My metal clay summer read has been Gordon K. Uyehara's Metal Clay Fusion. (And yes to
you can buy a copy from BeadFX.) It has been a joy to read. The book is beautifully laid out and contains diverse projects. Let me give you a synopsis.
The book is not meant for beginners, as Mr. Uyehara explains, but it is a fabulous tool to help and inspire individuals to expand their metal clay repertoire. The projects in the book expect basic knowledge of handling and shaping clay, although Mr. Uyehara provides instructions and tips and tricks from basis tools to rehydrating your clay. The projects in the book include a wide range of jewelry and non-jewelry projects. Many of the projects can inspire the reader to move away from typical jewelry projects and include instructions to make Hashi Oki (chopstick rests), hair pins, spoons, an earring stand, Asian bell and belt buckle. The jewelry metal clay artist who doesn't want to venture away from their roots will still find inspiration from these project. No worries, there are still many projects that challenge the reader to move past the basic rolling and texturing projects. The book contains a variety of interesting beads and all the projects include interesting ways to form, texture, shape and most importantly build your metal clay pieces. My favorite thing to do with metal clay is construct and this book contains many projects that involving building and construction.
The other thing I love about Mr. Uyehara's book is that many of the projects combine and a variety of clays(base metal and silver) with fabulous outcomes. I often avoid project books as I love to build and create pieces that are uniquely my own but I have to say that Metal Clay Fusion is a fabulous book to spark the imagination and get the creative juices flowing. Hopefully, I can carve out some time this fall to create something inspired by this book. If you are looking for a great metal clay that goes beyond the basics this book is a great addition to your library.
No comments:
Post a Comment