So what have I done lately? When I've had a chance to do anything jewelry related, I've been playing with PMC Pro again. This is a ring made with Pro. I've worked on pieces designed to test the strength of the fired material and the handling in the greenware state. If you haven't tried Pro, you'd be amazed at the strength and flexibility of this metal clay as greenware.
Now, the hinge for this ring is made entirely of Pro... and while I worked on the ring I opened and closed the hinge at least a few dozen times. I shared the process of construction with my students and they couldn't believe how much handling the ring could withstand without breaking. The sections are pretty thin (about 3+ cards) and stayed firmly attached to the hinge knuckles throughout construction and clean up.There are 3 white topaz faceted stones fired in place. One is on the top of the hinge, the other two are on either side of the center section.
And speaking of firing, I recently tried a Square HeadTM pot for firing the Pro and loved it. I'd been using soup cans but had been too busy to spray them with high heat paint so they quickly disintegrated. This ceramic pot was great - fired perfectly the first time with NO MESS!!!
And finally, what I've really been doing lately is this: surviving puppyhood. I've been absent from blog posting, Facebook, crafthaus, etc for a while.... and this little guy is the reason why. He's a four-legged-fur-covered creature that we adopted (at 7 weeks old) from a local rescue organization. He's FULL of puppy-ness and recently found his "big dog" bark (he's gonna be a big guy... and is already a great watch dog!). I'm exhausted (and sleep deprived), but he's worth it!
