It Never Gets Old....Bronze Fresh from the Kiln

It's been crazy hot here in Cleveland.  Driving home on Thursday the car was reading 107 on the freeway.  Lou headed to Michigan on Friday for a golf weekend so I decided that this was a good weekend to just stay inside and work in the studio. 

I recently made a few (40+) etched copper sheets to use as textures for metal clay.  I had used polymer clay tear-aways in the past but the polymer clay company changed formulations so the process no longer works.  It was time to try something different.  I picked my favorite designs and nailed down acid-etching on copper. 

I tried out a number of these yesterday.  And I have to say I LOVE them.  They were easy to use and because I can control the depth of the copper etch, I can make a stronger texture on the metal clay.  It's not as much as with a rubber stamp but more than a tear away.  I haven't polished them up yet but I can't help posting pics of the pieces fresh out of the kiln. The colors are just so great.

My typical tribal designs mixed with some industrial girders and rivets.  Check out the orange spots on some of these.

These are all from nature.  Molds of drift wood from my brother's beach and part of a seed pod (heart shape) from an Amaryllis that sits in my office at work.

 

The gear was made from a shaped frame I picked up at the MCWC . It's from polymer clay express.  It's was a really easy to use.  The other two pieces.... I have no idea....they were sheets that I had cut small discs and rectangles from...but I liked them so I threw them in to fire.

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