Bronze! I. Love. Bronze!

I love bronze - oh wait, I already said that... but I want to scream it!! It's tough... it takes the not so delicate handling I give it and says "HA! I'll take that and more!" and I love it for that!! The clay works much like silver and copper it's just that it has a different firing method. And the new Prometheus bronze is a shorter firing time (perfect for my muffle kiln) and thanks to a wonderful artist from France - Sabine Alienor - I have been able to get fantastic results with firing using her technique. I have not had any failures in firing the bronze and whether it's simply brushed or tumbled it comes out fantastic. And... can it receive a patina! (I know - it sounded like a question but heck no! It was a statement for sure... It CAN take a patina!) I've used both liquid LOS patina as well as torch applied patina - o m g. The torch applied is my favorite the colors are incredible.

Here are some examples - the earrings you've seen before ...
the bronze holds a terrific texture and plain old squares can be hammered to form hand-forged texture.

My favorite earrings lately are the pair on the left - a delicate floral carnation texture, slightly domed leaf shape dangle on hand-forged vintage bronze ear wires. Peace Stones add a touch of organic color.

The other pair are hand-forged square bronze dangles with turquoise rondelles. Paired with vintage bronze ear wires and coils. Very light, very pretty!!

Cinderella's Pendant...
This piece I adore. I found a little skeleton key with lock in a scrap book store and thought - that looks like a pendant. Like a Cinderella carriage. I molded the lock plate and covered the key-hole area with polymer clay to make a bezel-like area in the pendant. The cabachon is ... polymer clay! Yes I actually made a piece from polymer clay that did not burn on me! The colors came out fabulous but I have to admit - I cheated... I used glossy coating vs all the hours of sanding that my friend Lisa does to get a coating free shine like this.

Below the Cinderella Pendant hangs a bronze key with a Principessa Glass lamp work heart and finishes with a Swarovski Crystal fringe in colors from the cab. The key is made from bronze and is cold connected to the lamp work heart. The cabachon was created to work with this heart! I had so much fun making this necklace. There are two Vintage Aspirin Peridot AB Swarovski Crystals and two small bronze colored lamp work spacers by That Bead Girl. The piece is completed with a hand-dyed silk cord in the PERFECT color by Jamn Glass and a hand-forged bronze "S" hook with another That Bead Girl spacer.

(I made the "S" hook a little on the large size so that it will help keep the necklace centered while wearing.)

I love this pretty necklace. It's approx 22" long.

Serenity Prayer Pendant...
While at Pam East's I found a secret for easily and efficiently cleaning a Photo Polymer Plate (PPP) and let me tell you it works!! I created this Serenity Prayer pendant using a PPP that was created from a design I did on the computer and transfered to the plate and then used like a stamp with the bronze clay.

It worked very nicely. I used some liquid LOS patina to darken up the words a little and then hit it with a torch to bring up some torch-fired patina colors. It hangs on a brown leather cord that knots in the back. It's a fabulous little piece - approx 1 1/4" diameter.


Double Heart Bracelet...
This bracelet is light and very comfortable to wear. The focal is formed with double hearts stacked on a diamond base. The hearts were wire brushed to bring up some shine while the base was left to provide a contrast. I combined the patina'd diamond shape bronze components with hand-made bronze coiled beads and Olive Jade rondelles. The piece comes together with brown suede cord and hand-forged bronze hook. The Olive Jade rondelles are very understated on their own but when combined with the leather, wire work and bronze they pop.


Until next time... I leave you with this thought - Please take time to visit my friends using the links posted above. These gals make all their product by hand - in their work shops, rooms, studios. They are true artisans and I am so proud to present their work in my pieces.