New Dragon and Phoenix Pendants Finished!

Four finished pendants cast in both faux bone and faux pewter:
They each measure approximately 73 x 37mm.


The dragon in bone.

And the back showing the bail. I work these designs by first casting the dragon or phoenix and contouring it a bit (the bail fits better...and it just looks better that way). Then I cure it for about a half hour in the oven. Next I add a thin layer of clay to the back, smoothing it along the sides and adding texture (my fingerprints!). I place the bail and bake it one more time. And finally, I paint the entire surface thickly in Galleria artists acrylics and quickly wipe it off leaving a nice patina in the detail.

The phoenix in bone.

And here's pewter - I just started using this mix this week. I'd been wanting to get a pewter effect for a while and I was surprised at how well it turned out...You'd never know seeing the clay before the patina! Sometime I'll have to remember to get photos before adding it.

I did the bail the same on the pewter.


The phoenix in pewter.

New Dragon and Phoenix Pendants in Progress

Technically I guess these pieces are molded - they are very similar to my stamps, but with more depth.

I'm going to try them out in the "bone" mixture I use for my Little Dragon necklaces. I haven't decided if I want to create necklaces or just list them as pendants...I love the sculpting and painting part and once I get going it's hard to stop and decide on a necklace design. ;-)

Back with more photos soon...I've got some Little Dragons waiting to be made today (I'm using a couple glass ruby drops this time)...maybe I'll have the time when I finish them to mix up some "bone" clay for these new molds!

Heart of the Forest Necklace

The first of my new stamped necklaces is finished! I used a jade green clay mixture and added a bit of red for the heart. I also made a texture sheet so I could make matching beads. To make the beads I first baked a core bead a little smaller in diameter than I wanted the final bead to be, then I wrapped the core in a thin layer (4 on my atlas) of clay. I rolled each wrapped core over my texture sheet. All the beads and the pendant were lightly polished and given a wash of burnt umber to enhance the detail.

Two more new stamps just came out of the oven - I'm off to try them out!