Happy #PortfolioDay, everyone! I'm casting a lot of copper these days, but don't have much of it photographed yet.

Paperwork Wednesday

When in doubt, take the class! #maker #learning

Know the instructions, but don't necessarily FOLLOW the instructions. Are you going rogue with your metal clay pieces? With this one, I had no choice.

That doesn't mean what you think it means. #handmade

Guardian Lion, fresh from the kiln and all in one piece! ❤️ I still need to do one in bronze to complete the trio.

I have favorites (don't tell the other stones). I'm always up for the idea of jade or carnelian.

Spoiler alert: I chose a completely different chain style incorporating one of the gemstones discussed. As of this posting, she is still available at whytewing.com if you want to take a look at how she turned out. See you there!

Just taking a little break from the workbench to do a little beading.

Copper and Kitty. All very handsome. All very demure.

TT shop is great for little do-dads produced in bulk. For one of a kind items, handcrafted by your favorite artists, check the link in their bio. Just a little public service announcement...

These are actually from 2024. Just trying to get caught up on sharing TT videos to other platforms. Never the less, these are some of my favorites from the year spent working on the Chinoiserie Collection. Many are still available on whytewing.com as of this posting.

Hunt for pretty rocks!

Absolutely you can pickle your bronze!

Metal clay names: Silver Bronze & White Bronze

Who's calling? Let's bring back the long lost art of identifying the caller first.

Take the class! ❤️ It's such a rich environment to explore ideas and ask your questions.

You should definitely spend your money according to your priorities. If an item is a lower priority for you, that does NOT mean it took less time, less skill, or is generally less valuable. It just means, according to your priorities, it doesn't fit in your budget. And that's okay.

Dragons in the kiln! 🐉🐲

Filing, emails, keeping up with your records so tax season doesn't give you anxiety... Go get 'em, then have a snack.

Metal Clay Basics: Roll it out! PVC pipe works just fine. You'll pay a premium for things that are marketed as tools for metal clay specifically.

Still curious how the sterling silver bails managed to MELT when the kiln never got over 1410 degrees...

Blow out disaster with bronze clay. Good times...🤣🤣 This is what happens when you don't take the time and care to make sure that ALL the moisture is out of your metal clay before you put it in the kiln.

Photo collaboration thoughts and questions. Do artists get together to collaborate on photo sessions to match a particular vibe? How would I get that rolling in my area?

Different shades of gold in bronze clay: It depends on the clay. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, so the formula can vary a bit depending on the preference of the person doing the mixing. More copper in the alloy will give you that warmer, deeper golden tone. More tin in the alloy will give

Casting metal clay.

So this is the one time that I cast and fired the features and backdrops separately, then soldered them together. I won't do that often, but I discovered that soldering brings the copper to the surface of the bronze, creating kind of a halo effect that was kinda cool.

Paperwork Wednesday strikes again! Go get 'em, Tiger! You don't have to do the whole day. Just spend an hour or two (use a timer!). Every hour you spend now is one less that you'll have to spend later, but there is always going to be another Wednesday.

Beads sorted and stored... for now.

Making my list and checking it twice... Once I get these beads put away, I just know that some of the projects I have in mind will disappear. I'm writing things down to keep them in mind. There is no shame in a list or ANY device you use to keep yourself on track!