Art In Metal Clay

The dates for the 2020 5-day workshops are January 4 and January 11. If necessary, another date will be added in February. You can sign up here. The main topic is locket pendants - different mechanisms for constructing a box with a locking lid. Here are a few samples: There are other fun lockets, including one with a magnet (picture is not available yet). The mokume-gane decoration is only optional - feel free to decorate your locket in any way you lik

Recently I have been getting a lot of questions about firing different clays together. For your convenience, I have prepared a compatibility chart which shows possible combinations of One-fire clays and their firing schedules. You can also access this document by clicking on "Compatibility of Hadar's Metal Clays" in the right-hand pane of this blog. Please let me know if you have questions about this chart or about other combinations.

On October 20, 2018 (Saturday, 1 p.m. Eastern Time) I'll be giving a webinar with Alison Lee on Craftcast. I will be teaching how to make earrings with patterns of color (mokume gane) using three types of metal clay. The class will also show: How to mix the clay How to use an extruder How to make your own discs for the extruder How to load and program the kiln How to finish the earrings after firing How to use a slotted/split mandrel The class also includes two document

This post is intended for people who enamel or wish to enamel on metal clay. Bronze is considered hard to enamel. One thing that happens repeatedly, for example, is that the enamel flakes off. This can happen right away (which can be dangerous if you are enameling with a torch), or it can happen over time. The enamel on the piece in the photo below flaked off over a period of a few months. Every once in a while I saw that another piece was missing. However, there is one c

Five new original templates are now available on my online store. All are 6" x 4", clear, and coated with a protective film. Most of them are free-form, and can be used for making pendants, earrings, and bracelet links. Here they are:

In a couple of weeks, a new line of plastic templates for metal clay will be available on my store. The initial release will consist of five templates. I designed these for my upcoming enameling workshops, but they can be used for any other application. In designing them I had in mind free forms for pendants and earrings, which don’t seem to be widely available. Here are renderings of the templates:

A new workshop taking place on three separate dates is now listed on my Online Store: These three dates are all the same workshop: Torch-enameling on Copper, Steel, and Bronze Clay. The focus of the workshop is preparing pieces structurally suitable for enameling while using the advantages that are specific to the medium of metal clay. The workshop takes place at my studio in Berkeley, California. The total cost of the class is $500 plus materials. After signing up you will

This is a 5-day intensive taking place at my studio in Berkeley, California, on May 19-23, 2017. Please sign up here. This workshop will cover coloring metal clay by hot-bluing, patina, acrylics, colored pencils, felt, and chip inlay. Here are a few class samples:

The second, revised and expanded edition of my book Mixed Metal Jewelry from metal Clay is now available in the form of a CD. The first edition was published in 2009 and went out of print about a year ago. The second edition is up-to-date with the developments that have occurred in the metal clay field since the publication of the first edition. The first part of the book covers the possible combinations of copper and bronze. This is a good reference for anyone who would

Two of my books, The Handbook of Metal Clay: Textures and Forms and Movements and mechanisms in Metal Clay, are already on their second edition. (The Handbook of Metal Clay is actually on its third edition, in the form of a CD.) It's now time for a second edition of my third book: Mixed Metal Jewelry from Metal Clay, which went out of print quite a few months ago. The new edition will come as a CD and is planned to be published around the end of this summer. Those of you wh

My first two travel-teaching classes for 2017 have been added to my Classes page on my website. There are 2 spots left in the February intensive at my studio in Berkeley, California. The first travel-teaching class is the annual Tucson workshop which takes place on February 10-12, 2017, during the big gem show. This year the topic is structural carving, which means forming sculptural objects by subtraction, starting from a solid lump of clay. To sign up please contact

Here are more pieces that I have been working on for the Sculptural Carving Intensive on February 24-28, 2017.

In the never-ending pursuit of hollow forms, I've been working over the past year on a new way of creating them. In fact, this way is the opposite of any hollow-form technique I've been using so far. Instead of building up the forms from layers of wet clay, I treat dried chunks of clay as if they were rocks or chunks of wood and carve the forms into them. Carving may be a misnomer, since this term is usually conceived as surface decoration. In this case the carving is structu

My next 5-day intensive will take place on October 6-10, 2016, at my studio in Berkeley. You can sign up by paying the deposit on the Classes page of my online store. Upon signing up you will receive a list of tools to bring to class, a map of the area, and a list of places to stay near the studio. What is covered in this workshopPreparing different types of forms for different types of inlay Here are a few class samples (more may be posted later): Rock inlay Chip

To protect ourselves from dust when we sand or use the rotary tool we need to wear both a protective mask and goggles. However, most of the time the goggles fog up and we can't see what we are doing. Here is an easy way to make an acrylic box that will protect your nose, mouth and eyes. What you need: Two acrylic sheets, any size you wish. Mine cost a total of $3. Drill bit Painter's tape, duct tape or gaffer tape Cord Instructions: Tape the two sheets together so they comp

The best answer for the third multiple-choice question is #3: A married metal piece of jewelry is piece that includes more than one metal with seamless transition from one metal to another.

What is a married metal piece of jewelry? 1. A piece that includes more than one metal. 2. It’s the same as mixed metal jewelry. 3. A piece that includes more than one metal with seamless transition from one metal to another. 4. A piece that combines two or more metals that cannot be fired together because of differences in firing temperatures. 5. It’s the same as mokume-gane. 6. A piece in which two metals blend together to create a metal whose color is different from the o

Two weeks ago a new feature was added to the Hadar's Clay™ Users Discussion Forum. I am adding this feature to the blog and will also post it on my Facebook page. The Users Discussion Forum is a wonderful tool for sharing information, discussing issues, and showing your work. As of today there are currently 935 members. You are welcome to join. Here is the new feature: Every week, on Sunday, a multiple-choice question is posted. The posted questions may range from beginners'

addition="<strong>addition</strong>" to="to" the="the" intensive="intensive" described="described" below,="below," I="I" have="have" added="added" another="<strong>another</strong>" on="on" March="March" 11-15,="11-15," 2016.="2016." You="You" can="can" sign="sign" up="up" for="for" directly=">directly" my="my" Online="Online" Store.="Store</a>."> Since my January intensive is full, I have scheduled another one for January 2-6. This 5-day intensive takes place at my studio i

One-fire Flex Pearl Grey Steel is now available on our online store. This completes the release process of the One-fire Flex Clays, which include One-fire Flex Copper, Brilliant Bronze, Dark Champagne Bronze, Rose Bronze, White Bronze, Low-shrinkage Steel XT, White Satin, and Pearl Grey Steel. Please download the Instruction Manual for One-fire Clays by clicking on the link in this sentence, or directly from the right-hand panel of my blog. The instructions for One-fire Flex