Thursday, April 16, 2009

Details, details


One of the coolest aspects of working with metal clay is it's ability to take an impression. While there are countless commercially made textures out there, it doesn't take long before you want to make your own. This was true for me when I started seeing textures I had bought being used in other people's work. I also wanted to use my own images. Many people use photo polymer plates (PPP) to make their own textures, which is a process used in printmaking. I make my own etched brass plates, which is very easy, costs less and produces fine detail than PPP. I etched the butterfly last night from the artwork shown, I was amazed at the fine lines I was able to get.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow, that's cool, I too am looking for a way to make my own designs.

Vickie Hallmark said...

Great detail!

Would you mind sharing the process you used to etch the brass?

Liliana said...

I love your bird necklaces!! I have been looking for some just like the ones you have featured. Do you have a store in Santa Rosa? I'm taking my family up there for some shopping and would like to know if I can find your necklaces in stores.

Thank you!

Sue said...

Hi Liliana - currently I only sell on Etsy. I still have a day job and Etsy keeps me really busy! Have a lovely outing though.
Cheers,
Sue

Sue said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sue said...

Hi Vickie - one of these days I hope to post a tutorial on the process, but until then, Art Jewelry Magazine has a really good tut you can purchase for 3.95. Here's the link:
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art/default.aspx?c=a&id=647
or just search for etching in the projects section.
Cheers,
Sue

Nicola said...

Stunning!