Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist_-_November_-_December_2019

PHO

TOS

:^ HO

LLY

GA

GE

A

LOHA ‘AINA HAWAI’I

Hawaiian Metal Clay

Adventure with Gordon

Uyehara was a week-long retreat

I taught with the artist several

years ago. The fi rst part of that

title translates to “love of the land,”

and I was looking to the Hawaiian

landscape for inspiration while

designing this piece. A Hawaiian

gesture of welcome, the fl ower lei

shows aff ection to guests arriving

on the islands — how appropriate!

Wear this beautiful brooch and you’ll

practically feel wrapped in Hawaiian

tradition as the scent of Honolulu’s

native fl ora wafts through the air.

We’ll create this brooch by molding

metal clay in a custom copper texture

plate; copper, because it is an easy to

manipulate metal. We’ll emboss the

plate on both sides with ball stylus

tools and focus on stylized techniques

to help you interpret fl owers with your

own fl are. We’ll explore distinctive

ways to set a gem in metal clay to

create a dynamic focal point.

TOOLS FOR EMBOSSING

1

A series of embossing tools and

techniques can be used to create

diff erent eff ects on copper. The

colorless acrylic sheet on the left

is used as a hard-working surface

for refi ning embossed detail and

making it crisp. The colorful foam

sheet (center) is used as a cushion

when making deep impressions in

the copper with tools intended to

add relief or dimension. You can also

use packing foam for this purpose,

which I used for this project.

When embossing the copper sheet,

whether with foam or acrylic beneath

the copper, you will be working

from front to back and back to front

during the whole process. Diff erent

ball stylus tools are used to make

thick and thin lines, curves, shapes,

and other embossed impressions in

the metal. The cupping tool on the

opposite end makes perfect dots of

various size when coupled with the

ball stylus. Tefl on deer foot tip refi n-

ers help you refi ne, smooth, and clean

up around your design. The last thing

to do before using your new plate

with metal clay is cleaning up the

embossed areas with a paper stump.

DRAWING TO COPPER

SHEET

Create the drawing for your lei

brooch on a piece of paper.

Cut a piece of copper sheet

approximately ½" larger than your

drawing and place the acrylic sheet

underneath.

2

Place the drawing on top of

the copper sheet and trace

the drawing using a ball point pen.

Apply enough pressure to transfer

the lines to the copper sheet to

make a light impression.

3

Remove the drawing and place

the foam sheet underneath the

copper. With a small ball stylus

and slight pressure, slide the tool

over the light lines on the front of

the copper to make them more

pronounced.

Build your own bit of tropical paradise to wear

wherever you go By Holly Gage

12

3

Hawaiian

Lei

72 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST