Why I use art clay?

Just an update note: I wanted to say that this is still my position on the PMC vs ACS debate
Km April 15 /2010
Why I use Art Clay™ Silver
By Kurt Madison, Metal Clay Artist and Art Clay Master Instructor

One of the most frequent questions I am asked regarding metal clays is “What is the difference between Precious Metal Clay® (PMC) and Art Clay Silver (ACS). The question that usually follows is frequently "So, why do you use Art Clay Silver?" My usual, and short, answer to the first question is that both materials are pure silver metal clay and that the differences are minor, similar to the differences between cola brands or facial tissues. The answer as to why I use Art Clay Silver ends up being a bit longer.

In the summer of 2000, I took a one-day workshop with a Precious Metal Clay instructor and began working with metal clays. I bought my kiln [a Paragon SC-2] within two weeks of this introductory class and immediately began to experiment with combining PMC with other materials - particularly glass. I had my first show with these materials shortly thereafter. The high shrinkage rate of the original PMC caused some complications, but we found ways to work around it. I found that with the pieces I was working on, I could fire a piece and then combine it with other materials in a second firing.

Soon, new products were coming into the market: PMC+ and the Art Clay Silver line. I did research to see what was available. Sometime in 2002, I decided I wanted to get further instruction, so I could begin teaching. At that time, I found Art Clay World's education program to be more accessible than the instruction program around PMC. So, off I went for the 1st, 2nd and Senior level certification courses with the Art Clay Silver products. I had a great time.

Art Clay Silver had a much lower shrinkage rate and a number of products in their line that PMC did not. I live in a fairly low-humidity area and ACS Slow Dry has been great when I am working in the hot mid-summer months. My interests in combining other materials with metal clay had already expanded, and here was a line of products, which dovetailed with the multi-media approach I was using. My partner, Margot Casstevens, and I ran with it.

We find many of Art Clay Silver products to be very useful in our work. ACS 650 Overlay Paste is great for use with porcelain, ceramic and glass additions to jewelry pieces. The 650 line of ACS is also wonderfully useful when working with various types of glass and enamels because of the lower firing temperatures. At this time, our studio is actively stocked with regular ACS Clay, Paste and Syringe form, as well as the ACS 650 Clay, Paste and Syringe form and the 650 Overlay Paste and ACS 650 Slow Dry. The ACS Oil Paste form is also great for those metal to metal connections and repairs that come up. The whole line gives the flexibility we, as artists and designers, need and expect as we wend our way through new designs and further experiments with these wonderful materials.

So, in short, the accessibility of the educational program got me started with Art Clay Silver, and the flexibility of product line and materials has kept me using Art Clay Silver over the years. Still have questions? Ask me in the Rings & Things Art Clay Silver Discussion Forum.

Kurt Madison teaches several ACS courses per year to other professional crafters and moderates the R&T online Art Clay Silver Discussion Forum, as well as teaching at the R&T new warehouse