Metal Clay Quilt Pendant
Playing with texture.
by Hadar Jacobson

Photo of finished piece by Frank DeSantis.

Once I realized how well PMC® lent itself to texturing, I started to look at the world through different eyes. Everything became a texture. I used to a carry polymer clay in my bag and press it against everything that didn't seem to move: cracks in the ground, telephone poles, rocks, fences, doorknobs, wallpaper, fabrics, ribbons, old printed circuit boards from the recycle store, notebook covers, broken glass, even food. I even tried to freeze the rain on a slab of glass to get the texture of raindrops running on a windowpane. It didn't work, of course, but I'm still trying. If you ever succeed, please let me know how you did it.

One day, I keep dreaming, I will build a whole silver wall, a collage of all the textures that I have been able to collect. Since this is not going to happen, I compensate by making miniature silver quilts.

The base layer.
Roll out a layer of standard PMC® 2 cards thick. Cut a piece 3" x 3-1/2".

To make it wavy, shape the base layer in one of the following ways:

On a postcard or a jumbo size playing card place straws or metal tubes of different widths at different angles, not perfectly parallel to each other. Pick up the base layer and lay it over the straws, with the long side vertical, while pushing down the areas between the straws. Keep shaping the base layer with your fingers. If necessary, insert more small objects underneath, such as pebbles, beads, or balled-up pieces of paper towel. When you are satisfied with the shape, carry the postcard to the toaster oven to dry on a tile at a temperature no higher than 220°F.

Alternatively, dry the base layer on a tile in the toaster oven for a few minutes. When it's still flexible but not sticky anymore, shape it with your fingers and dry again.

Whether you chose the first method or the second, after the base layer dries completely you can still alter its shape by wetting it a little bit, waiting for it to soften again, and re-shaping. This is not recommended after it has been textured, since touching the base layer with wet fingers might wipe off the texture.

Pull out all straws and all other objects.

The frame.
Roll out another layer 4 cards thick. Wet the base layer with a paintbrush close to the edges, avoiding the central area. Lay the second layer on the base, following all the curves. Make sure that there is complete contact between the layers.

With an X-Acto® knife, trim the excess off the outside of the second layer, using the dried edges of the base layer as a guide.

Still using the X-Acto® knife, cut a "window" in the second layer, extending to about 5mm from each side. Remove the cut-out window and dry.

Seal the gaps between the two layers by pushing in clay and smoothing out with a wet finger, until they look as if they were one layer. Dry.

Using sponge sanding pads, smooth the frame on the sides and the front. Start with fine grit and finish with ultra-fine.

Texturing.
With a pencil, mark the cut-out space into 9 squares. If you have enough space you can go up to 12 or 16 squares.

Pick up as many texturing molds as the squares you have drawn. I like to combine textures that bear some relation to each other. I picked textures of walls and fences. Other options are different fabric textures, geometric shapes, a combination of symbols, figures, letters, or words. Almost any combination of textures can yield a pleasing result, but it is also nice to have a theme. When you pick a texture, though, remember that it is going to be cut in small squares. Make sure that enough of the texture still shows after cutting.

Keep in mind that when you press the clay onto a texturing mold, the resulting texture is always the reverse of the original one. This is the case even when you use rubber stamps, which are already reversed. When using ink with rubber stamps, what you see on the paper is the raised parts of the stamp. However, when pressed into clay, the raised parts will become indented areas. It is not always important to have the positive side as a texture, since a reversed texture (the negative) can be just as nice. However, if you are interested in the positive — as with bricks or screens, for example — you need to make a reversed mold first, and use the mold for texturing.

For most texturing molds I use white Sculpey® I prefer it because it does not require conditioning and can be bought in bulk. Roll a thick layer of Sculpey®, powder it with baby talc to prevent sticking, and roll it again over the texture. Do not go back and forth with the rolling pin; try to get a good texture with one stroke. Bake the Sculpey® according to the manufacturer's instruction and let it cool down. Whenever possible save the original from which you made the mold, because the Sculpey® molds will eventually break.

For very deep and detailed textures, or for soft ones such as potpourri, I use a two-part silicone compound. Unlike Sculpey®, which you can roll over and over until you reach the desired effect, the silicone compound dries quickly and you have to work fast. Once the two parts are well mixed, roll a layer and press it onto the texture with your fingers, covering the whole area without missing a spot. These molds are durable, and since they are flexible they can be used for making three-dimensional molds.

Tip: To make sure that you mix equal parts of the 2-part mold, roll each part 2 or 4 cards thick, and use a scraper to cut equal squares.

Roll a layer 6 cards thick. Roll it again over a texture or a texturing mold. If the texture is very deep, oil the mold first with olive oil or hand salve to avoid sticking. Cut a right angle at the top left side of the textured layer. Now, on the base layer, wet the top left square and gently lay the texture on it, so that the top and left side of it are touching the frame.

With an X-Acto® knife, cut the right and bottom sides of the square, following the pencil lines. You may have to lift the textured square a little bit to see the lines.

Repeat Steps 11 and 12 for the rest of the squares using a different texture for each square, and dry the whole piece.

Smooth the back of the quilt, first by rubbing it hard with a wet finger to eliminate bumps and dents, and then by sanding it with sponge sanding pads, starting with fine, and continuing with extra-fine and ultra-fine.

The bail.
To make a tube that is not perfectly straight, use a wax stick from a toy store or wax wire from casting supplies. Roll a layer 2 cards thick.

With a scraper cut a straight line at the bottom of the layer. Then cut two parallel lines on the left and right side. The distance between these lines should be a little wider than the top of the quilt. Wrap the layer around the wax stick starting from the straight bottom line.

Where the ends meet, cut off the excess and smooth the joint with your finger. Bend the stick to fit the top side of the pendant. You can let it air dry, but if you are in a hurry, place the stick in the toaster oven on some object to elevate it above the tile, so that the wax can melt down without dripping on the bail. Raise the temperature to 250°F.

Once the bail is dry and the wax has melted, sand the bail with sponge sanding pads, starting with fine grit and finishing with ultra-fine.

To make the loops from which the quilt "hangs," roll a layer 2 cards thick. Cut it into 4 strips, 3�|5mm wide. Wet the bail with a paintbrush and wrap the strips around it at equal distances. Cut off the excess of the strips and smooth the joints. Dry again and sand them with the sponge sanding pads.

Lay the quilt on a postcard. Place slip at the bottom of each of the four "loops" and press the bail against the pendant. Dry in the toaster oven for about 2 minutes.

The slip does not contain enough clay to bear the weight of the pendant. Using a needle tool, push the clay into every contact area between a "loop" and the pendant, at the front, back, and sides. Smooth all these joints with a clay shaper and dry.

Pile up alumina hydrate on the kiln shelf and lay the quilt on it to support the curves and keep them from flattening.

Fire for 2 hours at 1650°F.

To oxidize it, pick up the pendant with cross-lock tweezers while still hot and dip it in a solution of liver-of-sulfur. Make sure that the jar containing the liver-of-sulfur is away from your face.

Remove the pendant from the liver-of-sulfur with copper tongs and dry it with a paper towel. Buff it with a coarse mini-fiber brush mounted on a rotary tool. When buffing with the fiber wheel, wear goggles to protect your eyes from the fibers, and a protective mask to avoid inhaling them. Keep buffing until the liver-of-sulfur is removed from the surface but stays in the deep spots to highlight the texture.

Sand the sides of the pendant with 3M® wet/dry 220-grit sandpaper wrapped and taped around a triangular or rectangular wooden stick. Check with your fingers for sharp edges and soften them by sanding with round motions. Repeat with wet/dry 1,500-grit sandpaper.

Sand the back of the pendant with wet/dry 220-grit sandpaper mounted on a slotted mandrel. Repeat this with wet/dry 1,500-grit sandpaper.

Sand the front side of the frame with wet/dry 220-grit sandpaper mounted on a slotted mandrel. Repeat this with wet/dry 1,500-grit sandpaper.

Sand the bail with sponge sanding pads, starting with fine grit and finishing with ultra-fine.

Using an extra-fine, mini fiber wheel mounted on a rotary tool, matte any smooth surface (the back and sides of the pendant, the frame and the bail) using light touch-ups, removing any marks that have been caused by the sanding process.

With a wheel-shaped silicone burr (green polisher) mounted on a rotary tool, polish the textured parts by pressing on them hard, spot by spot. The piece will heat up, so use finger protectors.