A Beginners Fail at Art Clay

[noregsson]

Now this is a story all about how
my art clay got cracked - turned dry and cold
And I'd like to take a minute
just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became frustrated, angry and really sad =(

(tl;dr at bottom)

So I finally got around to setting up my workbench, unpacking my starter kit and all the other various tools I've invested in, only to have everything fall apart in my hands. Literally.

It was great, I'll tell you that.

Have been planning to make amends for some mistakes I've made, and decided that a ring would be the perfect symbol for what I'm trying to say. So I got my hands on some art clay, spent a few weeks working out a design, and sat down today to begin.

Here's what I've learned so far:
I need oil or wax on my fingers.
Baking paper will not stay still on this table, no matter how much duct tape you use.
Art Clay Silver 650 Slow Dry dries instantly.
If you add a drop of water to Art Clay Silver 650 Slow Dry, you get a mess.
A blob of lumpy half wet clay does not make a good ring. Or a good gift, for that matter.

Now I feel like I've wasted a whole lot of money on nothing. Well, no. I did get a lot of frustration out of it, which is always fun.

However, I've seen the things people make with this stuff, and so I know it's not a waste, I just need practice and experience. Knowing this tho, doesn't really change how I feel right now. Especially not after such a great first try =P

So I kneaded? Kned? Knawed? Past tense of "knead" anyone? I'll assume it's "kneaded", tho that's not a very pretty word. I digress: I kneaded the clay with a drop of water in some plastic wrap until it felt malleable. So far so good. Then I tried rolling it out into a sausage shape. Cracks instantly appeared. Adding water to rehydrate the clay and smooth out the cracks didn't seem to work. Impatience lead to more water. Didn't really help (surprise). Letting it sit, progressively after several tries, for a minute until a few seconds (to let the water soak in, dry off a bit, etc.) left me with a stiff log - half the size I needed (kneaded? Are those homophones?) - that was wet on the surface, but hard as a rock. Re-wrapping it in plastic wrap I tried kneading it some more, but only got a mess. A mess with small, hard lumps in it. Not a good sign, I thought. After several tries my impatience and growing frustration got the better of me, and I gave up. Because quitters don't lose!

Halp?

I'd search thru the board and read the introduction threads, but it's past midnight and I'm angry. Good thing with clay is if you do a "Hulk" and smash it, you don't break anything, you just end up at square one. Seeing as I never got past that square, I don't really feel bad about it.

I digress again. It is late, I'm allowed.

I'd appreciate any help you can offer, as well as tips, good sources of instructions/guides (or sources of good instructions/guides? Might be preferable), anger management classes, anything.

Obviously I'll need something on my hands. I think I've got some "Badger Healing Balm". Any of you familiar with this? Would it work well? It was a recommended purchase as I was buying the starter kit. (I forgot I had it until just now.) I also need a better work surface than baking paper - suggestions? And I also obviously fail at handling clay. It's the middle of winter tho, so I don't know if the low humidity could have something to do with the rapid drying?

I appreciate your time, and apologize for the inanely long first post (HI ALL! Glad to be here!). Looking forward to any replies - tho I probably won't be able to read them until over the weekend.


/M


tl;dr:
I am n00b! Need help with art clay - instructions, tips etc.

[Polly]

Hi,

Art Clay Silver (and the entire related families) are tricky but cool, so even though the classes might seem expensive, if you can find one in your area -- they are WELL worth it.  As a matter of fact, when these products first came out, they wouldn't even let you purchase them until you took (and passed?) a class. 

I am not an ACS expert, but I can pass on a few tips from the classes I took.

* Low humidity can be a hugely painful factor.  If you live in a very dry environment, it might be worthwhile to close off one room and put a humidifier in it for a while before starting a project.

* A spray mister works better than actual drops of water.  You can frequently get one from the trial/travel beauty aids area of the grocery store. Also, we sell them: http://shop.rings-things.com/cart/pc/Mini-Mister-Spray-Bottle-3-Pack-2027p26371.htm

Oh shoot, that's all I can remember. So now on to books & media:
#62-509  Book, Art Clay™ Silver Basics    is the coursebook for Level 1 classes, so is highly recommended, even if some other books are more fun.
#62-489  Book, Creative Metal Clay Jewelry is a great book, probably one you would like better.
#62-799  Book, Metal Clay: The Complete Guide – Innovative Techniques to Inspire Any Artist is also very good.

[Metalman]

I will try to answer everything I can:

• For you hands/fingers - olive oil, a very light film - not oily, the badger balm will work fine. I put a small amount on my hands, rub them together - then I rub my roller or some other tool. Always use the balm or oil very lightly - you don't want to get a bunch of oil into the clay
• I use a small spray bottle to dampen the clay - I rarely add water  Slow is good here
• the best work-surface is Teflon coated sheeting - I looked up our kits and I am unsure of which kit you have - The Quick Kit and the R&T Tool Kit - both of which I might think of as a starter kit have this Teflon work-surface in them, so...?
• of the books Polly mentioned, #62-799  Book, Metal Clay: The Complete Guide – Innovative Techniques to Inspire Any Artist is probably the best
• When I have had a mess w/little lumps I have used a fold of plastic [I cut mine out of trash bags] and use the roller to crush all the bits. Reconstituting Art Clay this way is difficult but can be done. I fold it back to a lump form - if it is gooey - I let it sit inside the wrapper for 10 or 15 minutes. This lets the water move through the body of the material. If it is still gooey - I leave it open to the air for a moment or two.  Never leave the clay open and unwrapped for any extended time - You will have cracking and lumps again
• Low humidity can have major effects - I sometimes take small clothes or paper towels and wet them and lay them out around the surrounding area of my work bench to raise the micro- environ humidity of my work areas - Sounds goofy but does work
• Do you have a ring mandrel to work on / with - there are good wooden ones with a stand R&T # 69-360   If you are going to do a ring - you will need a method to size it. Rings in ACS are cool but not easy - I strongly recommend the book above
• A read through the forum archive will be helpful

Hope this helps - keep us updated and ask some more

Metal Man   

[/list]

[noregsson]

Well . . . It's only been two weeks since I wrote my post.

I did read your replies, but life sort of got in the way of me continuing my project and replying.

Anyways! Thanks for your replies!

Now, just to get it out there, I live in Norway. If you have any idea where I can find info on classes I'd love to hear, as I wasn't really able to find much myself. And I bought a kit off a Norwegian store, not yours, which, after comparing the two, I realize was stupid =P

And thanks for the help with the lumpy clay advice. And the book advice, will check it out. And all of the other advice ^^

I'll be making another try this week, and I'll probably be back asking for more help, and/or posting updates.

[Polly]

http://www.artclayworldscandinavia.no has a lot of "action" images on their home page, so I hope that means they offer classes (but the only words on the page I can understand are "Velkommen," "Kontact oss," "keramikk" and "glass".) 
What is the Norwegian word for classes or instruction?

[noregsson]

Haha. I can't believe I didn't find that site.

They do offer classes. Or should we call them "courses"? Which is "kurs" in Norwegian. "Class(es)" is "klasse(r)", and "instruction(s)" is "instruksjon(er)".  Huh. Fairly similar those. Should be noted that "kurs" is the one that would be used for both "classes" and "courses" in this case. "Klasse" is more like "classification" as in "What class are you in WoW?", or "grade" as in "What grade are you in?", or if you have class A and B in say grade five you could use it in "which class are you in?". Unlike "class" you wouldn't use it in reference to, say, subjects: "Are you taking the chemistry class?" (Here we'd use "fag" = "subject") And I going to stop now before I start digressing into "professions" and more.

If none of that made sense, just re-read the first sentence and forget the rest. Class dismissed.

Anyways, thanks, I'll contact them and hear what's available ^^

[Polly]

Great to know, thank you! 

Oh, and I have one of every klasse in WoW, but only one of them has reached level 85 

[noregsson]

Haha. Of course you do xD

I'm actually considering picking it up again. I haven't played since 05 or 06 I think. Got my friend to recruit me, so I'll download a trial game after the weekend and see if it's any fun.


So, anyways! Things I learned today:
Patience - still need to do some more work on this.
Showers are great humidifiers.
Cracks are mandatory, and will reappear at least fifteen times after you've fixed them.

So, this crack keeps not being fixed. I've been using silver paste to err . . . fill it. Last time the crack ended up going all the way thru the ring, so now I've managed to get some paste in between the loose ends, and all around it. I'm giving up for tonight, so I'll leave it till tomorrow. Hopefully this will do the trick.

And just as I was done with my pattern. Sigh . . .

Speaking of patterns: Any tools recommended other than a file? I've been trying to make a number "3", but the file I have is too big, and the area inside the curves keep snapping off when the pattern starts getting some depth. I've been using my smallest screwdriver to "scrape" the pattern out, which has worked OK-ish, but I'm at a great squashing the entire piece to bits because of the extra force required.

Uhr... Should one the "inside of curve" come loose during burning - is this possible at all? Say if there was a small crack I didn't notice, or something? - could it be soldered back on, or glued using silver paste?

[noregsson]

And done!

That didn't turn out nearly as bad as I expected, nor as good as I wanted. But I guess I can't complain, this being my first try and all.

I'll post some pictures, and more questions later ^^

And thank y'all, again, for your help.

[daverobertson]

Thanks for asking!  We learn a lot from people's questions   

[noregsson]

Why it's a "win win" then! ^^

Made a new thread for my finished project: http://www.rings-things.com/forum/index.php/topic,5011.0.html

Would really appreciate hearing what you think.

[daverobertson]

I definitely recommend readers check out the finished-product thread.  More great discussion & pictures there!