My New Adventure with BronzClay!

I recently took a Precious Metal Clay class through our local college. It got those fires burning again! And that resulted in my ordering a small jewelry kiln I've thought of for years. It's a Paragon SC-2. Yesterday I used it for the first time and it fired perfectly.

A couple years ago I purchased a package of BronzClay, activated charcoal and the stainless steel firing container. It has sat unopened all this time. But it got used yesterday for my new kiln's first firing! Here are a few photos.

I made some square pieces to be used for a bracelet and different shapes for pendants. Be aware that your hands and nails become black when working with this clay, just like working with black ceramic clay. You could wear gloves, as suggested, but you can scrub the black stain out at the end of your work session.






Here the dry pieces are packed in layers and covered with activated charcoal.


The firing container is covered with its lid and placed inside the kiln. Then the firing begins.


Here are the finished pieces! I love the look and feel. They have a weight to them and they came out of the charcoal with a nice color. You can add more color too by using a torch or patinas. I think I'll just look at them for a few days, then make some bronze jump rings and decide what to do. This was a great start for my new adventure....