As artists and makers, we owe it to ourselves to consider the natures of the materials in which we work, and how they can be best used as tools to benefit our purposes. There are instances where it just makes more sense, and the nature of the material more readily lends itself to a process, to work in sheet metal, and other instances where it makes more sense to use metal clay. One of my favorite aspects of metal clay is its sculptural nature, and how it can be easily used in additive processes to build up a piece. I also really enjoy metal clay for its impressionability, its ability to directly take texture and impressions from other materials or objects. In today's blog, I’m exploring impressionability in a material as a tool for translating patterns and creating associations between objects.
Metal clay is unique in its ability to directly transfer pattern from one object to itself without risk to the original. For example, I wanted to create a pair of earrings for my mother, using a doily from her side of the family to add pattern to the pieces. Metal clay, with its ability to take texture without compromising the original material was perfect for this project, as it allowed me to use the doily to create pattern without potentially harming the family keepsake. If I were to try to use the doily in a rolling mill, to apply texture to sheet metal, I would have had to have cut it to size to be able to go through the mill to apply the pattern. If I wanted to try to mold and make replicas of the doily, I’d risk compromising the original with the molding compounds, releases, or de-molding process. With metal clay, I just gently rolled a sheet of metal clay, before pressing the doily into the clay. It took the pattern from the doily, and released without issue. Now my mother can wear, and carry reference to her grandmother with her, look upon them and think of her more often.
Metal clay’s ability to take impressions from objects that we have associations with is just another way that we can create objects that have imbued meaning. I could take an impression from a leaf from my house, and have a link to home anywhere I go. I’ve made pendants for my husband and myself with our daughter's finger print pressed into the clay. I’ve used the lid of a decorative jar that used to belong to my grandmother to make pendants for my aunt. I’m so grateful for metal clay's ability to make impressions, as it helps me create meaningful pieces with connections, to keep what’s important close at all times. In that way, it’s a wonderful material for creating gifts, keepsakes, and other objects to be treasured. Metal clay is an incredible material, and its ability to take impressions is just another tool to be realized and utilized.
