Metal Clay & Color

I'm thrilled to announce that I have a project included in the soon-to-be-available new book, Metal Clay & Color, compiled by Mary Wohlgemuth and published by Kalmbach. The project is a step-by-step tutorial to making a fine silver clay ring with an embedded band, accented with a jolt of colored resin. I give tips on how to mix color into the resin, how to level the resin in the reservoir, and how to avoid bubbles as the resin sets up.

Other projects in the book cover adding color via polymer clay, ceramics, patinas, gemstones, glass, seed beads & more. The twenty artists/designers who contributed to the book include: Lorena Angulo, Lorrene Baum-Davis, Maggie Berman, Pat Bolgar, Susan Breen Silvy, Barbara Briggs, Sandra Butchko, Catherine Davies Paetz, Pam East, Joy Funnell, Hadar Jacobson, Patricia Kimle, Irina Miech, Kim Otterbein, Cindy Pankopf, Cindy Silas, Jewelyn Vanoni and Michela Verani (and me, of course!).

Preorders are available from Kalmbach Books.

Combining Argentium with Fine Silver Clay

After four weeks of class and my initial ring test, of course I have a zillion ideas for projects combining Argentium with fine silver clay. At the end of the the earring course, I started work on making an adaptation of my Meadowlark earrings in Argentium.

©2012 Vickie Hallmark
Goldberry earrings
Argentium sterling silver, fine silver, 18K gold, peridots
fused, no solder

I shaped wired into the inverted shield shape I favor and laid it out on sheet with some jump rings at the top and bottom for ear wires and dangles. Then I shaped some simple branches in the same wire and fused it all down. After hammering the perimeter wire all around, I added two small birds, tiny leaves and 18K gold berries, along with silver granules to reinforce the jump rings. After those were fused down, I cut the shapes out and cleaned up the edges.

©2010 Vickie Hallmark
Meadowlark earrings
fine silver with Argentium wires
metal clay

This weekend at home, I finally have my jeweler's bench whipped into shape, with the addition of the same torch I use at school. So I broke it in by quickly fusing down two fine silver bezel cups along with jump rings, silver granules and gold dots at the bottom. Once I drilled out all the holes and added the wire work, I set two nice peridots from my cabochon collection. The flavor of the original earrings is still there, but the gold and stones definitely up level the new version, compared to the old.

Another Jewelry School Project

I left out one of the week's projects, perhaps the most detailed. We formed this bead-bar hook-&-eye clasp from large jump rings for the bars, with added small jump rings and granulation for decoration and reinforcement. From this project I learned the pros and cons of fusing and soldering. Too much heat causes the Argentium to roughen. On such an intricate piece, the roughness is impossible to completely sand and polish out. Soldering requires much less heat, so avoids the roughening issue. My tendency is to want to fuse everything and avoid soldering, but I finally realize that I must embrace both.

Argentium bead-bar hook-&-eye clasp

Jewelry School Adventures - Chains & Clasps

The topic of this week's class was simple clasps and chain. First we learned to make jump rings in various ways, including sawing wire coils and using a jump ring maker. We fused a batch of the smaller rings and squashed them gently into ovals. Then we assembled the chain with heavier round links that were soldered. We added a heavy ring and toggle bar with ball ends, both with soldered jump rings.

Argentium chain link bracelet
double oval fused links alternating with single round soldered links

Afterwards, we moved on to forming wire into a simple S clasp and pendant enhancer, both in heavy 14 gauge wire which made them more difficult to form than my usual lighter weight experience. I particularly enjoyed the interlocking C ring clasp, which was actually quick and easy to make once you know the trick.

Argentium S hook, pendant enhancer &
interlocking C-ring clasp

Finally, we spent quite a bit of time learning to form tubing from sheet. The initial forming is simple, as is the drawing through successfully smaller holes in the draw plate.  The key, as with many things, is having the correct tools. I have two different rounds of tubing shown here. The two pieces on the left were cut from a tube made from heavier sheet, fused together for applications requiring seamless tubing. The two pieces on the right were from a run started with lighter weight sheet, with the seam left open for applications such as hinges where that fusing step isn't necessary. I did the second round as part of my extra time on Friday, to be used as the hinge tube for the pin mechanism on the brooch I made in the sawing class.

drawn Argentium tubing

A piece of the class tubing was converted into this tiny bayonet clasp for a necklace. A top and bottom were fused onto the tube (with a hole in one end), while the jump rings were soldered on. The bayonet itself is made by sawing a section of 12 gauge wire in half -- definitely a challenge! I soldered on the tiny ball to the end of the bayonet after I melted it while trying to solder on the jump ring. This week's class was definitely good for learning to fuse and solder small, delicate parts. I'm feeling much more confident in my fusing and soldering skills now.

Argentium bayonet clasp made from
drawn tubing and split wire

Argentium Silver vs. Sterling

Argentium IS sterling silver. It actually has more fine silver than conventional sterling, 935 vs 925 parts out of 1000. But whereas conventional sterling has 75 parts copper, Argentium has 55 parts copper and 10 parts germanium. That little bit of germanium changes everything. As of today, one ounce of sterling wire is priced at $32.25, whereas Argentium is $34.90, or about 8% higher.



While there are now many new alloys hitting the markets, patented Argentium is unique because of its germanium content. Germanium loves oxygen even more than copper does, so it will travel to the surface where it scavenges oxygen to make a clear germanium oxide layer and exclude black copper oxides -- NO fire scale! The lack of fire scale means no aggressive and toxic pickles are needed to remove the copper oxides from the surface. Mild citric acid, vinegar with salt, or even simple boiling water are quite sufficient to remove the remains of flux. After years of atmospheric exposure, Argentium develops only a mild golden patina.



Germanium also changes many other properties of the alloy relative to conventional sterling. Argentium is brittle when hot, so traditional jewelers may be off put by their first interactions with this new material. Touch the hot metal with a tool and it will crack or even shatter. Quenching is also to be avoided, since the metal is so brittle when hot. Simply air cooling for a few seconds longer, or placing on a metal block to suck the heat out faster, will avoid this frustrating issue. No more than a mild sizzle when hitting the water should ever be heard.

I started using Argentium silver several years ago because it forms beautiful balls for wire attachments in my jewelry, as compared to sterling which gives pitted, deformed balls. At least two years ago, after reading that Argentium could be fused like fine silver, I experimented successfully with fusing the two together. Since that point, I've been wanting to push the idea further and combine metal clay with fabricated sheet and wire components in my work. With metal clay almost four times the price of wire or sheet, it makes sense to only use metal clay for elements where its properties give it a huge advantage over conventional techniques, principally sculptural work that could only be done traditionally via time-consuming wax carving followed by casting. In that situation, metal clay really excels.

The videos above are from Ronda Coryell's four volume DVD series about Argentium, available from Ronda's website.

Jewelry School Adventures - Earrings

The final project of the Earrings class involved filagree and making tiny mechanisms. First we flattened square wire into rectangular wire, then cut, formed and fused it into the perimeter of the earrings. Then we twisted and flattened the filagree wire to cut & form into the delicate pattern. Once that was all wedged into place with just the right amount of tension, we fused it all in place. My slightly different design included the silver balls which were placed after the wires were secure.

argentium fused filagree earrings
with soldered mechanism from sheet & wire

The earring mechanism was the tricky part. We formed sheet and wire into the tiny riveted post and spring
clasp, both soldered onto the top of the earrings. Finally, we glued pearls onto a soldered post in the center.

Jewelry School Adventures - Earrings

This week's class is Earrings, Mechanisms & Granulation. We have twice as many students, attesting to the popularity of earrings. On the first day, we made two pair. First up, twisted square wire hoops. Argentium is so malleable that it twists easily and beautifully. If you have an area that didn't twist the same as the rest, you just anneal the part you want to twist more, leaving the rest hardened, then correct the problem. Mine twisted perfectly the first time. The we cut 3/4 rings, melted some large balls and fused them onto one end of the rings. After that, we made tiny jump rings and soldered posts into the jump rings for extra support on the business end of the hoop.

twisted square wire earrings
fused & soldered Argentium sterling silver

On the same day, we learned to deliberately slump Argentium to give "torch formed" leaf earrings. First the wires are shaped and laid on the sheet, then fused to attach. The sheet is flipped over and the temperature of the metal is raised until the silver begins to slump around the wires. The photo shows the front (right) and back of the earrings.

fused and slumped earrings
Argentium sterling silver

The next day we started a complex pair of earrings involving granulation and bezel set stones. I drew my own design to be different, then spent a lot of time bending wire to fit and tack fusing the pieces together in the desired shapes. Eventually I got it all fused down onto the sheet and started forming bezels by fusing heavy, 24 gauge strip into ovals. I formed what seemed like an army of granules by cutting uniform lengths of wire and balling them on a charcoal block, then carefully set them into their places. For the last thing of the day, I fused it all down.

granulated Argentium sterling silver
bezel set onyx

This morning, I cut out the center and surrounding metal, filed and sanded, and began the process of stone setting. While I have set thin-walled bezels before, I've never had to move this much metal. i tried it two different ways, with a hammer and punch and with a hammer hand piece on the flex shaft. Now I know what I want for my birthday! Then I tried to learn to use a graver to "bright cut" the top of the bezels, but I definitely need practice at that. After I sanded and polished the bezels, I formed a small pair of plain round wire hoops to hold the dangles. I wish I'd given more thought to making these in keeping with my usual style, because they don't really appeal to me, but I think I'll have time for that on Friday.

Tomorrow, we start filagree!

Jewelry School Adventures - Flush Setting & Sweat Soldering

As the week has progressed, my sawing skills have improved dramatically. The instructor and the three students all had a good laugh at the planning that suggested only three saw blades per person for the week. Even Ronda went through at least a dozen. We started out with 3/0 blades and worked progressively finer as we attempted more complex cuts.

Saw-piercing practice

The fine inside curls in this pierced piece were cut with 8/0 blades, so fine and delicate that I literally broke one when I blew silver dust off my piece mid-cut.

Along with sawing, we learned roller printing and flush stone setting. I admit to flunking stone setting on the first day, which just made me more determined to get the hang of it. On the second day, I set the same ten 2mm CZs over and over again.  I could still use some practice, as in my final piece, the setting bur took off on me and cut the center hole too deep. I also still sometimes slip with the burnisher and put a scratch into the pre-finished front.

bird brooch sketch

For the final project, I deviated from the assignment to make something more my personal style. Here's the sketch that the instructor approved from a selection I drew with constrains of a 1.25" square of silver.

fused argentium & 22k gold with flush mount CZs

Then I deviated again, as I felt I'd prefer to practice fusing Argentium rather than sweat soldering. The assignment was to learn to work with thin widths of metal overlay, to fuse on 18K gold granules and to set stones. No solder was used for this construction so far, although I may solder on the pin mechanism.

I can officially say that I got what I came for after two weeks of class. My vision was to make my window pieces out of argentium with the bird & branch made of metal clay fused on top. Can do. Next week's class is Earrings, Mechanisms, and Granulation.

Jewelry School Adventures - Sawing

I am continuing with another class at Jewelry Studies International. The topic of the week is Sawing & Setting. While I've got beginner sawing skills, I thought a week of intensive practice would be just the ticket to confidence to tackle any idea I might conceive.

The first day of sawing involved several practice pieces, first in copper and then in brass. We learned to mark patterns by gluing on a paper template, transferring the toner image via acetone, and scribing for precision. We also learned to cut and file edges to make a woven illusion.

Many hours of sawing later, my poor left arm (the holding side) was complaining, but I was improving. A major transition occurred when I reversed the direction that I cut from clockwise to counterclockwise.

On the second day, we graduated to Argentium sterling, which cuts like butter. The tiny piercings in these Celtic knot work earrings are so small that it's almost impossible to file, so the objective was to cut so cleanly with the 6/0 blade that clean up would be unnecessary. Failing that, we used the saw blade itself to file the inside edges. Then we roller printed copper for a background piece, and I went my own direction rather than cut the plain triangular pieces. I now understand why I should buy highest quality saw blades by the gross!

Affirmation 6 - Help

The affirmation book is continuing. For the hummingbird, I thought my usual tree background didn't fit well enough, so I experimented with a new salvia background. I'm loving it and thinking about how to incorporate it into other work somehow. This is how different media play off one another for me. The garden tells me salvia for hummers; I experiment with drawing it; then somehow it will make its way into glass or metal.

Stock Tank Pond Update

After many weeks of green, the stock tank pond finally cleared. One day I could suddenly see a few inches down, then the next day further, and after about three days I could see the bottom. It was a relief to verify that all five goldfish are alive and well.

stock tank pond

The water plants have indeed spread to cover more than half of the surface. The parrot feather in particular is going crazy and has already provided a home for at least two rounds of baby mosquito fish, which are born live and need some place to hide from their hungry elders. Suddenly the pond is teeming with fish, so I guess we will learn about Mother Nature's balancing act in terms of flora versus fauna. We do not feed the fish, other than to provide anacharis, which the goldfish view as quite tasty. I can see from this photo that I should push the taller plants, dwarf papyrus and Louisiana iris, in toward the center, although the papyrus keeps blowing over in high wind, so I have it wedged up against the landing rock.

Colorado water lily

Wanvisa water lily

Now, with a week of 90 degree weather, we have the opposite problem. Brown foamy looking algae sludge is floating up from the bottom of the tank to the surface. I have skimmed every day, and this morning we got rain, which from my reading may make the issue disappear for a while. The water lilies are ecstatic with the sun, with the Colorado having three blooms open at once and three more buds breaking water. Wanvisa is a little behind due to a later start, but also had a single speckled bloom open with its sister. These blooms don't seem to last as long as the Colorado blooms, which stay above water for several days each. Once they sink, I pinch them off back near the pot, along with outer leaves that start to decay. The red leaved plant, whose name I've forgotten, has actually died back somewhat and seems to have something eating its leaves, although it is actually blooming. Can anybody identify it for me?

blue bottle tree

I decided to forego drinking 24 bottles of riesling to get blue bottles for the bottle tree and just ordered two cases from a winemaking supply house via Amazon. A visit to Home Depot rounded up two caps for cedar posts, one square and one finial,  that I combined to finish off the top of the post.

new stock tank pond garden

Although the roses are through their first flush, many of my new plants are starting to get a bit more established, so the new part of the garden is making me happy every morning or evening that I venture out. More big ideas are percolating, but jewelry school is eating all my time at the moment.

Jewelry School Adventures - Fancy Rings

After finishing up one week at Jewelry Studies International, my head is spinning with ideas. On the fourth day, we finished up the flared ring and started another. Although I originally sized my outer ring so that it was free to spin, I decided that I really didn't like it (perhaps it moved too much). So I stretched the flared band out enough to tighten against the outer ring and lock it into place, which was the original design anyway (did you know that spinner rings are patented?). The protected part of the flared band has a deep black patina, while the edge, outer ring, and inside all have a bright, burnished polish.

flared capture ring and band with fused jump rings and granulations

The final project of the rings class was a complex fused jump ring and granulation project, which required more finesse than I yet have to get the rings all perfectly shaped and spaced.

granulation ring

Since we had a final day for finishing and our own projects, I decided to tackle the jump rings again, but forgot the sequence in my quest to prove that I could get a ring formed and fused in record time. So I took it as a design opportunity to make a different ring, with two wire outer rings capturing a single row of granules (all hand made, by the way, not purchased).

file silver clay bird fused to Argentium ring shank

Finally, part of the reason I have undertaken these classes is to explore the possibilities of combining fabricated parts made from Argentium with metal clay components. One evening after class, I sculpted a small flying bird in fine silver. I squared my double round wire ring and cut a corresponding double trench in the back of the bird with a ball bur. Ronda tacked it into position with the laser welder to avoid a balancing issue, and I fused the two together. SO EASY! That's why my head is spinning with ideas. Many of these rings are destined for future combination with metal clay. I'll be experimenting with fusing sterling clay with Argentium, as well as with embedding Argentium components into clay and then carbon firing. So many possibilities await.

Jewelry School Adventures - Simple Rings

I've embarked on a grand adventure: attending classes at Jewelry Studies International. This new teaching studio in Austin offers two Jewelry Arts Diplomas designed exclusively around Argentium silver. The relatively new alloy adds a small percentage of germanium to the silver and copper mix, changing how absolutely everything works. No more fire scale, very slow tarnishing, and the ability to fuse as well as solder open up lots of possibilities for this new material.

first fused rings in Argentium sterling

This week I am taking the first course, which is devoted to rings and bands. The class meets from 8:30 to 5:30 for five days in a row, which is plenty of time to learn a wide range of techniques useful for rings.  On the first day we learned about fundamentals of Argentium silver, then formed and soldered our first ring from square wire. Then we cut multiple circles of round wire, fused each ring, and then fused stacks of rings, and learned about finishing.

fused Argentium sterling rings

On the second day, we learned to fuse three lengths of wire together, and then we twisted the wire and fused it into a ring. Tricky details of getting the twist even and matching the pattern exactly took lots of effort. Then we began the wide, patterned band. We learned to calculate length of sheet, hammer texture, lay out a pattern that would repeat, form granules, and fuse wire onto the sheet. On the third day, we formed and fused the ring, hid the seam with more hammering, fused the final wires over the seam, and did the finishing. We also began a sixth ring which is mid-process, that I'll show you later.

Ancient Bronze Bracelets, with ancient bronze, 22K gold, granulation and diamonds
by Ronda Coryell

Ronda Coryell is the instructor. She is a Master Jeweler and Saul Bell Award winner, known for her gold (and now Argentium) granulation, and also author of a series of video courses on Argentium. These bronze bracelets of hers were in my Book of Attractions, so when I saw them on her business card, I knew I'd come to the right school. I've definitely taken a dive into the world of "fine" jewelry -- fun, extremely educational, and exhausting. We'll see how many of the long series of classes I can squeeze into my schedule.