Conference Competition Pieces

The theme of this years competition at the Art Clay Conference was Past Times. These are the two pieces that I made to enter. I didn't win anything with them but I really enjoyed making them.

The pendant above is called

That Anglo Saxon Feeling

My inspiration for this came from the Staffordshire Hoard with all its wonderful gold pieces inlaid with garnet. For my piece I made it in Art Clay Silver. The twists are actually moulded in the Art Clay. I twisted fine silver wires together and then made a mould from it so I could do it all in the clay. Here is the piece after firing and polishing.

Then I added fine silver spirals, the tiny fine silver circles around the edges and the wires in the centre using my Enamelled Accents technique. I enamelled the piece just with red enamel and then patinated it with Liver of Sulphur XL Gel. I find this new XL gel is giving me great colours in the patination. A light polish on the high spots and viola... finished.

Below is my entry in the ring section of the competition.

I called this

Ring-a-Ring-a-Retro.

Just a simple textured band ring with some black enamel and again patinated. It is actually quite chunky. A retro knuckleduster ;-)

I'll post photos of the conference workshops next...