Studio Summer 2003 Latest News, Views, and Breakthroughs in Clay! Vol. 6 No. 2

Special Features Working with : Chris Darway

Adding Accents with PMC Gold Slip page 8

The Gold Standard page 4

Working With Gold: Gold PMC on mesh by Chris Darway. Photo by Chet Bolins. Shahasp Valentine: page 5 Dawn Hale: page 6 Anne Lingener-Reece: page 7 Gold gives a sense of richness and quality Before on PMC, you must bur- to almost anything it is associated with. nish the area to be soldered to close the Just a hint of gold on a piece lifts it into a surface. Then solder using solder to A Keum-boo Project page 12 higher bracket in the eyes of the beholder. attach gold to silver PMC, or gold solder to This may be just a matter of perception, attach gold to gold PMC. You may use any but it is a reality, and we do have to con- silver solder flux that you like. Departments sider it when making and selling jewelry. Another technique I use is to electro- There are many ways to incorporate plate 24k gold on PMC. This is something As I PMC It gold in its different forms with PMC. not done at home because the process page 2 Metalsmiths and jewelers have an advan- generally uses cyanide solutions. However, tage here, since we can apply basic metal you can send your work out to be plated. CeCe Says page 3 working techniques such as filing, sawing, One company is Red Sky, which is and soldering. Combining PMC silver and associated with Rio Grande. The company Gallery gold elements with solder is one of the has an informative package that explains page 10 most obvious techniques for adding a little everything you need to know about the gold to your work. But lack of prior expe- process. Other companies that specialize Happenings page 14 rience in metalwork doesn’t mean this in plating jewelry can be located through option is closed to you. Soldering can be Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of Readers’ Writes done with a minimum amount of equip- America, a trade association based in page 16 ment, and basic technique can be learned Providence, Rhode Island. A pen plating through an introductory jewelry class or system is another way to add spot gold. Tips & Tricks page 17 through a local metal person who is willing Rio Grande offers one that provides good to give you one or two days of instruction results at home. PMC Marketplace in soldering. Continued on page 5. page 18 As I PMC it

2 Love & Hate in the Computer Age

Studio PMC Newsletter I am the first person to admit I have a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048 love-hate relationship with my computer. www.PMCguild.com I love what the computer does for me. Volume 6, Number 2 • Summer 2003 I’m a better writer because it gives me Editor—Suzanne Wade Technical Editor—Tim McCreight limitless freedom to tweak and alter my Art Director—Jonah Spivak sentences, to try out one wording, dis- Advertising Manager—Carl Stanley The new bulletin board gives Guild The Studio PMC newsletter is published by the card it, and try another. It allows me to PMC Guild: see PMC Guild information below. edit this newsletter in one state, send it moderators the ability to remove a single • How to SUBMIT WORK to Studio PMC… to our technical editor in another state message from a thread, without affecting We welcome your PMC photos, articles and the rest of the posts. It also requires ideas. You may submit by mail or electronically. for timely review, and then on to our art Please include your name, address, e-mail, director in a third state for layout and posters to register a screen name, pro- phone, plus a full description of your PMC piece viding a means of identifying the source and a brief bio. Slides are preferred, but color design, all in less time than it would nor- prints and digital images are OK. mally take an envelope to get across of a post and perhaps eliminating some By MAIL: Mail articles and photos to: Studio town. And I absolutely love the way com- of the anonymity that encourages nasti- PMC, P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048. puters allow me to connect with artists ness. When people know their remarks ELECTRONICALLY: E-mail articles in the body of the all over the globe, and even become will be associated with them – even if it’s e-mail, or as attachments. E-mail photos as attach- ments. We require an image resolution of 300 dpi. friends with people I’ve never met. just their online persona – they are • E-mail files (under 4 MB) to [email protected] But there’s a dark side to all this tech- sometimes more inclined to choose their • Mail large files (over 4 MB) to Studio PMC, P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048. Please include a printout. nology, too. The computer that normally words with care. Deadlines: makes me so much more efficient had Ideally, this new ability to remove Nov. 1 for Spring issue; messages is something we’ll rarely need Feb. 1 for Summer issue; the opposite effect on me this month, as May 1 for Fall issue; I attempted to install a new machine to implement. I am confident that this Aug. 1 for Winter issue. with predictably frustrating results. community can form a warm, supportive • How to PLACE ADVERTISING in Studio PMC… online environment without someone Contact our Advertising Manager, Carl Stanley, for It’s also made it easier for the boors to specifications, deadlines, and prices. Phone: ruin my day. There is something about the standing over them to remind them to 805-687-5415. E-mail: [email protected]. anonymity of the Internet that encourages play nice. But the updated technology • How to GET ANSWERS to tech questions… means that we no longer have to worry Write Tim McCreight, Technical Editor, PMC some people to say unpleasant things Guild, 34 Danforth St., Portland, ME 04101. they’d probably never say to your face. about threads being taken prisoner by a Or e-mail Tim at: [email protected] The flame wars those comments start single, anonymous troll. We can stop often make me wish I’d never logged on. flame wars before they start. And that CONTACT THE PMC GUILD TO… Into the midst of this love-hate rela- will, hopefully, make the bulletin board a • Join the PMC Guild tionship comes the new PMC Guild better, more caring place – and the kind • Enroll in PMC Certification Classes online bulletin board. The old board had of technology that I love. • Renew your subscription to Studio PMC • Change your mailing address its charms, certainly, but it had a few • Request back issues/additional copies flaws too – not least of which was the inability to delete individual comments. VISIT OUR WEB PAGES TO… That meant good, informative threads • Stay current with PMC people & events could be hijacked by backbiting and Suzanne Wade • See back issues of Studio PMC Editor • Learn about upcoming PMC workshops bickering. The only solution available to • List PMC classes you are giving the Guild moderators was to kill the www.PMCguild.com entire thread, good and bad alike. Understandably, this was a step the Guild CeCe Wire, Executive Director PMC Guild • 417 West Mountain Ave. took reluctantly, and only when it was Fort Collins, CO 80521 USA clear that a thread had turned nasty Phone: 970-419-5503 Fax: 970-419-5504 Website: www.PMCguild.com beyond redemption. E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright ©2003 Mitsubishi Materials Corp. PMC Guild. Printed four or more times a year. Studio PMC, its staff and contributors, specifically disclaim any responsibility or liability for damages or injury as a result of any Reprints by permission only. All rights reserved. construction, design, use, manufacture, or any other activity undertaken as a result of the use or application of information contained in any Studio PMC issue or article. Message from the Guild Director

3 CeCe Says… Overcoming the Fear Factor

Many of our members are itching to you could do some yoga before you go to work with gold PMC, and there are a lot work, or some relaxed breathing exercises, of reasons to want to work with this or meditate on your final creation. The alluring medium. My friend Connie idea here is to calm your mind. You can Lehman wanted to use gold because she also pipe relaxing music into your work knew the selling price of gold jewelry is space. I am sure you have a favorite CD many times more than that of silver. I that always puts you in a great mood. wanted to experience making a piece in Pleasant smelling candles and incense 24k gold because of its inherent beauty. are nice for your auditory senses and Often, though, something holds us work as aromatherapy. You will be at back – FEAR. Fear of the unknown, and your best if you are relaxed. Plan to do fear of making mistakes. I had been something that establishes the best CeCe Wire, Director of the PMC Guild working with PMC for several years atmosphere for creativity. before I had the courage to try working with gold, so I can relate to this Fear Economy: Think Small Factor. I thought I had to make the best A is a great idea for your first piece piece of my entire artistic career because made of gold. It is small, personal, and can the material is so expensive. It's 24k gold! be sold or given as a gift to that special The pressure I placed on myself took someone. Tim McCreight designed some away all the fun. nice small gold pieces shown in the origi- I did eventually start working with nal PMC video. Looking at his work gave gold PMC though. You can, too. Here’s me the confidence to create my own ring. some advice for breaking through the Another good way to use the quarter- Fear Factor. ounce package of gold PMC is to make small accent pieces that are part of a Preparation larger silver piece. This is the way I like Before you open the package, you need to to work with gold PMC. The gold glows feel confident about what you are making. nicely against the fine silver background. Reduce your fears by spending as much You also have the marketing benefits of time as you need designing a piece you gold without making the entire piece out will be happy with. Some artists design of gold. Combined work of silver and with pencil and paper, while others prefer gold is also a popular look. a direct approach and make models with Your quarter-ounce of gold can go a CeCe’s “Golden Vein,” leaf shaped Creative Paperclay or polymer clay. The long way if you turn it into slip and paint it of gold PMC and PMC+, trick is to use whatever process works for on unfired silver PMC. The best way to fire ball chain. you, and that brings you to a design you work made in this way is with a torch. Celie Photos by Craig DeMartino. feel totally confident about making. Then, Fago and Carl Stanley have pioneered this just as a presenter practices a speech sev- technique. (See "Adding Accents with Gold eral times before delivering it to an audi- PMC Slip" page 8, this issue.) ence of 200 people, practice making the If you have the craving for gold, you piece in original silver PMC. Original PMC will one day have the courage to work has the same shrinkage ( between 28 per- with it. I hope my suggestions give you cent and 30 percent) as gold PMC, so it is the confidence you need to break the best material for practicing. through the Gold Fear Factor!

Set the Mood Happy PMCing! You are bound to feel your blood pres- sure rising as you peel the tape from the lid of the plastic box. I found setting a relaxing mood helps immensely. Perhaps CeCe Working With Gold

4 The Gold Standard By Tim McCreight

The chemical symbol for gold is Au, from indicates that 750 parts per thousand are the Latin word aurum. In most cultures, gold. The chart shows some other famil- it is a symbol of wealth, purity, and iar alloys. value. From Olympic medals to the color Whatever system is used, the numbers of Oscar, gold is part of our culture, too. refer only to the gold content. All 18k Unless you were paying close attention alloys contain the same proportion of in your middle school earth science gold: the remaining 25 percent can be class, though, you might not know a lot whatever the refiner chooses. These are about this important metal. the ingredients that make a gold Gold combines near perfect qualities pink or green or white. Each refiner uses in its physical characteristics, scarcity, their own closely-guarded recipes. history, and mythology. Gold appears at You might have gold on your fingers, or near the top of many lists. It is the and maybe you have some in your teeth. most malleable metal and the most duc- And if you own a computer, you’ve got tile. It is number three in its ability to some there, too. More than that, there’s a conduct electricity, and also third in heat good chance that the gold in your com- conduction. Because it is chemically puter came from the same facility as the inert, it does not tarnish: gold coins PMC on your workbench. The hair-like retrieved after centuries on the ocean wires that carry electric current to floor are as bright as the day they were microchips are made of gold and they are minted. No wonder gold has played an an important product of Mitsubishi important role in art since it was discov- Materials Corp. in Japan. Down the hall ered more than 5,000 years ago. from the PMC manufacturing area is a Most gold today comes not from the state-of-the-art laboratory where gold is pans of leather-faced prospectors, but as refined to super high purity — 99.999 per- a secondary product of silver and cent pure — and spun into threads mining. Pure gold, technically written as Rumplestiltskin could only dream of mak- Au .999, is too soft for many applica- ing. Dozens of machines wind pure gold tions. Centuries ago it was discovered thread neatly onto spools for distribution that small amounts of silver and copper to chip manufacturers around the world. increased the strength of gold without In this regard, gold is keeping to its seriously compromising its color, luster, ancient tradition: a unique material whose and malleability. Over the years, specific use and value transcend boundaries. proportions came into use and were standardized by law. In the United States, we identify the purity of gold alloys by a system that Au 1000 ...... 24k(gold PMC) hypothetically divides a given sample Au 950...... 22 3/4 karat into 24 parts called karats. "If we broke Au 900...... 21 3/4 karat this mixture into its components, then divided the whole into 24 equal-size Au 800...... 19 1/4 karat piles, how many of those piles would be Au 750 ...... 18 karat pure gold?" We write this number in the Au 650...... 15 3/4 karat top of a fraction whose denominator is Au 583...... 14 karat 24. If 18 of the piles are gold, for exam- Au 417 ...... 10 karat ple, the result is 18/24, which reduces to 3/4, or 75 percent. In the U.S., we nor- mally write this as 18k; in Europe the same alloy would be marked .750, which Working With Gold

5 Working with Gold: Shahasp Valentine

Shahasp Valentine combined original PMC at 1650˚F.º "I have found with and gold PMC to create this mixed metal that I can get away with firing gold PMC pendant, called Wave #14. "I use at the silver temperature, as they don’t original PMC because of its malleability take much abuse or wear, like a ring and similar texture to gold PMC," she says. would," she notes. This design derives from Shahasp’s To finish the pieces in this series, Knife Edge design, one of which can be Shahasp first uses 3M Radial Bristle Disks, seen on page 15. "To create Wave Necklace a wire brush, or a wire wheel, followed #14, I started with the rough Knife Edge by sandpaper, files, and wire brushes to form, and attached a small roll of gold create a matte finish. Finally, the high PMC at the crest along the entire length, surfaces are burnished with a stainless using PMC+ slip," she writes. "With textur- burnisher. "I use a lot of tools ing tools, I meld the two metals and form meant for ceramics and acrylic finger- the wave shape." nails in addition to traditional jewelry Shahasp says she doesn’t sketch or tools [for finishing]," she notes. "If the "It’s almost as if the best pieces create otherwise plan the design in advance. piece is going to be oxidized, that’s the themselves," says Shahasp. "These are "The shapes just flow through me," she first step before any brushing. I like the the moments that make me feel like I’m says. "I’ve found that if I try to think texture I can get if the piece is oxidized doing the right thing in life and in art." about it or force it, the pieces turn out right out of the kiln." contrived or simply uninspired." Finally, the are fixed on their Shahasp Valentine is a San Francisco Once shaped, Shahasp embeds fine sil- posts with a two-part non-yellowing jeweler who creates a line of jewelry she ver posts for the pearls into the wet clay. epoxy. The result: a mixed metal piece calls "Precieux." Her work has appeared The pendant is then fired for two hours that looks grown, rather than man-made. in Studio PMC on numerous occasions.

Chris Darway continued from page 1.

Pure gold and fine silver love to alloy. PMC+ slip or trowel a lump of PMC+ onto Metalworker Chris Darway creates care- This quality to pass into each other with the mesh, dry, and then fire the piece. fully engineered jewelry and construc- a little heat and pressure is the source of The fired sheet can be pressed using a tions, frequently using tools he makes the Korean technique called Keum-boo. hydraulic press, bent, sawed, or soldered. himself. Chris began studying industrial Scissor-cut pieces of Keum-boo gold foil The painted PMC slip on the mesh gives a design at Philadelphia College of Art are burnished onto the surface of look of gesso on canvas, while the trowel (PCA) but switched to metals. Today he's warmed fine silver. The foil adheres lump has the texture of wall spackle. I back at PCA (now revitalized and without solder or adhesive. (For more on recently used this technique on gold PMC. renamed University of the Arts) in a this technique, see "Keum-boo & PMC" in I thinned the PMC gold lump with a little teaching capacity — metals, of course. the Spring, 2003 issue and “A Keum-boo water, a few drops of vinegar, and a drop Chris lives in Lambertville, Pennsylvania. Project,” page 12 this issue.) or two of PMC extender. PMC can also be gilded with 23k or 24k The mesh is made to look like crumpled gold leaf using a sticky varnish called cloth, and then the gold is painted on the "Japan size" or "French size" as an adhe- mesh. A hot plate is used to dry each con- sive. This is the same method used to gild secutive coating until the strands of steel picture frames. Both and Keum-boo mesh are no longer visible. The finished are rather low tech, but produce wonderful piece is fired for two hours at 1830˚F.º I’ve results. Although care must be taken not to been able to saw and solder this material scratch the gilded surface, the gold accents in the same manner as other metals. The will last for years if applied properly. color of the pure gold is gorgeous! Finally, there is the method that I’ve developed by firing PMC+ on fine stain- Keum-boo PMC pin by Chris Darway. less steel mesh. I paint several layers of Photo by Chet Bolins. Working With Gold

6 Working with Gold: Dawn Hale

Dawn Hale thinks snakes have Dawn uses natural and gotten a bad rap. Although the for the eyes, and a dia- Bible blames the snake for Eve’s mond-shaped stone as an accent on downfall, Dawn points out that the head. She sets the stone in the until Christianity became the green PMC and fires it in place. dominant religion in the West, Dawn uses primarily rubies and snakes were pretty popular. The sapphires because corundum can snake’s ability to shed its skin withstand the higher firing temper- made it a symbol of rebirth, and atures needed for gold PMC. the snake with its tail in its mouth Because the cannot be was used to represent eternity. heated without damaging it, Dawn Fertility goddesses were often uses bread squished into a cross depicted holding snakes. shape to arrange the unfired gold It was that ancient symbolism – PMC snake. After drying, the PMC and the later demonization of the is fired normally. Dawn allows her snake by Christians — that pieces to air cool because quench- inspired Dawn to create her Out ing could crack the stones. of Eden collection, which includes The snake is assembled onto the this piece with a snake wrapped pearl in its just-fired state, prior to around a cross-shaped pearl. burnishing or other activities that "When Christianity came along, it could work harden the metal. The was threatened by the old basic shape is gently squeezed to fit [female-dominated theology], so it around the pearl, then epoxied in had to make the snake into some- place using a two-part, slow-drying thing evil. So we get the Garden of epoxy. Dawn uses a third-hand, or Eden, where the snake was the occasionally two third-hands, to cause of all the trouble," says hold the snake in place while the Dawn. "I see this piece as embrac- epoxy hardens, since the slow dry- ing them both: the male and the ing epoxies can take eight hours or female, the pagan and Christian." more to set completely. Dawn’s When designing a new piece, favorite finish is a soft brush Dawn first works out her ideas in Gold PMC snakes from Dawn Hale’s with soap and water. Sculpey polymer clay, and later Out of Eden collection. The finished piece recalls the silver PMC, before making the leap into v-shaped notch cut into the end. She then ancient jewelry that Dawn fell in love gold PMC. "It’s terrifying [to work in gold drapes the Sculpey snake over the pearl with as a child. "I like my pieces to look PMC] because it’s so expensive," she until she is happy with the arrangement— ancient," she says. "I don’t want it to admits. "If I like it in silver, I [move on in this piece, the snake resting its head look like Hong Kong produced it." to] gold." over one arm of the cross with the rest of For models, Dawn turns to the local the body wrapped around the base. Dawn Hale is a professional jewelry toy store for rubber snakes. "They’re Once she’s satisfied with the size and artist who specializes in incorporating small, and not alive," she explains. shape of the Sculpey snake, she replicates antiquities and ancient themes into her "They’re three dimensional and textured, the snake design in PMC. She uses a rigid work. Her jewelry can be found in the with ridges on the bottom and scales on plastic sheet to roll out the PMC, since fin- Fragments showroom in Soho, New York, the top. And they show the shape of the gers produce ridges and a more uneven at the New York Metropolitan Museum of head and eye placement." shape. By pressing harder on one end of Art gift store, and in catalogs and gal- With the toy snake as a model, she the sheet, she gets a graduated snake leries throughout the United States and works out the design in Sculpey. She shape, thicker at the head end, and thin- in Japan and Korea. Her work has been makes scale patterns with a wood stick ner toward the tail. Then she flattens the featured in InStyle, Lustre, and Flaunt the thickness of a bamboo skewer, with a head and forms it into a shape. magazines. Working With Gold

7 Working with Gold: Anne Lingener-Reece

I have been using gold PMC since it first firing, it is easier to make adjustments arrived on the scene. Through experi- before firing, but after the piece is com- mentation, I have found that gold PMC pletely dry. You can also make surface gives an added range to my work that is embellishments directly in the dry clay not available to me any other way. It’s an with gravers at this stage. organic, richly colored high karat gold I find clients love having the chance to that allows for finely detailed wearable own and wear a piece of high karat gold art. However, I do find gold PMC a little jewelry. While the gold PMC is more trickier to work with than silver PMC costly than sheet gold, it affords me a because it is not as strong. greater range of creativity, and it is hard When I first began using gold PMC, the to beat the sensual feel of gold PMC’s major drawback — besides the cost — rich, high karat color. was the sometimes fragile nature of large, highly detailed pieces. My solution Artist Anne Lingener-Reece’s work has to this was twofold. To strengthen large been seen in galleries in Louisiana, 22k gold (24k gold PMC and silver PMC+) pieces, I added enough silver PMC+ to Washington, and Alaska. A metalsmith, 22k wire, 24k wire and sheet, 18k bezel, create a 22k gold clay. This not only pro- painter, and graphic designer, she has tsavorite , and three duced a stronger gold, it also gave me a taught art at several universities and col- cabochons by Anne Lingener-Reece. more pliable gold clay. (There are sever- leges in Alaska and Louisiana. She al good books that list the ratio of silver divides her time between her New to gold to change the 24k to 22k or even Orleans and Anchorage studios. BELOW: “Golden Leaves Necklace” 18k gold, including Jewelry Concepts and 24k gold (PMC, wire, and sheet) Technology by Oppi Untracht, The and green . Theory and Practice of Goldsmithing by Erhard Brepohl, and Jeweler’s Resource by Bruce Knuth.) Personally, I prefer to stay with the 22k to keep the color as rich as possible and maintain the beauty of high karat gold. My second technique for strengthen- ing longer pieces is to build a skeleton of 24k wire. (I also do this with silver PMC+ when the piece is going to be large.) The 24k wire adds strength to a piece and does not discolor during firing. When I experimented with other gold wires, I found that both 18k and 22k wire required extensive sanding to get rid of the black surface oxidation that occurred during firing. This, in turn, can often damage the detail of the design. When I wish to add stones to a piece, I have found it easiest to embed 24k gold or settings directly in the clay. After placing the settings, I let my pieces air dry for several days, allowing for much of the shrinkage to take place before firing the piece. While sometimes it is hard to let several days go by before Tech Tip

8 Adding Accents with Gold PMC Slip

by Carl Stanley

As an artist and metalsmith, I am always exploring new techniques and materials. This use of gold PMC developed from my experiments with torch firing. I especially enjoy the interesting tex- 1. Place PMC+ ball on tures made by firing wet PMC+, and I texture plate. wanted to add gold accents to my deeply textured work. One day I mixed a little bit of dried-out gold PMC into a thin paste with a few drops of distilled water. I paint- ed it on some unfired PMC+ and torch- Step 2: Add the gold accents fired the piece. It worked like a charm. Make gold slip by adding a few drops of I have been using this method ever distilled water to some dry gold PMC in a since with great success. It is a wonder- small bottle. Crush and mix this together ful way to add gold accents to silver with a plastic stick until the slip is about 2. Roll it into an oval. work, and a little bit of gold PMC goes a the same consistency as fingernail pol- long way. ish, or a little thinner. It is easier to mix 3 The gold is added to a PMC+ or PMC the gold slip if you allow the gold and piece that is not fired but is completely water mixture to sit with the lid on until dry. Although I have had success adding the gold softens. gold PMC to fired pieces, I find the gold Use a fine-tipped paintbrush to paint adheres better when the silver and gold the gold slip onto the . If the slip is are fired together. The base silver PMC too thick to flow easily, thin it down with piece may be a flat or three-dimensional a drop of water. (Even in a tightly closed shape, and may have a flat, unadorned 3. Fold it over a straw. jar, the slip can thicken over time.) surface, or have designs stamped, mold- After the first coat has dried, apply a ed, or carved on the surface. second coat, and then a third, in order to In this project, I describe making a create a thick layer of gold. The thicker bead from PMC+ and adding gold the gold layer, the richer the finished accents. color. With slip that is a bit thinner than fingernail polish, I find that three layers Step 1: Making the Bead. create a rich 24k gold color. I have also Form a marble-sized ball of PMC+, and fired two layers to get a beautiful 18k roll or push it into a textured sheet until gold look, while firing just one layer will it makes a patterned oval slab about four often create a mottled look of gold and cards thick. Fold the slab over a straw 4. Mix gold slip. silver. This can be a great effect if one is and pinch the hanging ends together. looking for something subtle. Make two balls the size of peas. Hold The dry but unfired gold should have a them in place back to back overlapping deep, ochre-brown color that is even and and hanging off the ends of the folded slab smooth. If the gold flows where you half way. Flatten and stamp them both at don't want it, allow it to dry, then scrape the same time to create a hanging bottom it away. Be gentle so you don't disturb element that is decorated on both sides. the unfired silver PMC. Add a drop of water between all joined pieces. Hang the bead from a fixture and 5. Attach dangles, stamp allow it to dry completely. and allow to dry. Tech Tip

9

Step 3: Fire the Bead the torch closer. Be very careful not to Once dry, fire the gold and silver simul- melt the work. Keep the flame moving in taneously with a torch. Any propane, and out, holding this extra hot tempera- butane, or acetylene jeweler’s torch will ture for the last 20 or 30 seconds. This work. It also helps to have an electronic makes the gold stronger and creates a timer on hand. better bond to the silver base. To fire, hang the dry bead from a fixture When time is up, turn off the torch 6. Paint gold and dry. made of heavy wire, such and allow the bead to cool. After the red as welding rod, placed on a heat-proof glow is gone, the piece can be quenched tile. Place the tile on a heat-proof sur- in cool water. face, such as brick. Light the torch and bring the torch Step 4: Finish flame onto the piece, taking care to Finish the bead as you would any other avoid blowing the piece off the fixture silver piece. Wire brush, tumble polish, with the gas pressure. As the heat or spot burnish the gold area. increases, the binder catches fire and Twenty-four karat gold bonded onto starts to smoke. The smoke only lasts a silver PMC can be burnished to a high few seconds and it can easily be vented shine or given a satin finish. A Silver away with a small fan. Black or liver of sulfur patina can be 7. Hang from fixture. After the smoke and fire are gone, the beautiful with gold accents. However you clay begins to turn red. When the piece finish your piece, the contrast of color is reaches a bright red color (dim the lights beautiful and striking. to see this best), start the timer and hold this temperature for five minutes. You Carl Stanley is a jewelry artist from can fire for as little as three minutes, but Santa Barbara, California. He has been the piece will be stronger if the firing working and experimenting with PMC for temperature is held longer. six years, and is a senior instructor with 8. Fire and finish. Near the end of the firing time raise the PMC Guild. the temperature of the piece by moving

Silver and gold PMC with enamel accents by Carl Stanley. Photos by Patrick Flannery. Gallery

10 GALLERY

Call For Entries! To submit your photos to our Gallery send slides or prints to: MAILING ADDRESS Studio PMC, P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048. Please include your name, address, country if outside the U.S., phone, e-mail address, a brief bio, photo credit, plus the size and materials used in your piece.

All designs are the property of the artists.

Biographies

Jill Bush received her certification at the first PMC certification class in St. Louis with Tim McCreight. She sells jewelry at art fairs across the country, and has sold her work wholesale to many galleries, boutiques, and stores, including Nordstrom. © Cathy Wheless

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Cathy Wheless Cathy Wheless was the first PMC instructor in Virginia. She “My Mother’s Gift” 24k gold PMC. teaches at several schools and workshops in 1/2” x 1” Richmond, and her work has been seen in gal- leries and shows in Richmond, Washington D.C., New York City, Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jeanette Landenwitch is a self-taught jewelry designer with a background in dress-making, interior design, art history, and ceramics. A cer- tified PMC instructor, she teaches workshops and classes in northern Virginia. Her work has been shown throughout the United States. She has written a book, Creating with Precious Metal Clay.

R. Merrill Bollerud teaches PMC workshops at the Tucson, Arizona, Parks and Recreation Visual Arts Department. Her work has appeared sever- al times in Studio PMC. She was a finalist in the 2002 Saul Bell awards in the PMC category.

PMC has been Kathy Van Kleek’s primary medi- um for more than five years. "I am a devoted PMC artist, with a level of enthusiasm that bor- ders on rabid and, some would say, militant," writes Kathy. "Basically, I’m a very vocal cheer- leader for PMC." Kathy’s work includes produc- Jeanette Landenwitch tion-oriented, limited edition, and one-of-a- Silver and gold PMC . kind pieces. Gallery

11 R. Merrill Bollerud Gold PMC pendant.

Jill Bush Silver and gold PMC rings. 1/2” to 3/4” diameter. Photo by Jerry Anthony.

Kathy Van Kleek “Spirit Vessel” fine silver and gold PMC, sterling wire. Photo by Seth Tice Lewis. 1 3/4” x 1 3/4” Working With Gold

12 A Keum-boo Project By Celie Fago

Editor’s note: Estelle Vernon’s article on lows simple rules of logic: If the parent sil- Keum-boo published in the Spring 2003 ver has deep gullies and mountains it will issue of Studio PMC inspired PMC Guild be difficult to work the gold into the Senior Instructor Celie Fago to share her crevices with the burnisher. So start with own experience and tips for working low relief, or none at all, on your PMC. with Keum-boo. The following project Another tip for beginners is to start offers Studio PMC readers step-by-step with a small, flat piece. Curved PMC instructions for adding gold Keum-boo to pieces, beads, rings, volumetric, and a silver PMC piece. large pieces are also candidates for Keum-boo, but are more challenging. I Keum-boo, which means "attached gold," suggest you tackle these types of pieces is a simple, reliable process through which after you develop a feel for the process. 24k gold foil is bonded to the surface of Safety note: Although PMC hollow-form another metal, usually fine silver. This pieces do not require a hole for gasses to ancient Asian technique, escape during firing, they do need a hole adapted here for Precious Metal Clay, for heating during the Keum-boo offers a relatively easy and inexpensive process. As the air trapped inside the way to add the luster of gold to your PMC. hollow form expands during heating, it The beauty of using Keum-boo with PMC is puts pressure on the now-solid metal. If Silver PMC with 24k gold Keum-boo by that silver metal clay, unlike conventional the air cannot escape, it may cause the Celie Fago. 1 3/4” diameter. Photo by fine silver sheet, needs no preparation. piece to explode. Robert Diamante. In this project we’ll burnish gold foil PMC is never cleaner than when it shapes onto freshly fired PMC that’s been comes out of the kiln fresh from firing. It heated on a hot plate. The gold attaches doesn’t need pickling, degreasing, or to the fine silver through a diffusion preparation of any kind to receive the bond, an atom exchange at the interface Keum-boo gold. In fact, if you have an of the two metals, not by fusion, which is old piece of fired or patinated PMC that the selective melting of one metal to you want to apply Keum-boo to, re-fire another to create a bond. This diffusion it. When it comes out of the kiln, it will bond is possible because fine silver and be pristine and ready for the gold. fine gold produce no oxides: As long as there is no oxide and no air between the Step 2: Hotplate. Place the hotplate on a metals to act as a barrier, the gold and counter top, high enough so you’re not silver molecules will co-mingle, or link forced to bend over it. If it’s a counter up at the interface, and create a durable, that can be damaged by heat, protect the permanent bond. (Heat and pressure countertop with unglazed tiles (or other accelerate this bonding.) fireproof materials) under the hotplate In Keum-boo, the heat, the pressure of so you’ll have a place to set hot tools and the burnishing, and the cleanliness of the pieces of work. metal all contribute to the success of the Although copper and steel can both be process. If you have problems with get- used to cover the hot plate burner, I pre- ting the gold foil to adhere, chances are fer 20 gauge red brass (sometimes called one of these three things is the culprit. "new gold"). Copper is a better heat con- “Pierced pendant #2” by Celie Fago. ductor, but it sheds oxides when heated, Silver PMC with 24k gold Keum-boo. Step 1: PMC. All types of PMC work equal- making a mess. I’ve improved my Keum- Photo by Robert Diamante. ly well with Keum-boo. However, low relief boo station by pounding out various-size textures are much easier to apply Keum- concave depressions in my brass sheet boo to than deep textures. The process fol- with dapping dies and punches. These Working With Gold

13

depressions hold both big and lit- If the foil sticks to the steel, it tle beads for Keum-boo. To allow means the burnisher is too hot. If the sheet to rest on the hot plate you only have one burnisher, let it without teetering, turn down the air-cool or dunk it in water. (Make corners of the brass sheet. sure it’s dry before resuming.) You may also want to try burnish- Step 3: Gold Foil. Although it is ers, but don’t quench them in possible to roll your own gold foil water. If they get too hot, air-cool for Keum-boo, I prefer to pur- them. Keep all burnishers highly chase my foil from Allcraft. It’s polished. thinner than I can roll with my un- Until you become accustomed to motorized rolling mill, and there- the process, you may want to repeat fore more economical. Also, these steps for successive pieces of because it’s thinner, it follows the foil. Eventually you’ll become adept topography of the textured sur- at adding gold foil to hot silver. face more closely. Hollow form lentil bead earrings by Celie Fago. Silver Wear leather gloves that fit well to Gold leaf and most enameling PMC with 24k Keum-boo. Photo by Robert Diamante. protect your hands from the heat. foils are too thin for Keum-boo. Unless develop a feel for your equipment, use a Add more pieces of gold, overlapping doubled or tripled, they will diffuse into chopstick or wood skewer to test for the if you like, until you are satisfied with the surface, leaving a disappointing correct temperature. Press the stick the design. Once you‘ve finished the first greenish color. Doubling them is difficult, against the silver: it will char when the side, you can turn it over and do the and I don’t recommend it except as an silver is hot enough to attach the gold, other side. When you are finished, air- experiment. approximately 550˚F.º cool the piece. The easiest way to cut shapes from the A note about temperature: The diffu- Hold the cooled piece up to good light gold foil is to place it in a folded piece of sion bond occurs between 550˚Fº and and examine the border of the attached plain paper. To use decorative paper 850˚Fº (850˚Fº is the top end of most hot gold. Run your fingernail along the border punches, put a square of gold in a folded plates). I usually work in the 700˚Fº to and try to pick up the edge. Well-attached piece of paper just a bit larger than the 800˚Fº range. With experience, you will foil is smooth, and does not make an gold. Hold it up to the light so you can see develop a feel for the correct hotplate abrupt transition at its borders. If you can the gold square and lightly mark the cen- temperature. The best way to tell if the see an edge, or feel it with your fingernail, ter with your pencil. Use the mark to posi- metal is hot enough is if the gold simply re-heat and re-burnish. tion this "sandwich" in a punch. (Holding adheres, but if you prefer to measure the The larger the piece of gold foil, the the punch upside down will facilitate temperature, the least expensive way to more difficult it will be to get it on, par- positioning.) Larger and more complex go is a wood stove thermometer. They ticularly on a curved surface. If a piece shapes can be drawn on paper and the cost about $20 and sit on the brass plate of foil creases or folds, just burnish it drawn line used as a cutting guide. atop your burner. down, being careful not to trap air. If it tears, finish burnishing and patch it with Step 4: Setting Up. When you’ve cut your Step 5: Burnishing. Use one burnisher to a second piece of gold. gold shapes, place the freshly fired PMC hold the piece steady, and the tip of the If upon heating during subsequent steps\ piece on the brass sheet on the hotplate. other to tack the middle of the gold the attached gold develops little bubbles, it With experience you’ll be able to add foil shape down. Don’t rub, just press to indicates trapped air. Sometimes you can to the piece after it’s heated up, but for make the the initial tack. Then work cool the piece and re-burnish with your now, place the gold on the silver before from the center of the gold shape out- fingernail. A large bubble can be poked you turn on the hotplate. You can use ward, using medium pressure, circular with a pin, heated, and re-burnished. tweezers (clean, no flux residue) to place movement, and the belly of the tool to Continued on page 15. the gold. If a piece of foil drops, pick it burnish the gold firmly onto the silver. up with a dampened finger. Be careful not to trap air as you move Turn the hotplate to high. Until you from the middle out to the edges. Happenings

14 Happenings —News from the world of PMC

PMC in Bead & Button PMC Guild Celebrates 2,000th Member Glass bead artist Kim Wertz helped put PMC on the cover of Bead & Button in February. Her article, "Creative Imagining and Making Silver Components," described how she designed a necklace featuring PMC beads and an art-glass centerpiece. The magazine’s editors chose her necklace to appear on the cover – without telling Kim. "I got a call from a friend who said, Janet Crampton Pipes. PMC pendant by Janet. ‘Oh my God, your necklace looks great on the cover,’" she remembers. "I hadn’t even glass beads and polymer clay. On Jan. 15, the PMC Guild reached a major gotten my copy yet." Several years passed between Janet’s milestone — our 2,000th member! The The Bead & Button project was Kim’s introduction to PMC and her decision to 2,000th member is Janet Crampton Pipes, first PMC work after taking her initial join the PMC Guild, however. In the an artist from Livermore, California. PMC class – a PMC certification course. interim, Janet and her husband of 15 In college, Janet majored in ceram- "After I sent [the article] off, I thought, years bought and began renovating a ics. She went on to work for several my goodness, I have a lot of nerve," she house. "It was built in 1950 and had suf- years as a graphic designer for techni- recalls. "I felt like such a novice. But this fered from a lack of interest and cal publications, until the increasingly stuff is too much fun. Once I learned, I money," she explains. Repairing the technical nature of her job made her couldn’t wait to do it." damage and turning it from handyman’s decide to follow a more artistic path. While the Bead & Button article may special to home consumed most of her For the last several years, she has sold have been her first project in PMC, it won’t waking hours. Between the time spent her sculptural bead jewelry at local be her last, says Kim, who with her hus- on the renovations and the lack of space craft fairs and galleries. band produces and sells handmade glass due to construction, her art languished. Her passion is beads. "I can never beads. "We always wanted to do the whole When she was finally able to begin have too many beads," she says. "When thing and make [finished jewelry], but we moving back into her studio, she decid- I told my husband we could share an were so busy," she says. Kim didn’t feel ed it was time to join the Guild. "I don’t office, he said, ‘No, I’ll put the comput- comfortable combining the couple’s hand- think the Guild had been formed when er in the kitchen or the garage.’ He made beads with manufactured findings, I first learned about PMC," she says. knew every horizontal space would be but both partners felt overwhelmed by the "One day I was sitting at the computer taken over by beads." time and money needed to master metal- and I punched in precious metal clay [in It was the beads that led her to PMC. smithing. "PMC was like a miracle from a search engine]. the Guild site Five years ago, she traveled to heaven. You don’t have to invest in a lot of was a happy accident." Embellishment, planning to take a equipment, you don’t have to take a lot of For being the Guild’s 2,000th mem- glass-bead-making class. She arrived classes, and you don’t have to start with ber, Janet received five packages of too late: The class was already full. So the really rudimentary," says Kim. "You PMC, two original, two PMC+, and one she signed up for a PMC class instead. can just go off and do your own thing." "I have a ceramics background, and I of PMC3. She also received two CD- ROMS, the Beads 2002 CD featuring the had just started to get into metal," she Local Guild Forms in Connecticut catalog exhibition first displayed at the says. "The PMC class was instant gratifi- A local PMC Guild is now forming in PMC Conference in Wooster, Ohio, and cation. Clay is so immediate. When I got southern Connecticut for PMC artists in Studio PMC, Five Years of the PMC Guild out of class, I saw a kiln and said [to my Fairfield and Westchester counties. Newsletter, 1997-2002, which features a mother], when I can afford it, that’s Meetings will be held the second Monday complete collection of Studio PMC what I’m going to buy." of each month at 7 p.m. at the Ridgefield issues in a searchable format. As it happened, she didn’t have to Guild of Artists in Ridgefield, Connecticut. "I never win things, and when I do, wait for a bigger balance in the check- For more information and a schedule of it’s never something I want," she laughs. ing account: Her mother bought a kiln upcoming demonstrations, e-mail Pam "This was the most wonderful thing I’ve for her as a gift. And Janet began incor- Lacey at [email protected] or ever won." porating PMC into her necklaces of Robert Dancik at [email protected]. Happenings

15

Rio Grande Names PMC Liaison Beyond the Mines Rio Grande has named Judi Anderson as A gold PMC piece by Shahasp Valentine the company’s PMC Technical Liaison. Judi was part of a recent exhibit of the work is certified by the PMC Guild, and teaches of California organized by the classes at the company’s Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento Catalog in Motion show. California. The exhibit was offered in In her new position, conjunction with "Beyond the Mines: The Judi will be available for Art of Gold," a touring exhibit of gold any questions relating artworks organized by the Society of to the PMC line, includ- North American Goldsmiths, which made ing technical concerns, its first appearance at the Crocker Art product inquiries, and Museum. The "California Gold" exhibit Knife Edge Necklace #26. 24k PMC and to place orders. She will Judi Anderson featured the works of 40 artists from the cultured pearls, by Shahasp Valentine. also help develop PMC projects and offer state, including Shahasp, Petra Class, Photo by Hap Sakwa. classes for Rio Grande. Judi’s new phone Marilyn and Jack daSilva, Jennifer number, dedicated to serving PMC enthu- Fecker, Kent Raible, Alexandra Hart, and siasts, is 888-tech-PMC. She can also be Marianne Hunter. reached via fax at (505) 839-3541 or by e- mail at [email protected]. New Gold PMC Video from Linda Bernstein Anne Lingener-Reece’s PMC on Pre-release orders are now being taken Display in Alaska for a new video from Linda Bernstein, Anne Lingener-Reece’s "Cuff of Falling produced by abba dabba Productions Leaves" was one of 63 pieces LLC. In the video, Working with Gold Linda Bernstein demonstrates the chosen to be displayed in the Earth, PMC, Linda demonstrates how to form creation of like this Fire, and Fibre XXIV Exhibition at the gold elements by sculpting, stamping, one in her upcoming video, Anchorage Museum of History and Art. and using molds, cutters, and textures, as Working with Gold PMC. The exhibition attracted 356 submis- well as explaining how to fire and use sions from 140 artists, with works from these elements. The video also shows 52 artists selected for display. how to fire stones in place; make, use, After its January-February appearance and fire gold paste; and make and use at the Anchorage museum, the biennial molds. juried craft exhibition was scheduled to The video will be available starting travel to Juneau, Fairbanks, Kenai, and Sept. 1. To place a pre-release order, visit Homer, Alaska. Linda’s website at www.artique.org.

A Keum-boo Project Continued from page 13. Step 6: Finishing. You can now go on prior to applying the gold. the two metals. You can also tumble your to solder, patinate, etch, , or When you are finished putting the foil piece. You can use liver of sulfur to apply form your piece in other ways. on, remove the burnishing marks in any a patina to the silver. (Liver of sulfur will Traditionally, all fabrication work of the following ways: rub the piece with not affect gold.) (soldering, etc.) was done prior to apply- a little dampened pumice on your finger ing Keum-boo. However, I solder posts to for a soft satin finish; use pumice on a my pieces with medium solder after fin- soapy brass brush for a higher shine; or For more about Keum-boo, visit the ishing the Keum-boo. If you do solder substitute baking soda for pumice for a Orchid forum archives at first, you must pickle, boil with baking slightly softer look. The finer the abra- www.ganoksin.com. soda, and clean with denatured alcohol sive, the less contrast you’ll get between Readers’ Writes

16 Readers’ Writes

This Month's Question: How have you used gold PMC?

Editor's Note: Welcome to Readers' ◆ I have done only two things with gold Writes, a new column written by you, the PMC so far. The first was to combine it readers of Studio PMC. Each issue, we'll with a silver PMC piece. I rolled a small pose a question and ask you to let us rope and placed it on the wet PMC piece, know your answer. We'll print as many and rolled that in. Then I textured the responses as possible in the next issue. whole piece and fired at 1650˚F. It worked Dragonfly pendant with gold PMC wash To respond to this issue's question, or to well. Even though the gold firing tempera- on wings by Andi Callihan. suggest a question we should ask in a ture is much higher, I'm under the impres- future issue, e-mail [email protected] sion you can get away with the lower tem- ◆ My Golden Eye pendant was made or write Readers' Writes, Studio PMC, perature for small spots of gold. with 24k gold PMC and an 18k green gold P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048. The other thing I do a lot is to use the made by blending 24k and silver PMC gold as a "wash." I will make my piece, together. I formed a thin rope of each let it dry thoroughly, and then use karat gold, and placed them side by side. thinned down gold as a wash over the The double rope was made into a , high spots of the texture. This is tricky, and then rolled to the thickness I want- but produces a nice effect. ed to make one sheet of clay. This was —Andi Callahan then pressed into a Belicold push mold of an shell. After drying, this ◆ If it weren't for a private "eye" of the abalone was fired at 1830˚F student asking me, "How for the full two hours. do you use gold PMC?" I Next, I pressed silver PMC into the probably still would not mold for the body of the shell and dried have tried it. That chicklet- it to leather hard. I lined up the gold on sized piece of "fine gold the silver to follow the pattern in the sil- clay, 1/4 troy ounce" in its ver. The silver was cut away from behind clear plastic box had been the "eye" and the two pieces attached, sitting on my table tor- Gold PMC dried, and fired for an additional two menting me for a while. slip on hours. (It took several firings to get all “Golden Eye” by Jean Vormelker. Thus challenged, but silver PMC. the holes filled between the pieces.) By Marcia Gold and silver PMC with enamel. still being a classic New Success! But the piece looked unfin- Herson. 3 1/4” x 2 3/4” Englander, I attempted to ished with the gold just sitting there. find the cheap way out. So I made a wash Bringing the gold colors up into the silver (created as a watery slip) and painted with enamel was the solution. After a lit- layers of gold onto a leather-hard PMC+ tle experimenting with leaded and lead- piece. As each layer dried, I added free enamels, I found four colors that another. Though I didn't count, I'd say were close to correct. When two trans- Next there were five to six thin layers. Then I parent enamels for each color (18k and Question: fired it at 1650˚F for two hours and voila! 24k) were mixed they exactly matched All I did after that was wire brush and the two colors of gold. I just brushed the How did you first burnish. My beginner's luck has given me glass enamel on the top surfaces of some discover PMC? the desire to go further. Oh, and I only of the ridges on the completed shell and used up a tiny corner of my "chicklet." fired the enamel in the usual way. —Marcia Herson —Jean Vormelker Tips & Tricks

17 Tips & Tricks for PMC

Edited by Celie Fago

Instant Stamp And those caps are just the beginning. Keeping your Cards Together Senior instructor Carl Stanley offers this "There is a wonderful world out there of Measuring the thickness of PMC with play- quick solution for a mini mold stamp for different shapes and sizes," she writes. ing cards is a tried-and-true technique, but use on PMC. "If you cross the lines of other crafts — one that can be frustrating as the slick "Take a hard glue stick, normally used sewing, carpentry, plumbing, etc. — you cards slip around. To avoid this problem, in hot glue guns. You can buy these at art will also find really neat ideas." many artists tape or glue the playing cards supply stores in a variety of lengths. I together. (A disappearing purple glue stick usually use 12-inch lengths and cut them Alternatives to Liver of Sulfur works well for this task, notes Carol Avery.) into two-inch pieces, but other sizes Liver of sulfur is one of the most popular To quickly identify how thick a stack would work as well. methods of patination used by PMC artists, is, make sure the top card shows the "Take an object that you would like a but it has a short shelf life. As a result, number of cards in the stack, writes Alice mini mold stamp made of, such as a but- many artists have experimented with other Alper-Rein. For example, a stack of five ton or a detail on some toy. Put a drop of ways of getting the same results. cards would have the five of hearts on liquid dish soap on your finger and wipe Happy coincidence led Guild member top, and four other cards taped or glued it onto the area you want to make a Mark Lattanzi to one viable alternative. "I underneath. stamp from. This acts as a release agent, needed to patina a piece but I had run out According to Carol, who also uses this so the glue doesn't stick. Heat one end of of liver of sulfur," he writes. "I remembered technique, one deck of cards yields a the glue stick over a candle or lighter that I had just been to an Indian market and pair of aces (for a one-card stack), two until it is soft, but not so hot that it drips. purchased some black salt, which is a salt pairs of twos (two cards glued together "Push the soft glue onto the area you used in curries, lassies and so on (and is with number two cards on top), plus have chosen. It will harden in a few sec- actually pink). It smelled, as my daughter stacks of threes, fours, fives, and sevens, onds. You can trim any excess away with said, 'like the beach.' Sulfurous! I mixed with several single cards left over for a safety knife. Now you have an instant some up in water and heated it, dropped holding works in progress. The stacks stamp that gives a duplicate of the origi- the piece in and got a very nice patina!" can then be combined for other thick- nal detail. And remember you have two Another liver of sulfur alternative nesses: for example, if a six-card stack is ends per piece. The cost and effort works comes via the Orchid e-mail forum. needed, Carol uses a four-stack and a out to about five minutes and five cents "Instead of liver of sulfur, I use lime sul- two-stack. per stamp. fur in liquid form from my local hard- For longer strips of PMC, try Bed and ware/garden store," writes Marianne Bath, the home furnishings store, for More Household Shapes for PMC Kerby. "I mix approximately 5 ml of the longer, narrower cards, which come in a In a recent article, CeCe suggested using liquid to about 250 ml of hot water. handy plastic case. (Thanks to CeCe, who kitchen items to give texture and shape (About 1 teaspoon to 1 cup)." first discovered them.) to PMC. For Mary Ann Warren, the article "The results are almost the same, provided the inspiration to look around [although] I find the lime sulfur is more con- for other items. trollable. The stages of the color change are "I had a prescription filled for Flonase slightly slower and have more variety — lots Deadlines for and when I removed the top from the of variation from cream, gold, , Submissions bottle, I realized it would make a won- bluey-purples, right through to black. I stop derful oval shape for PMC," she writes. each stage with a quick dip in cold water Fall 2003: May 1 "A light bulb went on: What about other and then continue if I want a deeper color. Winter 2003: August 1 products we buy that are just disposed of "The contents of my bottle were man- after use, such as tooth paste caps and ufactured in 1998. I've used about 1/8 of Special Focus for Winter 2003: perfume bottle caps?" (Mary Ann sug- the bottle, and it is still working just as Enameling on PMC gests burning small holes in the plastic well as the first time I used it. Its long life caps, which you can then blow through is one of the reasons I like it so much." to facilitate removal of the PMC.) PMC Marketplace

18 StudioADVERTISE PMC in Studio PMC If your company or business markets PMC-related products, tools, or services, here’s the best way to reach out to 2,000 serious, dedicated PMC artists. Contact our Advertising Manager, Carl Stanley, for specifications, deadlines, and prices. Phone: 805-687-5415.Marketplace Fax: 805-687-3215. E-mail: [email protected]

www.gemresources.com PMC Marketplace Studio PMC 19 Marketplace WORKSHOPS • FEATURE STORIES • DEPARTMENTS • HOW TO • QUESTIONS & ANSWERS • TECH TIPS 20 Gold PMC FAQ

by Tim McCreight

Q: What is the correct firing sequence for gold PMC? A: As with silver PMC, it is impor- tant to dry the work before firing. Bring the piece to 1830˚F (1000˚C) and hold it there for two hours. Gold PMC can be air cooled or quenched.

Q: What is the shrinkage rate of gold PMC? A: It is 28 percent, the same as orig- inal silver PMC.

Q: Can I fire stones in place in gold PMC? A: All laboratory-grown stones will withstand the higher temperature of firing gold, but very few natural stones will survive this temperature. Studio renew NOW to continue your subscription uninterrupted. next issue of Studio PMC (February, May, August, and November issues), you need to date your PMC Guild Membership EXPIRES. If expiration falls before the IET RENEW your Guild membership? TO TIME www.PMCguild.com Mansfield, MA 02048 P by mail, fax, or e-mail [email protected] Name & Address incorrect? .O. Box 265

PMC Send corrections to the PMC Guild H DATE on this mailing label is the THE PERMIT No.721 U.S. POSTAGE PONTIAC, IL PRSRT STD P AID