I am delighted to be taking part in the Art Elements Blog Hop for July. The theme is one of my favorites: flowers. I’ve written about flowers on my blog many times. But I usually photograph flowers instead of trying to make them (unless you count my felt flowers).
I took the opportunity of the July Flowers theme to complete a project I’d left unfinished for some time. I had fired a batch of bronze clay and had been making rings and embellishments from 10 gauge bronze wire I was annealing and shaping in my rolling mill. I had some bronze clay flowers I made in molds that I wanted to attach to milled rings. I have been a bit challenged in the hand department lately because of some kind of tendonitis or impaction and can’t do much with my right hand. But I was able to finish some gentle shaping of the wire that I had previously hammered into shape and to solder it on to the flower. Here is a brief explanation of the process:
The bronze wire is stiff and hard when it’s 10 gauge thick but I love the look of thick wire and the versatility a thick gauge gives me. You have to anneal it often as you pass it through the rolling mill. I changed it to a square shape.
The bronze clay behaves very much like ceramic clay in its unfired state, so I was able to push a bit of it into a silicone mold to make the flower. I had to let the flower dry and refine any cracks and sharp edges before firing it in activated carbon. The firing was successful and I got metal which I then soldered to the bronze wire ring I had previously made.
The ring is fun to wear. Not too flashy and it looks at home next to the stack of bronze and silver rings I wear every day.
And here are some fun flower magnets that I made from Terra Cotta clay and a press mold. I painted them with underglazes and finished with a glossy clear glaze.
If you are interested here is some of my flower photography from past travels. Mendocino, and Singapore,
Please visit all the artists participating in the Art Elements Blog Hop for July:
Visiting Artists:
Alysen
Cat
Divya
Evie and Beth
Jill
Kathy
Linda
Martha
Melissa
Michelle
Rozantia
Sarah
Sarajo
Tammy
Alysen
Cat
Divya
Evie and Beth
Jill
Kathy
Linda
Martha
Melissa
Michelle
Rozantia
Sarah
Sarajo
Tammy
and the Art Elements Blog contributors:
Caroline
Cathy
Claire
Jenny
Laney
Lesley
Marsha
Susan
Ornamento 
Beautiful work, love your ring, and your ceramic pieces are so bright and shiny.
That’s a fabulous ring! Love your ceramics too… they’re such rich beautiful colours!
Thank you!
Your bronze clay flower is really beautiful. I hate to hear that you’re struggling with your hand and wish you some relief. Oh, and those terra cotta flowers are super cute too. 🙂
Thanks🤚🏼
The bronze clay flower is so lovely and it really looks good with the other rings! Love the burst of color in the terracotta flowers!
Your flower photography is a glimpse into a different world, so many exotic beauties!
The magnets are pretty, so happy looking, but I really love the ring, it is so beautiful!
Martha, i just love your bronze clay ring! It’s beautiful!
Love that ring, so very pretty.
The bronze flower ring is fabulous! And I love the ceramic flowers too. I’m sorry you are having to deal with tendinitis. I’ve had it before. No fun!
Thank you much.
Your flowers are gorgeous. Metal clay has been on my list of want-to-learn for years. The ring is lovely and colors on the terra cotta flowers are beautiful.
Thanks! Torch fired bronze clay is a relatively inexpensive way to give metal clay a try. https://www.prometheushobby.com/Prometheus-Bronze-Clay-i7.html
Oh man! Your ring is so wonderful! I took a PMC silver class at Bead & Button and really want to play more. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
The pieces you create are so beautiful! Sorry for the late commenting, I hopped early that morning from my computer, and later when I read it I was on mobile and could not figure out where to comment. I hope this comes through 🙂
Thanks! Missed you at Beadfest. Hope you had a great show!