[Jewelry making - Article 00371] - Re: [Orchid] Starting PMC

[R . E . Rourke]

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    Tim McCreight's books on PMC are very good for beginners. He also
    has a cd in case you learn best by watching a demo. there are many
    many groups- i'm not a fan of groups per se, but the PMC guild is the
    most actively involved in elevating the material and process. Beware
    the pyramid marketing scheme that comes with paying to be certified
    in various" levels" of "expertise" in PMC..There is also Art Clay
    ,essentially the same thing,superior in some ways and with a wide
    variety of types ( slow drying is great for beginners) but not as
    many forms as pmc yet. Art clay world has a lot of info on their site
    too. the shrinkage rates differ from type to type and brand to brand,
    and firing charts can be found for both brands on any number of
    sites. 

    It is not a cheap proposition.and to really get involved you'll wind
    up investing a minimum of a few hundred dollars on material and
    supplies-before committing to a kiln if you don't have access to one
    at a community resource, or local studio that fires things for
    people on a per piece basis. 

    Just buy some ( more than a seven gram pkg.,i would recommend PMC3 or
    art clay slow dry for beginning.The syringe type is the hardest to
    master/get to stay where you want it- so you may want to rule that
    form out to begin experimenting with metal clays), get a cup of
    water or two, a paintbrush -fine natural bristles, a decent nail
    board with at least three functions- filing,ridge removal, and final
    finish Sally beauty supply sells them at half the cost of most pmc
    suppliers ( they are excellent for sanding and finishing your
    workpieces) a plastic jar with non-metal lid to put your scraps in (
    that will become slip when adding some drops of the water from your
    cup to it ), a roll of parchment or silicone paper to work on barring
    a sheet of plexi-glass you may already have, a strip of metal
    flashing to cut it with ( or any thin metal blade as is used for
    cutting polymer clays-just avoid aluminum at all costs,fine silver
    clays react negatively with aluminum), and lightly oil or use a balm
    like cloverine salve,bag balm,rosebud salve, etc to lube your hands
    thus preventing the clay from sticking as readily as it would like,
    and a torch ( harbor freight tools-9.95) or use a gas stove's burner.
    and dive in - after looking at Gordon Uyehara's site on the web for
    inspiration, (or lapidary journal/jewelry arts magazine, Celie Fago's
    site, Tm McCreight's site, or Sherri Haab's - all teach metal clay
    but Gordon Uyehara is among the best examples of the art ) 

    You can find firing directions and a pmc shrinkage ruler template on
    any number of sites ( art clay world, pmc guild,
    www.about.com/jewelerymaking/forums or search the site, pmc
    connection,etc.). That is going to differ from product to product
    and type to type as far as time required and method- although all of
    the brands and types can be fired/sintered on a glazed tile with a
    hand held butane torch with good results.
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