Handmade Silver Earrings

FAQs

What do you use to make your earrings?

The main component is Art Clay Silver. It’s a metal clay made from reclaimed/recycled silver that turns to pure silver when fired.

How do you use Art Clay to make jewelry?

It looks just like a gray piece of clay. I roll it flat and hand cut the design with a pinpoint tool. Then I let the piece completely dry and clean up the shape by sanding.

The final process is firing. Since my pieces are very small in size and made in small batches, I use a hand torch. There is about 8% shrinkage, but when the piece is fired, the binders in the clay are burned off. Then I am left with pure silver (99.9% silver) to be made into earrings.

Why do you use Art Clay?

Because of my art background, I love manipulating shapes and realizing my ideas with minimal use of complex tools. I enjoy the feel of clay, shaping and refining it to make interesting and wearable designs.

Currently, making with metal clay is very useful to realize my ideas, but I also do simple soldering when needed. I love learning new jewelry making techniques, so I am always open to new ways to achieve my designs.