[Jewelry making - Article 00380] - Re: [Orchid] Article: Minimal Metalsmithing

[andy cooperman]

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Debra,

    Let me state up front that I am not a user of PMC, Metal Clay, etc.
    I believe however, that these materials certainly have a place in the
    greater toolbox of metalsmithing, jewelry making and small sculpture
    techniques. 

    I saw the PMC exhibition at the SNAG conference in Memphis and I was
    impressed by some of the work. Cece Wire's barn and silo ring was a
    clean, beautiful and evocative piece. Claire Holiday's brooch (the
    cover of the most recent Metalsmith) is also a particularly well
    rendered object. I had the pleasure of teaching for Claire in san
    Antonio and held the piece. It was dense, well finished and
    beautifully made. 

    I read Nanz's post on what she perceived to be the short comings of
    this material. While she may have demonstrated a lack of information
    about and current experience with the new generations of metal clay I
    would not consider her post an "attack" on either the material or
    those who use it. Perhaps she could have chosen her words more
    carefully or familiarized herself more thoroughly with her subject. 

    But allow me also to say that this line in your response could be
    construed as a statement made with a similar lack of understanding or
    depth about the possibilities offered by traditional metalsmithing
    technologies: 

>     I am currently learning some "traditional" metalsmithing skills to
>     add to my Metal Clay work. But truly, I can find so many ways to
>     create/work with Metal Clay that cannot be done with sheet or wire
>     or casting. On the other hand I see so few things that can be done
>     with sheet/wire/casting/etc. that cannot be done with Metal Clay. 

    It certainly demonstrates, to my eyes, an uninformed bias. While
    results similar to those achieved by traditional processes may be
    possible with metal clay in the hands of certain practitioners, I
    have seen a fair share of poorly executed PMC/metal clay work
    presented by those calling themselves "jewelers"; work that would
    have benefited from exposure to more traditional technologies and
    better technical choices and implementations. 

    Our field is one that is constantly expanding in the technical,
    thematic and conceptual arenas. We have embraced and incorporated
    many new and, perhaps at the time, strange procedures and materials.
    We have borrowed from other craft and art disciplines, from industry
    and from applied science. We are members of a field that is
    wonderfully open to recognizing new possibilities and then applying
    them. 

    I think that the problem for some metalsmiths and jewelers is what
    they --sometimes I-- perceive to be the attitude put forth by some
    metal clay practitioners that PMC and Metal Clay are substitutes for
    other processes and materials, yielding results that are faster, just
    as good, more easily learned -- and therefore superior-- to
    traditional approaches. 

    Certain materials and processes yield better results in specific
    instances than others. It really is a matter of selecting the proper
    tool from the box. PMC and Metal Clay are simply that: tools in the
    box.
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