Hand Drawn Templates for Precious Metal Clay

If you are new to precious metal clay, read my earlier post here for an overview.


Transferring hand drawn images to precious metal clay is a fun way to enhance creations.  The process is quite similar to making texture templates but allows more personalization of the artists' work.

The materials needed to make a hand drawn template are:

• two ounces of polymer clay
• wooden stylus
• clay shaper tool, firm with tapered end
• toaster oven *

* It is best to designate a small toaster oven exclusively for use with polymer clay projects. Do not use a traditional home oven.  Polymer clay emits low-level fumes while heating.  Though non-toxic, the fumes would be re-released when baking food.

The Process

1. Take 1/4 of the polymer clay and condition until flexible.  A good tutorial for conditioning clay can be found here.
2. Roll the clay out on a non-stick surface.  1/8 inch thickness is good to begin with.
3. Carefully draw your image onto the soft clay with a wooden stylus.   Press lightly.  As you add more, retrace the existing lines keeping the image depth even throughout.  The shaper tool aids in "erasing" and smoothing edges.  My drawings average between 1 and 1.5 inches in height.  This is large enough to add details.  The final product on precious metal clay will be slightly smaller after firing the piece.
4. If you are not happy with the results, fold the clay into a ball and start over from step 1.
5. When finished, place the drawn template onto a plain index card and bake in the preheated toaster oven at 275 degrees Farenheit for 15 minutes. 
6. Turn off the oven and allow the clay to remain inside while the device cools completely.

The drawn template is now ready to use.  Practice on a softened piece of polymer clay.  Spritz with distilled water before testing so that the clay will not stick.  

Lightly apply a product such as Cool Slip or olive oil to precious metal clay prior to using the template.

Adding Texture to Precious Metal Clay

Precious metal clay, PMC, is a versatile medium to use for crafting.  In an earlier blog post, I gave a basic overview of metal clay along with some guidelines on getting started with it.  Now I am sharing a favorite attribute of this material - its ability to accept texture.

  Texture is defined as: "the characteristic visual and tactile quality of the surface of a work of art resulting from the way in which the materials are used."

Textured items are very appealing to me.  I love their depth, feel, and visual interest.  In a pmc beginner course, I was introduced to texture tiles.  These are flat rubber stamps.  The instructor helped me create a necklace by pressing these tiles into the metal clay; leaving an imprint.  I was hooked.  I wanted to make more jewelry and I wanted it to be original.

A purchased texture tile

       

 My enthusiasm led me to create my own texture tiles.  Four things are needed to do this:

• an object with small, raised or imprinted details - items found around the house are good to start with
• distilled water in a spray bottle
• two ounces of polymer clay
• toaster oven *

*Home ovens are not recommended.  Polymer clay releases low levels of non-toxic fumes while heating.  These fumes can leave a residue in the oven which would be re-released when baking food.  Check into getting a toaster oven that will be designated solely for polymer clay crafts.  I found a nice one for $15 at Goodwill.

Create a texture plate:

1. Assemble the materials.  Pinch off 1/4 of the polymer clay.  Condition the clay until it is soft and pliable. 
2. Roll the polymer clay out like dough, leaving it at least 1/8 of an inch in thickness.
3. Spritz the surface of the clay with distilled water - this prevents your textured object from sticking to it.
4. Press the texture into the clay and gently remove.
5. Happy with the results? If not, squish the clay and repeat steps 2 through 4.
6. Place the texture tile on a plain index card and bake in the preheated toaster oven at 275 degrees Farenheit for 15 minutes.  When the time is up, turn off the oven and leave the clay inside until the oven is completely cool.  This strengthens the clay. 

A few of my homemade tiles

                                                   

To inhibit the texture tile from sticking during use on metal clay, lightly apply a substance such as Cool Slip, olive oil, or Burt's Bees Natural Hand Salve to the surface before making an imprint.

What is Precious Metal Clay?

An image of a stunning necklace followed by the caption "created with precious metal clay", set me on a path of exploration.  Precious metal clay? What is that? As a girl that grew up loving Play-Doh, then Model Magic as an adult,  I had to learn more.

Precious metal clay is a substance developed by Mitsubishi Materials of Japan in 1990.  PMC is microscopic silver or gold particles combined with water in an organic binder to form a material with qualities similar to modeling clay.  As with other soft clays, metal clay can be sculpted using hands or simple tools, shaped, molded, and given texture.

After a precious metal clay creation has air-dried, it is fired in a kiln or with a hand-held torch.  This burns away the binder leaving only the pure metal.  Depending on the type of metal clay used, some shrinkage will occur. 

Sounds amazing, right? A couple of things before you run out and buy it:

 * It is not cheap.  A 16 gram package (this is just over half an ounce) of silver PMC is around $37 and can fluctuate with the silver market.  As expected, gold metal clay is significantly higher.  Copper and Bronze metal clays are lower cost alternatives.

    

* It dries out very quickly.  You'll want to know what to expect and plan your design before opening the package.

I highly recommend enrolling in a beginner course before purchasing any materials.  I found a local certified instructor with whom I spent a Saturday; happily learning the basics.  A one-time class cost me around $75.  This included instruction time and all materials.  I left the workshop with my own necklace and a head full of ideas...that I am still building on.

Visit this gallery for a slideshow of designs by PMC artisans.  Fascinated? Search for a local class.

If you are already familiar with pmc, Cool Tools is a great resource.  The site includes an online learning center with videos, guides, and projects for beginners and beyond.  Cool Tools also offers the most competitive pricing I have found when  purchasing precious metal clay.