thus far.  While the texture and patina is definitely variable depending on where the piece is located within the carbon vat and the thickness of the piece, I’m getting a handle for it as I go along.

That and, quite frankly, the price is amazing in comparison to silver.  While I still intend to use silver for certain pieces, the bronz clay gives me the ability to play around and experiment without fear of wasting materials. 

Click for Larger Image

This piece I’ve called ‘Crabulous’.  The Key has a name as well, but I haven’t settled on it just yet, so for now it’s just ‘The Key’.  This piece is strictly display only.  While it is possible to wear it when done, I don’t think that a very wise decision.  The tentacles come to fairly small, sharp points, perfect for ruining clothes; the crab ’shell’ far too fragile for any real pressure to be applied.