I've been in a bind since the precious metals market went so crazy. I LOVE making silver jewelry but I really can't afford to do it anymore, especially with the economy so crappy. Strangely enough, some people consider jewelry to be a luxury, not a necessity. Hmm, imagine that! Economy informs art, or at least it does in my case.
I had to do something to get these designs out of my head. I was flipping through a book that someone had given me about making small sculptures and figurines out of papier mache clay when I had an epiphany. Why couldn't I make stuff out of the clay, let it harden and paint the heck out of it? I could indulge in several fancies at once. I love black and white drawings, watercolors, acrylics, almost every color imaginable, and jewelry. The idea was born.
I started by trying to use the recipe for papier mache clay that was in the book. Meh. The results were less than satisfactory. I made a couple of modifications to the recipe and tried again. Better, but still not quite as good as I wanted it to be. Back to the laboratory (aka my kitchen) and more mods. After several tries and careful annotations of the original recipe, I finally got it right. It would hold the shape I formed it to, it sanded well, I could slick on a finish coat to cover any cracks or low spots, then give it one more sanding and voila!
I use Micron .005 tip pens to draw with, several different kinds of paint, Mod Podge to coat it with, and a lot of time and patience. Most of the pieces take anywhere from a week to a month to finish. I have to make absolutely certain they're completely dry before I can work them. The actual arty part usually takes me a couple of days, counting drying time.
I've made necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Rings don't seem to work well because of the thickness required to make the pieces sturdy, but everything else is just so much fun and so satisfying!
If you're interested you can click on the home button and check out PMJ - that's short for Papier Mache Jewelry. Let me know what you think!
I had to do something to get these designs out of my head. I was flipping through a book that someone had given me about making small sculptures and figurines out of papier mache clay when I had an epiphany. Why couldn't I make stuff out of the clay, let it harden and paint the heck out of it? I could indulge in several fancies at once. I love black and white drawings, watercolors, acrylics, almost every color imaginable, and jewelry. The idea was born.
I started by trying to use the recipe for papier mache clay that was in the book. Meh. The results were less than satisfactory. I made a couple of modifications to the recipe and tried again. Better, but still not quite as good as I wanted it to be. Back to the laboratory (aka my kitchen) and more mods. After several tries and careful annotations of the original recipe, I finally got it right. It would hold the shape I formed it to, it sanded well, I could slick on a finish coat to cover any cracks or low spots, then give it one more sanding and voila!
I use Micron .005 tip pens to draw with, several different kinds of paint, Mod Podge to coat it with, and a lot of time and patience. Most of the pieces take anywhere from a week to a month to finish. I have to make absolutely certain they're completely dry before I can work them. The actual arty part usually takes me a couple of days, counting drying time.
I've made necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Rings don't seem to work well because of the thickness required to make the pieces sturdy, but everything else is just so much fun and so satisfying!
If you're interested you can click on the home button and check out PMJ - that's short for Papier Mache Jewelry. Let me know what you think!
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