New Directions:  Powder Metallurgy (Metal Clay) in a Sheet Metal World Part 1 is the first of a multi-segmented exhibition celebrating the unique personality that metal clay brings in the form of jewelry, vessels, functional and decorative objects. New Directions:  Powder Metallurgy (Metal Clay) in a Sheet Metal World Part 2 will debut July 17, 2011 here on Crafthaus.  A print exhibition of the entire Powder Metallurgy exhibition will be on view at the Metal Clay World Conference to be held in Chicago July 14 -17, 2011.

An expanded collection of images will be released in an exhibition catalog titled, New Directions:  Powder Metallurgy (Metal Clay) in a Sheet Metal World

 to be released at the Metal Clay World Conference in July, 2011.

 Catherine Davies Paetz

Peas On A Pod

1 ½” x 1 ¼” x ½”

Fine silver clay, hollow form construction, water etched, enameled, sterling silver

"Eleven years ago I tried fine silver metal clay and was immediately awed by the possibilities. After spending the previous twenty-some years in traditional metals, metal clay provided new ways to approach design, construction, and rethink technique. Water etching fine silver clay gives me a wonderful canvas for brilliant enamel."

 Helga van Leipsig

Earth Ring

1” diameter

Fine silver clay, 22k gold

"Metal clay is an intuitive way of approaching metal. It opened up new design possibilities for me and a great opportunity to play."

Cindy Miller

Tadpole Spoon

6” x 1”

Fine silver clay, 24k keum-boo

"Metal clay is such a malleable substance that it offers opportunities for exploration in a way that traditional metal work can not. I find that I deconstruct designs ideas in my head and break them down in a way that forces me to solve old metal working problems in a new way."

Wanaree Tanner

When Apart Always Together

Copper clay, original knot work and thistle pattern

"Imagination is unbound, it reaches beyond the limits of physics seeking its expression. With metal clay what I imagine manifests, pushing the bounds of my creativity instead of the limits of my medium. Metal clay asks me what I'd like to create, not just what can I create."

Zahava Lambert

Thistle Necklace

Fine silver clay , moonstones, sterling wire

"I love metal clay for the way it is not like using sheet metal or lost wax casting. I can draw with metal clay using the syringe. I can use metal clay as slip to give very finely detailed impressions of leaves.  Metal clay takes patina beautifully and straight out of the kiln, it is the most beautiful pure white. "

Kenji

 Industrial Chic

3cm x 3.5cm

Fine silver clay, copper metal clay, stainless steel rod and nut

"I was, like many, hesitant about the idea of creating “real” jewelry that came in the form of clay. But, from the moment of my first experience with metal clay I was completely hooked. I now work almost exclusively with metal clay and incorporate traditional jewelry making techniques and materials where possible. A marriage made in heaven…"

Candice Kiesow

 Pearl Boat

Fine silver clay, keum boo, pearl

"I’ve studied ceramics, printmaking, and jewelry.  When metal clay was introduced, it opened up an entire new world for me in making jewelry.  Suddenly, I could play with my favorite art experiences with the metal clay.  I love the flexibility it offers as an art form, the organic, the unusual."

Donna Lewis

Wristlinks

3.5cm x 24.5cm

Fine silver clay, cubic zirconia 

"Encouragement by an instructor to try a new medium gave me one of the greatest thrills of my life. My first thought: “It’s like drawing - sculpting!” 　So exciting that I can carve it like linoleum, mold it like clay, and add personal sketches to create metal art. Madly in love…"

 Lorena Angulo 

Bird Nest

1 1/2" x 1" x 3/4"

Fine silver clay hollow construction, hand carved and sculpted

"I was introduced to metal clay in 2006 and I knew this was going to be a life changing experience. My designs have always been very three dimensional and metal clay gave me my wings to really create what my heart always wanted to do."

 Mark Lattanzi

Back Soon

1" x 1"

Fine silver clay, sterling

"Metal clay allows me to contstantly back myself into a corner and fight my way out, with the added benefit of being able to smush it up and start over if I get desperate!  I enjoy being able to intuitively create precious metal objects that are richly textured, stark and battered, dimensional or flat."

Catherine Witherell

In Florence They Dance on Mosaic Floors

1 1/2" x 1 3/8"

Fine silver clay

"Metal clay has excited me for 11 years and as my skill improves, so does my willingness to take chances. My new direction has been making containers for jewelry - a small bowl or box for a favorite pair of earrings, a treasured ring or a delicate necklace - my precious things."

Kate Qualley Peterson

The Road to Katmandu

Focal piece 5” x 2”

Bronze clay, peacock freshwater pearls, garnet, gold vermeil

Lisa Cain

The Great Escape

7.5 x 5cm

Fine silver clay, sterling silver

"Metal clay has allowed me to try ambitious ideas I would never attempt in Sterling because I know that if I don’t fire the piece I can turn my experiments back into useable clay again. I love the responsive immediacy of metal clay and the apparent alchemy of this material."

Barbara Briggs

 Mermaid's Locket

3cm x 4cm

Fine silver clay, sterling silver, polymer clay, brass, resin and inclusions

 Terry Kovalcik

Buzz Box

Fine silver clay, viscosity painted fine silver paste, sterling 

"As someone who for many years worked as an illustrator creating two-dimensional imagery, I find working with metal clay very rewarding.  The best part for me is to see what I've drawn come to life as an object that I can actually hold - with an inside and outside.  Oh, what fun!"

Jennifer Smith-Righter

Barcelona

6” x 6”

Fine silver clay

"What I absolutely love about metal clay is that it has the ability to be sculpted, molded, worked wet, worked dry or even made into sheet and wire.  Because of these versatile qualities, I am able to immediately create the fantasy pieces that haunt my sleep." 

Christine Korbmacher

Letter to my Sister

14.5cm

Fine silver clay, resin.  Engraved on the cap is a letter the artist wrote to her sister when she was five years old.

"It all began with a simple copper soldered necklace and a hammered spoon when I was twelve.  Many goldsmith classes followed until I discovered metal clay in 2006.  Since then, my "Spielraum" (creative room) is always with me."

Marcia Colquhoun

BirdMan

45mm x 20mm x 9mm

Fine silver clay, lab grown gemstones

"Until 2006, I worked as a muralist and studio artist, creating works on paper, canvas and walls.   Working in metal clay, my new direction is: new materials, three dimensions, tiny scale, designing for the body instead of a flat surface and combining other media such as polymer clay and gemstones."

Ruth Baillie

Remember the Little Things

19cm x 2cm

Fine silver clay, sterling

"Until I found metal clay, I had focused completely on science and worked as a research pharmacologist.  Then this sculptural metal clay came into my hands and my working life suddenly switched from science to art.  I haven't looked back and nowadays, enjoy trying lots of other media too." 

Julia Rai

Cityscape Bracelet

4.5cm x 20cm

Fine silver clay, photos

"When I first encountered metal clay in 2004 I had no artistic or design knowledge or experience, no metal working experience and no jewellery making experience. I am now teaching metal clay regularly, I run the largest independent online resource for metal clay and I was the first person in the world to reach Metal Clay Masters Registry IV. It’s safe to say that metal clay has changed my life!"

Debbie Carlton

 UrbanScapes

Pendant: 7cm x 3cm

Earrings:  4cm long

Fine silver clay, polymer clay millefiore

"Coming from a background in figurative sculpture, ‘discovering’ polymer and then metal clay was a revelation to me. The freedom to experiment without the weight of tradition, the ability to use texture, model with my hands or simple tools, find different ways to include colour and AND produce pretty things- who could ask for more."

Liz Hall 

Bubbles Belt Buckle

3" x 2.3"

Fine silver clay soldered onto sterling silver hardware, polymer clay

"Metal clay has totally changed my direction in creating jewelry; traditionally trained in metal, I could hardly believe there was such a product when I discovered it.  It has given me the freedom to create work that is spontaneous, using both new and old techniques bringing my ideals to fruition."

Tina Lee Degreef

Hydrangea Earrings

25mm x 20mm

Fine silver clay

" I first read about metal clay in a cake decorating magazine!  Five years ago I attended my first metal clay class...and have been hooked since.  It was a natural transition from sugar art to metal clay, but the major change happened two years ago when Mark Nelson from Rio Grande said after looking at my work, "You are a fabricator in a metal clay body!"  It made sense to me...I now work in hard metal but still enjoy making miniature metal clay flowers."

Kristie Miller McMahon

Gravel Pond

8" x 1.5"

Fine silver clay, sterling, autumn leaves, resin

"Because of metal clay I've been experimenting with more sculptural shapes.  I try to create pieces that take advantage of its unique properties."

Bernadette Denoux

Civilization

2" x 2"

Fine silver clay, Accent Gold, cubic zirconia

"Metal clay has taken me in many new directions by enabling me to learn techniques that I can teach to students that want to make jewelry without so many of the traditional metalsmithing applications and equipment. There are so many new materials and techniques to try that I can continue to learn and never get bored with experimenting."

Holly Gage

Nouveau Viszla

76mm x 35mm

Fine silver clay, rainbow titanium, iolite, sapphire

"The use of metal clay has opeened a new world of self-expression.  I have added this new material and techniques to my toolbox in creating my contemporary jewelry.  In turn, metal clay has afforded me the opportunity to travel the world sharing my enthusiasm and techniques with others.  to say it sent me in new Directions would be an understatement."

Sophia Georgiopoulou

Nicaea Gold Star Brooch, Crown Ring and Bangle

Brooch:  5cm x 4cm x 1.7cm

Ring:  1.5cm x 2cm x 0.3cm

Bangle:  8.3cm x 7cm x 4cm

22k gold clay, 18k gold, South Sea pearls

"Metal clay, because of its flexibility and malleability, took me in the direction of more daring designs and forms previously almost impossible to achieve in metal.  Once accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of metal clay, I was able to simultaneously creath both volume and lightness of form."

Janet Alexander

Enameled Ring

24mm x 24mm x 30mm

Fine silver clay, enamel

"Being a contemporary style artist, metal clay has allowed me to easily play with different textures that are very hard to complete or impossible using traditional jewelry skills.  Additionally, hollow forms are easily created with no soldering in half the time."

Sheila Schwede

Red Eyed Serpent

3" x 2"

Fine silver clay, 24k gold, ruby, Viking knit chain

 "I began working with metal clay 3 years ago and have found the freedom of designing in metal clay to be a very rewarding and intriguing medium."

 Christi Anderson

The Ruins

2.5" x 3"

Fine silver clay, paper

"I majored in illustration, but I preferred the immediate gratification that photography gave me. When I discovered metal clay I was inspired. I loved creating jewelry with stories. I could carve three dimensionally the sketched illustrations from college. Tiny birdhouses in the beginning, then story lockets, books and practically anything else!"

About the Curators

Susan Breen Silvy

Ancient Sunburst

2.5" x 3"

Fine silver clay, keum boo

Susan Breen Silvy has been a professional artist for almost 20 years.   A graduate of the University of Central  Missouri with a degree in Public Relations and Graphics, she went on to work as an account executive in the advertising industry.  She served as President of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers form 2002 to 2005 and currently teaches techniques in metal clay at the Kansas City Art Institute.

First introduced to metal clay in it’s infancy in 1999, she chose to make it her primary focus in 2006.  She has attained Level 1 in the Metal Clay Masters Registry .  Using her knowledge from working with several different media, her current work combines the soft lines obtained with metal clay along with the crisp lines achieved through sandblasting and dry construction techniques. 

The self-taught artist has been  published in numerous publications including 500 Beads,  the 2010, 2009 and 2008 PMC Guild Annual and The Art of Metal Clay .  She was the recipient of awards for her glass work including first place awards in both Lapidary Journal’s Bead Arts Awards in 2003,  Bead and Button’s Bead Dreams 2002 Awards and  judges choice in the 2002 and 2001 Gleaming Treasures national exhibition.  Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Missouri Governors Mansion, the Bead Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Bead Museum in Glendale, Arizona.  Her work has also been exhibited extensively in juried and invitational exhibitions nationally and at the 2009 Silver Accessories Exhibition at the National At Center in Tokyo, Japan.

Christine Norton

Bumblebee

1" x 1"

Fine silver clay, 22k gold, citrine, sterling handwoven chain

For years Christine Norton was primarily focused in fiber arts but a jewelry class over ten years ago changed her focus and she been a jewelry artist ever since.  Certified in precious metal clay in 2003, this has been her primary medium ever since.   Her metal clay designs have appeared in the PMC Guild Annual in 2009 and 2010 and The Art of Metal Clay Calendar in 2009, 2010 and 2011.  Her work has also been modeled by Alison Starling on the ABC Morning News in Washington, D.C. as well as Molette Green on WJLA Morning News in Rosslyn, VA.  

About the Jurors

Ann Davis

What Lies Beneath

Fine silver clay, lampworked glass

 Ann Davis is an internationally recognized metal clay, electroforming and award winning lampwork glass artist and teacher.  A professional metalsmith for over  40 years, Davis has been shown in numerous national and international exhibitions.  Her tutorial articles have appeared in such publications as Lapidary Journal/ Jewelry Artist. She served two terms as Vice President of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers and is presently the President of the Northern Virginia PMC Guild Chapter.  Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Art Jewelry Today a compilation of the best in contemporary art jewelry, Bead & Button, Fusion, Metal Clay Artist and many glass bead making books. In 2010 she opened her teaching studio La Ruche Davis, where she has a Visiting Artist Masters Program that brings in some of the most accomplished artists in the contemporary jewelry field.

Jeannette Froese LeBlanc

Ella

Fine silver clay

Jeannette Froese LeBlanc is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Metal Clay Artist Magazine.  Jeannette began working with metal clay in 2001 and it quickly pushed pottery right out of her studio!  Jewelry making and metal clay has been her artistic passion since.  She has always been involved in artistic endeavors and is the consummate teacher.  In addition to teaching from her studio, Jeannette has 20 year experience teaching art at the middle school and college levels.  She now finds that the magazine is an extension of her classroom and studio.

Gwynne Rukenbrod

Gwynne Rukenbrod began her career as a glass artist in Chaing Mai, Thailand in 1998.  When she became the Assistant Curator of the National Heisey Glass Museum in Newark, OH in 1999, she was in charge of performing hot glass demonstrations for tours.  As she learned to blow hot glass, she also explored a variety of other glass mediums.  In July of 1999, she became the Studio Director of a non-profit glass art facility in Columbus, Ohio called Glass Axis.  It was this job that really launched her love for blown and fused glass art.  As an arts executive, Gwynne has served as the Executive Director for the Short North Neighborhood Foundation, Art Curator for The Works, Executive Director of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, and the Curator of Fine Craft at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.  Currently Gwynne has recently relocated to Asheville, NC to serve as the Executive Director of HandMade in America.  As a craft artist and arts administrator, Gwynne is dedicated to sustaining the culture of craft and improving economies through creative community development.