Why I Like Working with PMC

What makes Precious Metal Clay so unique is that an artist can work with it almost exactly like ceramic clay. It is moist, moldable material very similar to clay, and it can be formed into just about any shape through etching, molding, and stamping because it is soft. Once the Metal Clay is dried and fired, the binder burns away, and you now are left with the pure silver or gold. The silver material is fine silver or 995 silver. That means that it is made of 99.5% silver. Sterling silver is 925 silver or 92.5% silver. The rest is usually made up of copper.

PMC allows me to create jewelry in fine silver and gold much, much quicker than I could by traditional metalsmithing. It cuts the time for producing and designing pieces way down because it doesn't have to be cut and soldered like traditional metal working. PMC is very flexible in how it can be used, and lends itself to new techniques and designs. Precious Metal Clay can be made into a endless variety of styles from traditional smooth and shiny high gloss finish to a rough organic look and everything in between.

I have found that PMC allows me as a jeweler to have much more freedom over my designs.

My personal style of creating jewelry is an earthy, organic style. I prefer to have uneven measurements, shapes, and imagery. I often take images and cut them up, and put them back together in an unequal way just to get a rough, collage type feel. I also typically make pairs of earrings that match in shape but not in design. I guess you can say that I am a little off center.

I also like to combine different textures. So for instance, I often put together pearls which have a smooth, milky appearance, with crystal which has clear, light refracting, shiny, flat sides, with my rough, organic PMC components. Sometimes I add natural stone, or vintage glass.