I looked at the examples supplies by Helen Hill. Nice work. Not
Tiffany's, not close, not even when I squint my eyes
I merely posted those links as examples of good work using PMC. I
wouldn’t ever liken them to anything at Tiffany’s, as it’s a
completely different kind of work. The two are not comparable, and I
don’t think work made using PMC can be compared with that made by
traditional techniques - not in an elitest way - just different
techniques for different end results. I guess the same debate also
occurred when casting became popular. But as John D would probably
say, you cast the cast work, fabricate the fabricated work and
sinter the PMC work.
Personally i think that you can do really good work with PMC, and
that’s why I posted links to Gordon Uyehara and Hadar Jacobson’s
work, to show what can be achieved. It’s a great medium if your
design aesthetic lends itself to the properties of PMC. There is
good, mediocre and poor work done in every medium, including PMC.
I’m still knocking out mediocre fabricated work myself, but
hopefully, knowing that, I will slowly improve. Sadly, some people
do mediocre work but think their work is good so they’ll never
improve - although of course it’s not a problem at all if customers
want to buy it, and if they’re happy with it once purchased. But I
think PMC gets a bad press because there is a great deal of mediocre
work out there, done by people who have no interest in working metal
by any other method, so you get a lot of simple shapes rolled out,
stamped with a pattern, a hole drilled for a jump ring, et voila,
thousands of pendants made with little or no imagination. It’s
stillfairly new, so hopefully we’ll see some really talented artists
coming through, who have the vision and skill to make the most of
the properties of PMC, just like Gordon and Hadar are doing.
I hope my post doesn’t smack of snobbery - it’s not meant to. I just
appreciate talented work, as we all do, and sometimes get frustrated
with folks who limit themselves by either not exploring traditional
metal working techniques as well as PMC (or beading, etc), or who
get complacent at the mediocre stage, with whatever medium they’re
working in. Btw, I was once (in the 90’s) a beader myself. I wanted
to make jewellery by traditional fabrication methods, but was afraid
of the thought of having to use a torch flame! So my skills (or lack
of them) stagnated for quite a long time. It took me a decade (and a
change of husband) to think “heck, why not, I can do it”.
I think I’m being confusing, in that I’m making two points at once,
but hope fully you know what I mean. But the most important point I’m
making is that PMC is a great medium in the right hands, with the
right vision. Just my personal opinion if course
Sorry for the essay.
Helen Hill
UK