This was one of my first attempts at making
jewellery using clay and Powertex. I used an air dry clay from my stash and
rolled it out into a sheet of approx. 5-6mm deep. The headdress area of the Katya
stamp (from Chocolate Baroque) was used to impress the pattern texture. The shape was then trimmed out with a craft
knife and attachment holes made using a small ball tool.
After drying this clay was very porous with a slight
powdery surface, and was quite fragile if rolled too thin. I added a coat of Bronze Powertex
to give it a good base colour for gilding, and with the hope of hardening the
clay. The porous clay soaked up the Powertex really well and considerably strengthened
the clay. Pebeo Gilding Wax (several
different shades of gold) was rubbed over the surface to give an aged metallic
finish. I attached a recycled gold plated necklace chain using 0.8mm copper
wire.
I
have since experimented with a few different air dry clays (water based paper
and craft clays) and their suitability for jewellery making. Some are far too
brittle when rolled out to make thinner items, others too light (e.g. paper
clays) to make pendants that hang nicely. It is worth experimenting with what
you have in your stash. If using to make embellishments which will be glued
down onto canvases or cards Powertex is ideal for sealing and making them more
robust.
If
you are making items for outdoors then Powertex Stone Art Clay is the
best option. It has been designed to be weatherproof and won’t crack. Stone Art
Clay is also brilliant for jewellery making. It is strong, water resistant, and
it is a perfect weight; not too heavy but with enough weight for jewellery
pieces to hang well.
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