Art Clay Society

This beautiful Rhodochrosite cab was set in pure silver, using Art Clay Silver. It is unusual for me to make the setting horizontal but I wanted to emphasize the extraordinary coloring of the stone. By placing a bail that reflects the shape of the banding on the top of the stone, the attention is drawn upward and the beautiful coloring is emphasized. This piece measures 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches tall at the bail. The chain is sold separately.

This is a new piece made with hyperstene and art clay silver. The stone has beautiful stripes that change with different angles of light. It has an unusual animalistic quality to it so I continued the theme by surrounding the stone with texture that reminds me of a crocodile's hide. I fired and finished this by hand and signed the back and stamped it .999 to show the purity of the materials used. I tied the leather in a double coin knot at the top of the bail. My intention in the design of the...

This piece is another Spectrolite cab I recently purchased at the Gem and Mineral Show here in Atlanta. The color was the first thing that caught me eye, then the shape, which, although intriguing, was not easy to set. I puzzled quite a while over the design for the setting. This is made with Art Clay Silver, bezel set in fine silver and signed on the back. It is completely hand formed, fired and finished. It took me longer than it should have. I fuss over the tiniest of details. And of course,...

As I designed this piece, I thought about the shape and color of the stone and what feeling I wanted it to convey. Personally, I love jewelry that looks like it has been around for a long time, cherished and well worn through time. So I knew it would have to be antiqued with heavy oxidation. The stone is Spectrolite, very exotic looking, with the deep flash of blue when the light hits it just right, but it is very smooth so it needed texture in a symmetrical pattern along the sides for balance....

This pendant is made with a brilliant blue Spectrolite from Finland. Spectrolite is like Labradorite on steroids and it is only found in Finland. When the light hits it just right, the blue color flashes so beautifully. It is as spectacular as the name implies. The bezel is made of art clay silver and is formed, fired and finished by hand. The stone at the bottom is a lab blue Topaz. The pendant measures 2 1/2 inches from the top of the bail to the bottom and is 2 inches wide.

This piece is made with metal clay and is hand formed, fired and finished. The stone in the middle is a lab blue sapphire and is bezel set in fine silver. I signed it on the back and stamped it .999 to show the purity of the material. The leather strapping gives the necklace something unexpected and interesting. It is 17 inches to 19 inches long, using the extension chain.

This is a new concept I am developing using leather to add interest to the bail. The stone I chose for this piece is Spectrolite, from Finland. It is like Labradorite on steroids. The flash of color is spectacular. I had a hard time photographing it because of all the reflection. I set the stone in fine silver, using Art Clay Silver and hand formed, fired and finished the piece. The texture in the silver is much more reflective than the picture shows. The pendant measures 1 inch by 1 inch so it...

This necklace is made with silver metal clay, hand formed, fired and finished. I made this pendant in a response to the convoluted way people, myself included, express themselves. The swirl on the bail represents words spinning in circles, the tangled web we weave so to speak. The shape below is an exclamation point which represents my frustration resulting from the universal inability to cut to the chase and get to the point! I don't know if I will ever sell it but it was fun to make. It was...

This stunning cabochon of blue agate drusy literally took my breath away when I first saw it. It was one of those "Gotta have it!" moments. I set it in pure silver metal clay with a textured bezel and sterling silver bail. The crystal drusy has a lot more sparkle than the pictures shows, you'll just have to take my word on that. It measures 2 1/4 inches from the top of the bail to the bottom and is 1 3/8 inches at its widest point. The chain is sold separately.

This pendant is made with a beautiful Boulder Opal cabochon from Australia. There is a bright blue and fushia vein of opal that comes through the bronzite stone. The colors are so unexpected that they really make the piece special. I set the stone in Silver Metal clay which was hand formed, carved and fired. I then oxidized the surface to add depth and burnished the high spots for textural contrast. It has that earthy elegance that I love so much. I may not part with this one...

This pendant is made Art Clay Silver and has been hand formed using a photopolymer plate I made of an old, celtic design. The stone in the middle is a 6 mm lab Alexandrite, set in fine silver. I signed the back and stamped it .999 to show the purity of the metal. It measures 1 5/8 inches from the top of the bail to the bottom and is 1 3/8 inches wide.

I made this pendant with Art Clay Silver which has been molded and hand carved to produce the dimensional effect of a celtic knot laying on a heart of silver. It turned out to be such a pretty little piece. It measures 1 1/8 of an inch from the top of the bail to the bottom and is 3/4 of an inch wide.

This pendant is made with a beautiful agate drusy cabochon, bezel set in fine silver. I formed the bezel by hand using Art Clay Silver and fired it. The surface has been oxidized to bring out the contrast. It hangs on a triple strand of matching glass beads that measures 16 to 18 inches long when you use the 2 inch extension chain.

This fun pair of ear rings has been hand formed, fired and finished with Art Clay Silver. The stone wired on top is black Onyx. I love the shape because of how flattering it is to your neckline, giving the impression of long, lean lines. The fine silver has been signed on the back and stamped with .999 to show the purity of the metal. They measure 2 1/2 inches from the top of the bail to the bottom and are 1/2 inch wide.

This pendant is made with a gorgeous olive green Labradorite free form cabochon. It has been hand set in fine silver. I used Art Clay Silver to make the bezel, hand forming it and then firing and finishing. The stone itself has a lot of flash, it reflects back a beautiful green color. I had a hard time photographing it because of all that flash. I truly love working with Art Clay. I want to encourage you to try this remarkable medium. The pendant measures two inches from the top of the bail to...

This piece is made with Art Clay Silver and a beautiful agate drusy cabochon. It has been hand formed, carved, fired and finished as I do all my bezel set stones. As often as I can, I include drusy in my selection of cabs I purchase for setting. The stone has quite a bit more sparkle that the picture would allow. I am working on creating my own "style" of setting stones and this is close to where my heart seems to land. It measures 2 1/8 inches from the top of the bail to the bottom, and is 1...

This pendant is has a nice balance of different textures and shapes within the design. The stone set in the middle is a trillion cut, lab Blue Sapphire. I love working with metal clay, for the versatility it offers, the beauty of the fine silver and stones and the speed at which you can achieve the finished piece. I would wear this piece with anything, just change the chain to leather to dress it down or throw this pendant on a pearl necklace to dress it up. The blue Sapphire goes with jeans or...

This pendant is made with an agate druzy cabochon with titanium enhancement. The sparkle of the crystal druzy is much brighter than the photograph could capture. The bezel setting was made with pure silver Metal Clay and has been formed, fired and finished by hand. It hangs on an 18 inch sterling silver chain. The pendant measures 1 1/2 inches tall and 3/4 of an inch wide. It has been signed on the back and stamped .999 to show the purity of the metal contents.

This pendant is made with a gorgeous cabochon of Sunset Jasper, bezel set in fine silver. This was made with Metal Clay and was molded, fired and finished by hand. The color in this stone is just beautiful. I wanted to achieve a balance of casual elegance in the elements I chose in the design. I am still new to this medium but I am getting better as I practice and practice and practice some more.

I call this the Wonder pendant because I truly wonder how, after screwing it up so many times, I could actually come out with such a beautiful piece. I did so many major things wrong and had to learn how to fix them. That is one of the many great things about metal clay, you can fix so many mistakes; filling in cracks, reattaching broken pieces, filing and resurfacing and many more. I love this stuff!! If you have never tried Metal Clay Silver before, I highly recommend you give it a go. A...

I have just received my level 1 instructor certification in Art Clay. I am thrilled to offer classes for silver clay along with wire art in my home studio. This new medium of Art Clay is not really clay at all but fine particles of silver, suspended in an organic binder. It feels like clay and can be formed, textured and molded in a similar fashion. After the piece has been designed, it is then fired by hand with a torch or kiln fired. The binder will be burned away and the tiny metal particles...