Studio PMC - Rio Grande

Fall 2007 • Volume 10, Number 3
Studio
Member Magazine of the PMC GuildPMC
Speaking to
the Spirit
page 6
PMC Link Necklace
page 14
Tips from our Contributors
page 16
Aluminum Contamination of Fine Silver
page 19

Studio
Member Magazine of the PMC Guild
PMC
Fall 2007 · Volume 10, Number 3
features
departments
6 Speaking to the Spirit
Six PMC artists share how their spiritual lives inspire their art.
14 PMC Link Necklace
Dona diCarlo explains her technique for using PMC to make
a large silver chain necklace.
16 Tips from our Contributors
In our final issue, we turn to the people responsible for a decade of
Studio PMC for a collection of tips and advice for working with PMC.
19 Aluminum Contamination of Fine Silver
Tim McCreight explains why PMC artists are warned against
aluminum on their workbenches.
pg. 20
4 As I PMC It
12 Gallery
20 Happenings
23 Marketplace
On the Cover: Jerusalem Cross by Martha Biggar.
Photo by Robert Diamante.
Studio PMC
PMC Guild
P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048
www.PMCguild.com
Volume 10, Number 3 • Fall 2007
Editor—Suzanne Wade
Technical Editor—Tim McCreight
Art Director—Jonah Spivak
Advertising Manager—Bill Spilman
Studio PMC is published by the PMC Guild Inc.
Contacting Studio PMC
Editor Suzanne Wade
Phone: 508-339-7366
Fax: 928-563-8255
E-mail: suzanne@rswade.net
To contact Fusion, the PMC Guild's new professional
journal, e-mail editor Bob Keyes at
journal@PMCguild.com.
How to get answers to technical questions
E-mail Tim McCreight at: tech@PMCguild.com
Join, Renew, Update your PMC Guild Membership
To join or renew your PMC Guild membership, to change your mailing or e-mail address, or to
request back issues or additional copies of Studio PMC, visit the PMC Guild Web site at
www.PMCGuild.com, call toll-free 866-315-6487 or write P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834
PMC Guild
Jeanette Landenwitch, Executive Director
1921 Cliffview Lane
Florence, KY 41042 USA
Phone: 859-586-0595
Website: www.PMCguild.com
E-mail: director@PMCguild.com
Copyright ©2007 PMC Guild.
Printed four or more times a year. Reprints by permission only. All rights reserved.
Studio PMC, its staff and contributors, specifically disclaim any responsibility or liability for damages
or injury as a result of any construction, design, use, manufacture, or any other activity undertaken
as a result of the use or application of information contained in any Studio PMC issue or article.
2 · Studio PMC

Farewell!
With this issue of Studio PMC, the Guild marks the end of this
vital publication. For the last 10 years, this magazine has been
central to the creation of a thriving community of PMC artists and the
businesses that support them. From the beginning it was clear that the
Guild needed a physical document to be in touch with its members.
Now we have an active Web site, a conference, and several dozen local
chapters, but in the beginning, the Guild was mostly Studio PMC.
Our first editor was a man named Steve Edwards, who, among
other things, brought Jonah Spivak to our team. Jonah founded and
runs a graphic design firm called Spectrum in Bennington, Vermont,
and it is not an exaggeration to say that he has personally handled
every page of every magazine for the last decade. Jonah is the person
who lays out each page, working with the editor to achieve professional
results in a confined timeframe. His company has also run the
Guild's Web site since its beginning, and continues to do so, always
with grace, intelligence, and sophistication.
After five years at the helm, Steve Edwards left to pursue other
tasks. The Guild was fortunate to find an energetic woman named
Suzanne Wade to take charge of the magazine. Suzanne brought years
of experience at large magazines in the jewelry trade, and wasted little
time in shining the light of that knowledge through Studio PMC.
Within weeks of her arrival, she tracked down a printer that could
produce a color publication at almost the same price as we had been
paying for our two-color version.
We can also thank Suzanne for conceiving and then managing the
transition from newsletter to magazine format. Turn back to the cover
with its full size image and you'll see what I mean. In this regard as in
many others, Suzanne elevated Studio PMC to a magazine deserving of
its national following. Need another example You can thank Suzanne
for bringing Bill Spilman onto the magazine's staff, and through him,
a range of advertisers who offer resources to metal clay artists while
they simultaneously underwrite Guild publications.
Take a minute and think back to November, 1997. Had you heard
of Precious Metal Clay Were you working in jewelry, or even
involved in crafts It's been since then that Studio PMC has been a leading
voice in the metal clay field. Think of all you've learned, all the
inspirational photos you've seen, and all the technical information
that has come your way, and you can see why we're so proud of our
magazine's history.
And you will be glad to know that the Guild is committed to keeping
the past issues of Studio PMC available online to members. Frankly,
this information and these photos are just too good to lose.
As we begin a new chapter in our PMC Guild history, we bid a very
fond farewell to Suzanne and wish her huge success as she transitions
into a new profession. To Jonah we say thanks for your work on the
magazine, and we look forward to your help as our site grows. On
behalf of the staff at the PMC Guild and our members, we thank you
both for your service, which has always gone beyond business to
stretch into personal attachments. You’ve both brought us a long way.
With warm regards,
—The PMC Guild
4 · Studio PMC

As I PMC It
Suzanne and Jonah prepare to ride off into the
sunset, heading towards their next adventure.
As long as there have been human
beings, we have reached for paintbrush
and clay to share our experiences of
the divine, with amazing and often powerful
results. Even those who are not particularly
religious can hardly help but be moved
by Michelangelo's Pieta and Da Vinci's Last
Supper, intrigued by the intricate patterns
of Islamic art, or struck by the serene countenance
of an ancient Buddhist statue.
So it probably isn't surprising that over
the years, I've talked to many jewelry
artists who have spoken about their faith
and spirituality as essential sources of inspiration
in their work. Some have been active
in organized religion, others practice more
individual forms of spirituality, but all
think of their work as speaking to the spirit,
inviting the viewer into contemplation
of something greater than themselves.
This is the final issue of Studio PMC, and
with its cessation is the end of my involvement
in the world of PMC. The theme of
this issue was planned long before the decision
was made to change the Guild's publications,
but I could not have chosen a more
appropriate one for my farewell issue. In
September, I will become a full-time student
at Episcopal Divinity School in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the anticipation
of being ordained an Episcopal
priest in four or five years. So this issue represents
the convergence of two things I
truly love: writing about jewelry and jewelry
makers, and exploring issues of faith
and spirituality.
It strikes me as odd that in a culture as
saturated with religious symbolism and language
as ours, faith is one of the last great
taboos for casual conversation. So I eagerly
took this opportunity to invite artists to talk
about the intersection of art and spirituality
in their lives.
The artists featured here are not a group
of religious extremists. Few even create
overtly religious jewelry. But all tap their
own sources of spirituality for inspiration
and use their work in PMC as a means of
translating the spiritual truths they have
found for the world.
In some cases, that spirituality was very
different from my own, while in others, we
might have been members of the same congregation.
But whatever our differences, I
found we all shared a desire to offer something
that has been deeply important in
our own lives to others, as a gift.
That spirit of sharing is what I have
loved most about working in the PMC
community. From the best way to rehydrate
PMC to questions about the meaning
of life and faith and art, every time I have
asked, this community has answered.
But the sharing goes well beyond the
exchange of information. Over the years,
many artists have told me about their
efforts to use their talents and the unique
qualities of PMC to reach out to others.
Artists have written to me about their
experiences working with the developmentally
delayed, the disabled, and the
seriously ill. They have talked about using
PMC to reach out to those who have struggled
to find a means to express themselves,
particularly in the wake of grief and loss.
One of the artists profiled in this issue,
Robin Whittemore, exemplified this spirit
— not only in her own work, but in the
way the PMC community rallied around
her. Robin died in July, finally succumbing
to the bone marrow disease she had fought
for four years.
Throughout her illness, Robin used her
art to reach out to others. “This experience
has been so rewarding,” she told me when
I interviewed her two months before her
death. “Not having this disease, but the
purpose it has given me. I have been told
that my attitude has helped to inspire others,
and it just seems if I can be an inspiration
to others and help bring them some
sense of peace in their troubles, give them
hope, not to give up… that's important.”
When she was well enough, she made
PMC bracelets inscribed with messages of
hope, and led bone marrow drives to
locate donors. Those drives never resulted
by Suzanne Wade
in a perfect match for her, but she rejoiced
in the others who were helped by the identification
of new potential donors.
And in reaching out, she also invited others
to reach back to her. When she shared
her struggle with her friends on a Yahoo
metal clay board, the online community
sprang into action. Although most had
never met her in person, several donated
pieces for an eBay auction that raised nearly
$2,000 to help cover Robin's mounting
medical bills. And they kept in touch with
her, sending cards and messages of encouragement
when she needed to undergo additional
treatment and sharing in her and her
family's joy and grief as they weathered the
ups and downs of the disease.
In my faith tradition, there is no greater
act than caring for one another. St. Paul
writes in his letter to the Galatians, “Bear
one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill
the law of Christ.” Powerful calls for compassion
are found in Jewish, Islamic, and
Buddhist teaching, among others. Love and
compassion for others should be the defining
characteristic of people of faith,
although sometimes we seem to forget that.
I have been blessed indeed to have been
part of a metal clay community that lives
out that spirit of caring, even though its
members profess different creeds or no
creeds at all. That unity in spirit is a great
gift, and the hope it offers is something I
will carry with me on my new road. I
thank you all for sharing it with me.
I hope you will be equally blessed by
Robin's story and those of the other artists
in this issue. May you find in these pages
inspiration and encouragement to explore
your life's deepest mysteries and greatest
joys in your own work, whatever your path.
In closing and farewell, I would like to
offer you all this blessing from the Hebrew
scriptures:
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious unto you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
Suzanne
Fall 2007 · 5

Speaking to the
Spirit
by Suzanne Wade
The intersection of faith and art is a busy one. You can find artists there from every
faith tradition and artistic medium, as varied in their work and their motivations
as the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
You don't have to create sacred objects or rely on religious symbolism to be drawing on
the wellsprings of faith and sprituality. For many of the PMC artists profiled here, it is the
the act of creation itself that speaks to the spirit.
"We all have the spirit of creativity," says Linda Kline. "We just have to allow ourselves
to be open, a channel for that expansiveness. God is the Creator, and he created all of us in
his likeness, so how can we not be creators It's just a matter of finding your passion."
For these artists, PMC has become the means of articulating what is powerful in their
lives. The results are beautiful and as unique as the spirits that created them.
Martha Biggar
Martha Biggar makes PMC crosses
rooted in her Presbyterian faith and
adorned with the quilt patterns of her
Appalachian home.
“My faith is very traditional and very
conservative in a lot of ways, although I'm
not always a conservative person," she
says. "But my beliefs are pretty well
grounded and I like to use the basic cross
emblem, and then push the shape a little
farther than the standard.”
She began making crosses in her very
first PMC class, weaving together strands
of Original PMC into a cross shape. The
first pieces were small, delicate crosses, but
she has also done bolder crosses in this
way. “I've done some very masculine
pieces, with strands almost pencil width
extruded and woven, three bars across and
three up and down,” she says.
Raised in a strongly Protestant part of
the country, her crosses are the empty
crosses commonly found in Presbyterian
churches, rather than the crucifix more
common in Roman Catholic symbolism.
“My husband is Catholic, and he likes the
forms of the crucifix, but I was always
brought up with an empty cross,” she says.
“So I try to keep the empty cross image
and try to do other things with it. [For
example], I will have an impression of
grasses twined around the base of an
empty cross and growing up, like grass
grows in the field.”
She began making Jerusalem crosses, a
square cross with four equal arms, five
years ago, after being inspired by a piece
brought back from Jerusalem. “I saw a
beautiful gold cross that an older lady I
knew had purchased in Jerusalem,”
Martha says. “It was intricate and I really
liked the design and shape. I had seen
Jerusalem crosses around for a long time,
but hers really set me off [in a new design
direction.]”
The large canvas that the arms of the
Jerusalem cross provided also gave her an
opportunity to incorporate the quilt patterns
that are a staple of the Appalachian
community where she lives. “Quilting surrounds
people around here, even for my
students who are more urban,” she says.
“Everyone has lots of quilts, so I've incorporated
a lot of those patterns into my work.”
As with a quilt, Martha joins together a
wide variety of themes, including quilts
and frequent references to nature, in her
body of work. “I think my creativity is a big
part of my spiritual life,” she says. “I was
raised on a farm, and so I was really aware
of the plants around me, the seasons, and
the weather. I think that's all just a part of
how I see creation. When I take images and
make them into jewelry, whether it's as
simple as a leaf or something that is very
complex and takes much more thought,
that's a little part of the spiritual me.”
6 · Studio PMC

Linda Allard
Linda Allard turns to natural gemstones
to carry peace and healing to others,
and she uses PMC to help her do it.
“I believe in energy, and that there are
energy properties in stones that connect
with the energy centers in our bodies,” she
says. “If you've ever walked into a room
and just felt the room weighed down, in
my mind, that's the energy of the room. It
can just be because there's someone there
who is a negative person. The crystals are
good energy, and keeping your body surrounded
by good energy helps counter
that.”
And one way to surround yourself with
gemstones is to wear jewelry, allowing
Allard to combine two passions. “I have
always loved jewelry, and I have always
been drawn to stones,” she says. “If I have
a bad day, I can sit and look at a box of
stones and feel better.”
Silver PMC works well for her purposes
because it is a pure metal and has a certain
power of its own. “Pure silver is very good
for renewing energy,” she explains. “And
silver conducts with the body better than
gold does.”
The goal, Linda says, is to create jewelry
that helps bring calm to a troubled world.
“Everything I make has a meaning behind
what I'm making,” she says. “I'm making a
lot of peace signs, because right now the
world is in such a hard place. What I went
through as a child is nothing compared to
what my son is going through. So I make
peace signs and put a stone in the middle.”
Another favorite is oms, a symbol of
meditation and peace. “I always put a
stone in a part of the om that will work for
the person I'm making it for, so that it has
meaning as well as being a beautiful piece
of jewelry,” she says.
Lotus leaves also frequently appear in
her work. “The lotus is a symbol of
rebirth,” she explains. “It dies every night
and reblooms in the morning.”
Trained as a traditional goldsmith, with
degrees in art and design and gemology,
Linda read about PMC in a jewelry magazine.
“I told my husband I wanted to take a
class in it, so for our anniversary we took a
PMC class together. He'll never do anything
with it again, but we had so much
fun,” she says. “I didn't start out doing it to
sell anything. I just started making things,
and as I started wearing them, people
would say, ‘Will you make that for me’”
Sharing her love of stones and the beauty
of her work is a source of joy to her. “I
just believe the earth has great energy,” she
says. “Laughing and sharing with other
people, that's the way we're supposed to
be. When someone has [the right stone] it
gives them a sense of peace and it feels
good when they wear it, and it makes
them smile because of the way it looks.
“I don’t believe gemstones are going to
cure your cancer. My husband had cancer.
Medicine and good doctors and God cure
cancer,” she says. “But I do believe calming
our emotions and our selves gives us well
being, and I believe that's very important.”
Fall 2007 · 7

Robin Whittemore
You might expect pieces of jewelry created
in the shadow of the artist's struggle
with serious illness to be somber or at
least muted. But Robin Whittemore’s jewelry
asks the wearer to come out to play.
“I have real zest for life, so that little bit
of whimsy in there just goes with my attitude,”
she said in an interview several
months prior to her death. “I don't know
exactly how that happens. I like to think the
message just comes right from my spirit.”
Robin's work includes both whimsical
pieces featuring children’s toys and playful
figures, and equally lively bracelets featuring
messages like “Believe” “Hope” and
“Second Chances.”
Robin began making cancer awareness
bracelets in 2000, after overcoming breast
cancer. She frequently purchased beads
through a catalog company that sold
metal clay, and was intrigued enough that
when the opportunity came to take a
class, she seized it.
“Once I started with PMC I just fell in
love with it,” she said. “I’ve never worked
with sheet metal or silversmithing. I think
that would be fun to do, but since I’ve started
with PMC, I just can’t see how anything
would be better.”
She continued creating jewelry even
after she developed myelodysplastic syndrome,
a bone marrow disease likely
caused by the chemotherapy that had
saved her life six years earlier. She began
an exhausting series of treatments and an
unsuccessful search for a bone marrow
donor. The illness often took all her
resources, physical, emotional, and financial,
but whenever she was able, she
returned to her workbench.
“I’m just a creative soul,” she said. “I
think I always have been, and it means a
lot to me to be working on something that
I enjoy. My work just fills me with hope
and the desire to keep going, and I just try
to be an inspiration to others through my
work in some way.”
While Robin was sustained by her faith in
God, she consciously avoided creating pieces
that were overtly religious, focusing instead
on universal messages of hope. “I have great
faith, but I feel like we all have our own
beliefs and faith, and that anyone should be
able to relate to my work,” she said. “I’ve
always prayed that others would be able to
see Jesus in me, and that my faith would
shine through my life without me having to
scream it out. That’s how I work, as well.”
She loved creating pieces that reminded
the wearer that second chances were possible,
and that hope could be found even in
the midst of trouble. “I think we’ve all
wished we had a second chance somewhere
along the way, whether with a
friend, a husband, a health situation, a parent,
or even just making a piece of jewelry
that you wish you had a chance to make
over,” she said. “I think people who are
going through difficulties of some kind can
really relate to my work.”
Her illness also taught her to appreciate
things that last, and working with PMC
helped satisfy her need to create something
that would outlive her. “Silver is
something that can last forever,” she said.
“I like to sign my pieces, too, so that someday
someone can look at it and say ‘That
was my grandmother’ or ‘That was my
friend’ who did that. I get great pleasure
out of this, both doing it and knowing that
there will be something of me left behind.”
Robin died on July 9, but she left behind
many friends in the metal clay community
and many wearers of her work, to whom
her spirit of hope and her love of life continue
to speak.
8 · Studio PMC

Alice Alper-Rein
For Alice Alper-Rein, PMC became a
means of remembering a moment of
comfort in the midst of crisis.
The story begins with a 5 a.m. phone
call. “The call was from my mother. She
was hysterical. I could barely understand
her, but it was clear that something was
terribly wrong,” Alice recalls. Her father
had died during the night.
A frantic trip to her parent's home was
followed by an equally frantic trip back to
pick up her 14-year-old son. “My husband
returned from work and the three of us
drove back to comfort my mother,” she says.
“On the drive back to my mother's home, in
my grief, I looked up at the sky and silently
asked my father for a sign that he was okay.
“Just as my tears began to flow, my husband
told me to look up through the car's
skylight. An enormous, graceful bird was
hovering over our car. It had a wing span
of about 4 feet. It stayed with us the entire
distance (about 3 miles) on a winding road
and even when we made a few turns. As
we reached my mother's driveway, the
bird soared off, flying up and over the
house. It looked back briefly and then
flew out of sight.
“I knew then that my father was at
peace because he trusted that I would be
there for my mother, his true love,” Alice
says. “Now, whenever I see a lone bird flying
above, I think of my beloved father and
know that he is watching over me.”
In response, Alice created a brooch entitled
“Whenever I See One Bird I Think of
You.” A flying bird was an obvious component,
and she chose words that evoked the
experience, but the shape of the piece was
largely unconscious. “As it was evolving, I
wasn't sure what shape it was going to take,”
she remembers. “It turned out to be a heart
shape with a pierced portion to it, almost
like a broken heart, and some of the writing
stretched over the break like a mend. That's
something I didn't plan: it
just happened.”
Alice describes herself
as “spiritual but not religious,”
and the piece has
become both a reminder
of a profoundly spiritual
experience and a way of
sharing that experience
with others. “When I wear
this piece, I'm almost hoping
someone is going to ask about it, so
I can share the story,” she says.
Alice has also used PMC to preserve the
memory of her father for future generations.
“My father was a happy spirit, who if
he was awake he was singing,” she says. “So
I've immortalized him by creating a music
box that plays, ‘You are My Sunshine,’ the
song he sang for my children.”
She chose a music box, rather than a
wearable piece, because of its power to
gather the family. “It gathers a crowd
because it plays music and it spins, and it
has family pictures on it,” she says. “So it's
something that I'm sharing.”
Fall 2007 · 9

Linda Kline
For Linda Kline, there is no more spiritual
place on earth than a rainforest.
“It just has an essence of pureness that I
just don’t feel anywhere else,” she says.
“When you are there, you can just feel that
everything is alive. It’s teeming with energy
and when you look out across the vastness
of this pure creation, you just can’t
help but feel your connection to spirits, to
God, to the Creator.”
Linda has been traveling to rainforests
in Central and South America for nearly
30 years, and through that time, her love of
the forest has become deeply intertwined
with her art. “I discovered the indigenous
people believe the trees have spirits in
them that protect them, that all living
things do,” she says “And I started to see
the spirits in the trees. That sounds a little
wacky, but when you start looking at
trunks and the gnarled edges of the roots,
and the way the bark is formed, or the way
the insects have eaten or nested in tree,
you can begin to see little faces.”
So Linda began creating little PMC faces
inspired by these “tree spirits.” “It’s almost
as though they create themselves,” she confesses.
“When I sit down and begin to
sculpt, I often start laughing. They really
just come to life. I don’t have to work at it
— I just start laughing because suddenly a
little face will start smiling up at me. I
always feel the spirit is moving through me
as I create them.”
Her hope is that “The Boys,” as Linda
calls her tree spirit sculptures, will inspire
others as well. “They’re happy little guys
and I’m hoping their happy energy will
emanate out into the rest of the world,” she
says. “Each one of their faces is unique, but
they all have a serenity about them — that
same serenity I find when I’m in the rainforest.
So I hope whoever The Boys come
in contact with would also pick up a sense
of that peacefulness.”
Linda also hopes the Boys will help her
bring a little of that energy back to the
rainforest, as well. She is working to establish
a foundation that will preserve rainforest
land, and hopes to begin teaching
PMC classes in the rainforest in 2008, first
in Panama and later in Brazil.
She’ll also continue creating her happy
little faces. “I feel like I’m just beginning,”
she says. “I feel like I can’t do it fast
enough. It takes me a little while to make
each of these little guys, and I just feel like
I have this backlog of little guys wanting to
come out into the world.”
10 · Studio PMC

Pam Lacey
’m a born again Christian and I believe
“I God is the Creator of all things," says
Pam Lacey. “One of the greatest gifts he has
given us is the ability to create. Whether its
an organized closet or a beautiful piece of
art, I think the act of expressing is the most
beautiful thing we can do.”
Pam’s pieces of glass and PMC are about
transformation. “I love PMC. We have a
material that is shaped and formed, but it’s
still fragile and breakable — that’s a statement
about us humans. Then it goes
through fire, as we do throughout our whole
lives, and becomes clean and pure and gets
stronger,” she says. “That’s a statement
about my faith walk and my life walk. I can
make as many things as I like, but if they
never go through that, they’re never transformed
into what they’re supposed to be.”
For Pam, there is no distinction between
creating and praying. “When I sit down at
grinder and grind glass into shape, it is a
form of worship for me,” she says. “I feel
directly connected to God when I’m working
on my art. If I’m rolling out PMC or sitting
with glass and grinding, if I’m creating
there’s this free flowing stuff — I’m talking
to God and God is talking to me.”
While some of Pam’s pieces carry distinctly
spiritual messages, like the “prayer
box” pictured here, most of her work is not
overtly religious. But even when a piece is
not intended to carry a spiritual message,
Pam still believes God is present in the
work. “There may not be a spiritual message
in a piece, but it connects with someone
and that prompts them into wanting
it. Perhaps that piece was intended for that
person all along. We’ll never understand
the full working of God.”
When someone commissions a piece as a
gift, she asks them to write a few sentences
about that person. “I take these descriptions,
pray ‘Give me a piece meant for them,’ and
then create based on what is written. I’ve
never missed the mark,” she says. “To me,
that’s God, not me. It’s God giving me the
instincts to understand what the other person
wrote to come up with the perfect piece.”
“Drape.” Glass and PMC votive holder.
“I don’t credit any of my work to me and
my ability, I credit all of it to God,” she concludes.
“I can tell when I’ve done something
without connecting in to God — I
break glass, I waste a pack of PMC, and it’s
“Open Prayer Box”
“Destiny.” Pendant of etched glass,
sterling, and PMC.
always because I didn’t stop to acknowledge
God, when my human nature was
focused on the fact that I’ve got to make a
piece. When I acknowledge and ask him to
be part of the process, it always works.”
Fall 2007 · 11

Gallery
To submit your photos to the 2008 PMC Guild
Annual, a collection of the year's best PMC
work, send slides or CDs to:
PMC Guild Annual
58 Washington Ave.
Portland, ME 04101
For submission guidelines, visit the PMC
Guild Web site at www.PMCguild.com.
"A Shaman’s Broken Dreams"
by Oscar Cordoba. PMC.
"Sam's Cross" by Debra Weld.
PMC, dichroic glass, and 24k Keum-boo.
"Iris Vase" by Sara Jayne Cole.
PMC vase with origami flowers of PMC Sheet.
12 · Studio PMC

"Barb's Ashes" by Carol Augustine. Memory vessel of PMC.
"Mother's Love" PMC sculpture by Lucila Nassau.
Photo by Pedro Nassau.
"Geranium Brooch" by Donna Papazian. PMC and pearl. Photo by Steven King.
Fall 2007 · 13

PMC Link Necklace
Like to challenge yourself I do. Trying
something that hasn't been done
before gives me a feeling of both excitement
and curiosity. Figuring out how to
create what I have in mind is a process of
trial and error.
In the metal clay Yahoo group I belong
to, we have themed monthly challenges.
The month I joined we had a “Personal
Challenge,” which invited members to try
something they had never tried before, in
order to test and improve their metal clay
skills. What a good way to push myself, I
thought. Besides, I enjoy pushing into new
territory and then sharing how I did it. So
I decided to make a chain by creating hand
rolled, three-dimensional links.
As a classically trained sculptor, I was
taught to use a material for its inherent
properties. I like PMC because it allows me
to create unique textured surfaces with my
hands. I can manipulate the metal clay into
any shape, with peaks and swirls, or I can
add dry crumbs of PMC for a marvelous
three-dimensional texture. I can go from
idea to finished piece within hours, and
without the extra steps necessary in casting.
I incorporated these properties into my
necklace. I began by making a first link —
the “mother link,” so to speak — by rolling
out a snake of PMC3 and forming it into a
square. When the link dried, I sanded and
carved it into shape, finishing with a wet
finger to move the clay around and into an
interesting texture.
Problems arose, however, when I tried to
replicate the link consistently. I thought I
would be able to eyeball the size of each link.
Wrong! Close to 30 grams of PMC3 and 15
Dona DiCarlo's finished link necklace.
by Dona diCarlo
links later, I had to admit that my links were
too varied in size to be aesthetically pleasing.
I realized I needed to make a mold from
the “mother link.” I used Belicold mold
material to make the mold, which allowed
me to create links of a consistent size. I then
carved each link with Dockyard carving
tools and sanded with thin sanding sticks
from Cool Tools. The final step was to
smooth the whole link with a wet finger.
I then calculated how many links I needed
for the entire chain. The length of the
chain is both a practical and a personal
choice. With a thick chain like this, I like an
18-inch-long necklace. To figure out how
many links I needed for this length, I measured
the mother link and added up how
many links I would need for my desired
total length. To account for the 12 percent
shrinkage of PMC3, I added three additional
links. I also made the clasp after the chain
was done so I could make up for any unexpected
shrinkage. Deciding on the thickness
of the rolled snakes and the ultimate look of
the link is a design consideration and a practical
one. I wanted a bold look for the
design, plus the links needed to be thick
enough to hold up to everyday wear. I ended
up with links that were 12 gauge on the bars
of the links and 10 gauge at the corners.
In addition, I needed to make the links
large enough that the connecting links
could fit easily through the opening in the
center and would move freely once all the
links were connected. If the space inside
the link is too small, the chain will be stiff
and will not feel natural when it's worn
around the neck.
I made half the links and allowed them
to dry. The remaining links needed to be
open so they could connect the links
together. When the links were half dry
and still cool to the touch, I cut out a small
portion of the side with an X-Acto knife,
removed it, and used the open link to connect
two others. I then reapplied the cut
portion by brushing water on the ends,
adding syringe clay, and smoothing the
excess clay as much as possible with a
sculpting tool while the link was wet. I let
the pieces dry, and then refined the surface
further with a wet finger.
I continued making sections of three
links, and let them dry. Once they were
dry, I carefully connected the sections into
a complete chain. In the green state, the
links were very fragile, and I tried to avoid
lifting the chain off the work surface to
prevent breakage.
Belicold mold with an unfired link.
A link right out of the mold (left) and a carved link.
Joining the links together.
14 · Studio PMC

I placed the linked chain on a kiln shelf in a natural position.
The chain was fired without anything between the links: PMC
will generally not stick to itself unless it is wet, and I was concerned
that placing something between the links could distort
them. What I did not anticipate was that the kiln shelf itself
would provide enough drag as the links shrank during firing to
stretch the links out of shape. Fortunately, I was able to gently
reshape the fired links back into the square shape I had envisioned.
A few repairs to cracks were necessary, but these repairs
just added to the organic look I was seeking.
Getting the necklace to hang well was a combination of skill
and luck. Although I didn't consciously plan it, by making the
corners of the links thicker and the bars in between more narrow,
I allowed the links to lay flat so the chain is comfortable to wear.
I finished the necklace by making a clasp to match.
The finished necklace has a bit of heft to it. Personally, I like
the feel of a substantial piece of metal. The total fired weight of
my chain is 70 grams, created from 88 grams of PMC3.
Designing with PMC continues to pique my curiosity and
build my skill as a sculptor and artist. The medium allows me to
interpret traditional design elements and update them for an
original and organic look at beauty today. I seek to grow and
change, and PMC allows me the freedom to create what I envision
and challenges me to develop techniques that incorporate
function and design in new ways.
Dona diCarlo lives and works in Venice, California as a kinectic/electronic
sculptor and jewelry designer. Dona worked as a registered nurse
until returning to college in 1985 to follow her other dreams. She received
a bachelor's degree in fine art from Otis Parsons Art Institute and a master's
degree in fine art from Claremont Graduate School. “Now it seems
that all the things I have done melt together,” she says. “I have been fascinated
by jewelry since I tried on my mother's when I was 2 years old.”
Her work can be seen at several galleries in southern California.
Replacing the missing piece and closing the link.
Fall 2007 · 15

Tips from our
Contributors{Studio PMC's success over the past decade can be traced directly
to our contributors. Their willingness to share the results of their
experiments has inspired and encouraged us, and helped metal clay
artists worldwide push the boundaries of what can be done with PMC.
So for our final issue, it seemed only appropriate to invite our past
contributors to share a bit of advice or a new technique. We hope you
enjoy these tips and tricks from past Studio PMC contributors.
Put a Plug in It
By Elaine Luther
You know how there is always excess
clay left in the extruder that doesn't
come out I made a little polymer clay
"plug" for my Kemper Klay Gun, so that I
don't have to put as much PMC into it, and
it reduces the wasted clay to a minimum.
To use the plug, just put the clay into the
extruder, then hold the plug against the
end of the plunger as you put the plunger
into the barrel.
A polymer clay plug for a clay extruder
reduces PMC waste.
Folding is Not Just for Squares
By Sara Jayne Cole
My love for origami has moved from
folding traditional origami models to
creating original folded components for my
PMC creations. But folding remains one of
my favorite ways of working with PMC.
You can find inspiration for folding
PMC Sheet in many places. The original
PMC Sheet size of 6 cm by 6 cm lent itself
to many traditional origami models. Then
the 3 cm x 12 cm sheet appeared in the catalog,
and I found that folds in Origami with
Dollar Bills by Duy Nguyen could be adapted
to this strip. My favorite shapes are the
horseshoe crab, squid, and the eagle. The
piece shown here is made using the beginning
folds of the horseshoe crab. (The
stone is Oregon sunstone, which is safe to
fire in the kiln.)
Whatever the source of your inspiration,
the first step is to work with paper
16 · Studio PMC
Sara used a "horseshoe crab" origami fold
as the starting point for this pendant.
before folding the PMC Sheet. Once you
move to the PMC Sheet, don’t be afraid to
make the creases by pressing them in the
sheet. If the sheet cracks or tears, it is old
and some of the oils that keep it flexible
have been absorbed into the paper in the
package. In a pinch, I have used glycerin to
rehabilitate the PMC Sheet, but I find this
makes it almost too limp to fold. A better
bet is to repair the crack after it is fired
using PMC3 slip or save the sheet for
another project. To avoid problems, use
the PMC Sheet within a few months of
purchase and store in a cool, dark place.
The PMC Sheet is fired when the folds
are complete. I prefer to fire the folded
piece for 30 minutes at 1470˚F (800˚C),
and then add a stone or wire bail using
PMC3 clay and PMC3 slip and fire again.
The folded PMC Sheet needs little support;
most of my pieces rest flat on the kiln
shelf. When I want support I use a fiber
kiln blanket that I have cut into strips.

Embedding Argentium Silver
By Barbara Becker Simon
In the Spring 2006 issue of Studio PMC, I
wrote an article about firing sterling findings
in PMC. Since then, I have begun
implanting Argentium Sterling Silver, a
tarnish- and firescale-resistant sterling silver,
with good results. The main advantage
of Argentium is that it doesn't oxidize to
black during the firing. It just turns a bit
dull and it is an easy matter to bring it to
the desired finish. I recommend firing it
with PMC3 at 1110˚F (600˚C) for 45 to 60
minutes to prevent brittleness caused by
overheating.
Argentium also offers the possibility of
heat-hardening. After firing, heat the
piece to 580˚F (300˚C) for 45 to 60 minutes,
then allow to air cool. This step dramatically
increases the sterling's hardness,
making Argentium a good choice for findings
and other components that need to be
shaped prior to embedding in PMC.
Two Tricks
By Catherine Davies Paetz
1
Everyone has a little trouble
transferring their carefully cut
circles to a light bulb or other
domed surface to create lentils or
similar items. One day, I just put the clay
on the bulb first, then used the cutter
directly on the clay-covered light bulb
and cut my clean little circle, complete
with edges already pressed into place.
Talk about a light-bulb moment! No
more asymmetrical lentil halves! A perfect
circle every time.
Hadar's homemade PMC Sheet.
Pendant made with homemade
PMC Sheet.
2
I've been experimenting with
another water etching resist -
Delta Ceramcoat® Interior /
Exterior gloss varnish. It's a
water based polyurethane available in
craft stores. It dries more quickly than
wax and does not have the strong odor
of nail polish. Unlike wax, you can dry
this on a hot plate, although it air dries
fairly quickly as well.
The only trouble I've discovered is
that drying the design side face down
after applying the polyurethane can
make the clay a little more difficult to
wash away. I'm not sure why, but it only
seems to happen when the piece is heated
design-side down.
Make Your Own PMC Sheet
By Hadar Jacobson
If you don’t want your PMC Sheet to be
limited in size or texture, you can easily
make your own by mixing glycerin into
either Original PMC or PMC+. The
process is quite simple: roll a full package
to a thin layer, and smear glycerin onto it
with your finger to cover the entire surface.
Roll the PMC into a scroll and roll it
down with a rolling pin under a plastic
bag. The clay will be sticky at first and you
will need to scrape it off the work surface.
Use an extra scraper to scrape clay off the
scrapers. Keep rolling until the clay regains
its original consistency and does not stick
anymore.
To make the sheet, roll the clay two
cards thick, with no texture, over a texture,
or between two textures (to texture both
sides), and let it air dry. Keep whatever you
don’t use immediately in a sealed bag. It
will remain flexible for a long time.
Fall 2007 · 17

Tips from our
Contributors
Disappearing Act
By Hattie Sanderson
It happens to everyone: those pesky seam
lines that appear when you press together
two or more small lumps of metal clay to
make one large lump. You press, fold, and
knead the clay to no avail. Seams keep
showing up in the lump of clay.
To make those unsightly seams disappear,
press the lump of clay into a low relief
texture with a busy pattern. Fold over the
lump of clay and press it into the texture
again. Repeat until the seams are gone.
Now the lump of clay is ready to be
rolled into a beautiful seamless slab. My
favorite texture for this technique is the
“large flowers” brass pattern plate available
from most suppliers.
Toothpick Tip
By Lora Hart
The longer I work with metal clay, the
more I realize that the best tools are
often found in the corners of junk drawers.
My favorite tool, which I discovered years
ago, is a round wooden toothpick.
I use toothpicks to ream perfectly round
holes in dry clay. Dampen the tip, insert
into your starter hole, and rotate. If you
forgot to include a starter hole, put a dot of
water where you’d like to drill one, cover
with plastic wrap, and wait a minute or so
for the clay to soften. Then just drill away.
Remember to complete the hole from the
back as well, since toothpicks have tapered
tips and a perfect hole is the same diameter
all the way through.
I use a toothpick to sand in a difficult
spot. Wood has enough tooth to be a very
effective sanding tool, and the pointed tip
gets into all manner of nooks and crannies.
PMC 1650°F 900°C at least 2 hours
PMC+ 1650°F 900°C at least 10 minutes
1560°F 850°C at least 20 minutes
1470°F 800°C at least 30 minutes
18 · Studio PMC
The long sides are perfect for reaching into
the middle of a tube bead. Glue a piece of
finishing paper around it for a quick
homemade sanding stick in whatever grit
strikes your fancy.
I also use my trusty toothpick for burnishing.
There are often tiny corners in fired
metal clay that are difficult to get into to burnish,
and ball burnishers small enough to do
the job may scratch. If you don’t plan on
using a patina, it can be very frustrating to
see a white ghost around the perimeter of an
applied element. Use the toothpick to lightly
burnish the metal into submission without
scratching. It’ll be a softer finish, but
better than the Casper effect.
I’m sure I’m forgetting some of my
wonder tool’s uses, but you’ll discover
them soon enough if you just ask yourself,
“What if I used it to…”
All versions of PMC should be dry before firing. Air dry or use a hairdryer, stove, or lightbulb.
PMC3 takes a bit longer to dry because of its high density.
Slip to Fix
the Slip-ups
By Susan Dilger
After using a mold, I often find
there are small imperfections in
the surface. Sometimes, they can be
fixed with traditional clean-up techniques
such as sanding, etc. But I
often find that adding a bit of slip to
the surface with a paintbrush will not
only repair the imperfection, it can
enhance the design.
PMC Firing Chart
PMC3 1290°F 700°C at least 10 minutes
1200°F 650°C at least 20 minutes
1110°F 600°C at least 45 minutes

Aluminum Contamination of Fine Silver
By Tim McCreight
Perhaps you've heard this warning: Don't
allow any form of aluminum to touch
your PMC! That's a bit overstated, but good
advice in principle. This article will explain
why you need to keep these metals apart.
There is a difference of about three volts
in the electric charge between aluminum
and fine silver (or fine gold). This means
that even at room temperature, these two
metals create a series of corrosive oxidation
reactions. The photo at right shows a small
circle of household aluminum foil pressed
onto a wet slab of metal clay. This happens
to be PMC3, but the effect would be the
same for any silver clay.
The photo at bottom left shows a detail of
the same piece. After an hour at room temperature,
you can see the formation of dark
spots. If you rubbed your fingernail across
this, you'd feel tiny hard bumps at each spot.
The bottom center photo shows the
same piece an hour later, after I removed
the aluminum foil. As you can see, the
problem is a bit worse, as if the corrosion
continues to grow. It does. The aluminum
foil has holes, and the metal that used to be
attached to the foil is now embedded in the
silver. This would happen eventually with
a sheet of conventional silver, but the
increased surface area of the silver flakes of
PMC accelerate this process.
I fired the sample at the recommended
schedule and the result can be seen in the
photo at bottom right. A brittle scaly material
is interspersed in the PMC. During firing,
PMC does not become fluid, but we
can think of it as "creamy." The aluminum/silver
mixture will take the form
of miniature bits of gravel in this otherwise
smooth material. These lumps will
not dissolve, and they will prevent the silver
around them from bonding.
Note that this contamination requires
exposure for more than a few seconds.
Using an aluminum tool to press a texture
or swipe a cut is fine. In addition, many
aluminum tools and utensils have an electrically
produced tough layer created in a
process called anodizing. If this layer is
intact, no contamination will occur. These
nuances are easy to forget or misunderstand,
which is why you often hear the
overstated shorthand: No aluminum in
the PMC studio.
Aluminum on metal clay.
Corrosion spots continue to grow
after aluminum is removed.
Dark spots form after an hour
at room temperature.
Aluminum contamination
on fired PMC.
Fall 2007 · 19

Happenings
Saul Bell Award Winners Announced
Patrik Kusek of Patrik's Studio in San
Francisco received first place honors in
the PMC category of the 2007 Saul Bell
Awards for his "Botanical Bracelet," made
of PMC3 textured with original photopolymer
plates.
Barbara Simon of Barbara Becker
Simon in Cape Coral, Florida, was awarded
second place for her "Big Links" necklace
featuring hollow box links made from dry,
textured PMC sheets. The texture sheets
were made using photopolymer plates, lowtech
photo etching, and carved linoleum.
The necklace's PMC end caps were embedded
with pieces of 16-gauge sterling wire
and torch-fired to the stainless cable.
Finalists in the PMC category also
included Pat Bolgar of Accessory Art,
Valley City, Ohio; Celie Fago of Bethel,
Vermont; and Donna Lewis of
Belladonnasilver, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Winners were chosen by a panel of
judges that included Peggy Jo Donahue of
Jewelers of America, Tina Wojtkielo
Snyder of MJSA Journal, designer Remy
Rotenier of Remy Design, Paul Menke of
Kabana, Mitch Horowitz of JCK magazine,
designer, jeweler and studio owner Mike
Rogers of M.M. Rogers & Co., and Hedda
Schupak of JCK magazine.
The first place winner in each category
receives a $2,500 Rio Grande gift certificate,
while the second place winner receives a
$1,000 Rio Grande gift certificate. This year's
grand prize winner, Amy Roper Lyons of
Summit, New Jersey for "Madagascar
Jellyfish," featuring vitreous enamels over
fine silver with 24k and 18k gold, received a
$10,000 Rio Grande gift certificate.
The deadline for entries for the 2008 Saul
Bell Awards is Sept. 21. For entry guidelines
and forms, visit the competition Web site at
www.saulbellaward.com, or contact Rio
Grande at 800-396-9896 ext. 13265, e-mail
marketing@tbg.riogrande.com.
Barbara Simon – second place.
"Big Links"
Patrick Kusek – first place.
"Botanical Bracelet"
Pat Bolgar – finalist.
"Floating Flora"
Celie Fago – finalist.
Donna Lewis – finalist.
"Queen's Ransom"
20 · Studio PMC

Happenings
MEMBER NEWS
Asimple encounter at an art festival
turned into a historic commission for
Ginger Seiple. The customer who had
browsed through her booth several times
that summer day turned out to be looking
for an artist to help design and create a
Presidential Ceremonial Medallion for
Hiram College, a liberal arts college in
northeast Ohio.
The commission was to create a new
medallion to replace one that had been used
for more than 100 years, and which had once
been worn by President Garfield. A new college
president was due to be inaugurated,
and a benefactor had sponsored a project to
create a new medallion for the occasion.
After meetings with the college's board of
directors and other members of the college,
Ginger designed a 4-inch diameter medallion
showing the seal of the school, surrounded
by a texture reminiscent of a ginkgo
leaf, inspired by a 100-year-old gingko tree
that had been brought to the school's campus
from India by a former president. On the
reverse side, she replicated the medal hers
was intended to replace. She finished the
piece with six smaller medallions showing
campus buildings, which she linked together
with sterling silver frames.
“At the inauguration, I watched a 30-
minute procession of college presidents
from all over the world, all in full ceremonial
garb and wearing ceremonial medallions.
I felt humbled, and proud,” says Ginger.
Susan Dilger was invited to show her
line of jewelry at a trunk show at
Bloomingdales Century City in Los
Angeles in July. Susan was invited to show
her work as part of a continuing effort by
Bloomingdales to add excitement to their
jewelry and accessories offerings by introducing
small and upcoming artists. Her
work incorporates a wide range of materials,
including PMC, semi-precious stones,
vintage beads, fibers, yarns, leather and
“found objects” in her designs. She lives
outside Taos, New Mexico, having recently
relocated from Hollywood after 30 years as
a retail executive.
Presidential Ceremonial Medallion for Hiram College by Ginger Seiple. Photos by Jerry Anthony.
Shahasp Valentine's work is now featured
in three Web galleries at
PMCsupply.com, with a total of 69 images
on view. Her work will also be included in
CeCe Wire's book New Directions in Metal
Clay, due out in August from Lark Books.
Mickey Stuewe received three awards
at a recent juried exhibition at the
Bear Street Gallery in Santa Ana. Mickey's
necklace "Bamboo Serenity" received first
place, a fused glass plate received second
place honors, and her "Bamboo Basket" ring
was awarded third place in the glass and jewelry
division of The Artist's Eye exhibition.
EVENTS
PMC will be taught for the first time this
fall at Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts
in San Francisco, California. The highly
regarded jewelry trade school will offer
two classes, an introductory course and an
intermediate class, taught by Lorene
Davis Sept. 7-8.
“We are very pleased to add PMC to our
curriculum with an expert of Lorene
Davis's caliber,” said Alan Revere. Davis is
a graduate of Revere Academy and a
respected instructor of metal clay classes in
California.
Detail of medallion back.
PMC enthusiasts can combine cruising
with creating on a planned PMC and
Glass Art cruise March 9-16, 2008.
Participants will enjoy the amenities of the
Caribbean Princess cruise ship and the ship's
Caribbean ports of call, including St.
Maarten and St. Thomas, while also taking
classes taught by J. Fred Woell, Mary Ann
Devos, Ruth Greening, Leslie Thiel, Stacy
Frost, and Kendra Bruno.
For information about the cruise, contact
Karen Beacon at Cruise Holidays of
Woodinville, 14450 Woodinville-Redmond
Road, Woodinville, WA 98702, phone 425-
820-5936, e-mail karenbeacon@comcast.net.
For information about the classes, contact
Kendra Bruno, Trovata LLC, phone 206-612-
2378, e-mail kendra@trovataonline.com.
Fall 2007 · 21

Happenings
PUBLICATIONS
Sherri Haab has added DVD tutorials
to her publishing repertoire. Her new
DVD, Precious Metal Clay Jewelry, is nearly
two hours and is geared for beginners to
metal clay. It includes three sections focusing
on PMC basics such as product differences
and applications, basic technique,
and five projects. A bonus section includes
a gallery, Web resources, and a firing chart.
In addition, her book, The Art of Metal
Clay, has been re-released with a new onehour
DVD featuring demonstrations of
four all-new projects. Two of the projects
demonstrate mixed media techniques
incorporating resin and polymer clay,
while a heart bead pendant and flower ring
round out the metal clay video projects.
Names familiar to Studio PMC readers
have appeared in both Lapidary
Journal, Jewelry Artist, and Art Jewelry magazines
recently. Hadar Jacobson published
“Three Rocks” and Gwen Bernecker published
“Pearls in Motion” in the May issue
of Lapidary Journal, while Debra Weld's
article “Colored Pencil on Copper”
appeared in the relaunched Lapidary Journal
Jewelry Artist in June. In addition, PMC
instructor and artist J. Fred Woell appears
in Jewelry Artist's "Doer's Profile" in July.
Irina Miech's “Calla Lily Suite” was
featured in Art Jewelry in May, while work
by Debra Weld and Catherine Davies
Paetz appeared in the Gallery section of
that issue. “Silver Wreath” by Linda Facci
was featured in the July issue, while work
by Deborah Fehrenbach and Gwen
Bernecker appeared in the Gallery.
CORRECTION
The photo credit was inadvertently
omitted in Debbi Clifford's article on
her plique-a-jour work. The photos are by
Richard Brunck.
GUILD NEWS
Apanel of jurors has selected work
from 56 artists to be included in the
Guild's new publication, a 128-page book
called the PMC Guild Annual. For a list of
contributing artists, visit the News page at
the Guild Web site at:
http://pmcguild.com/news/news.html.
LOCAL CHAPTERS
AFrench-speaking chapter of the PMC
Guild has been established in France,
called La Guilde PMC Francophone. The
new chapter officers are president Angela
Baduel-Crispin, Secretary Véronique
Petitgenet and Treasurer Sabine Singéry.
The chapter has a Web site with much of
the information found on the PMC Guild
International Web site available in French
at www.guildepmc.com.
“The idea is to make metal clay information
accessible in French for Frenchspeaking
artists interested in this amazing
material, which remains quite new here,”
says Angela. “It's also a way to get the few
metal clayers together to feel less isolated,
discover others in their own area, and have
some support and a sense of community
around metal clay.”
The Southern Arizona Alchemists, the
Tucson chapter of the PMC Guild, met
for its quarterly meeting July 8 at the Whole
Lotta Whimsy studio to discuss upcoming
chapter events, including participation in
the Tucson Pima Arts Council Open Studio
Tour Nov 10-11, with PMC art and jewelry
represented by chapter members in one studio
location. Planning also began for the
third annual wine and cheese reception
sponsored by Rio Grande at the February
2008 Tucson gem shows.
The group also plans to set up a Yahoo
group to help members and friends keep
up with events and innovations happening
in Tucson. The next meeting will be Sept.
12, 7 to 9 p.m., at Jay Humphries home
studio. The next quarterly meeting will be
in October: details can be found at the
chapter's Web site, www.pmctucson.com.
NewMetal Artists, the Los Angeles
chapter of the PMC Guild, enjoyed a
presentation on sculpting in clay by Kathy
Davis at their June meeting. Kathy brought
samples of her sculpted work and shared
tips for three dimensional sculpting, many
drawn from her experience as a polymer
clay artist and sculptor of fantasy dolls.
Upcoming meeting topics include: “The
Reality of Registering Trademarks” with
Mark Holmes on Sept. 13; “Gel Cured
Resin” with Kathy Davis on Oct. 14; “Tax
Time Part Deux: Those Darn Schedule C’s”
with Deborah Smyth on Nov. 8; and the
Fourth Annual Bubbles and Baubles Bead
Swap on Dec. 9.
DEATHS
Carol Lynn Crow, a PMC artist living
in the Netherlands who was interviewed
in the International PMC issue of
Studio PMC in Winter 2006, died in June
after a brief illness. She leaves two sons,
Marcus and Max, and many PMC friends
Carol's work included beading, painting,
and PMC. She preferred organic textures
in her PMC, especially ginkgo leaves
and wood, and she got surprising results
out of seaweed. But she was also inspired
by wallpaper, buttons, and high-tech gadgets,
incorporating textures drawn from a
wide range of sources in both the front and
back of her pieces.
“Carol was a remarkable woman —
strong, creative, and with great willpower,”
says her friend, Yolanda Nieubower.
“She will be missed, but her passion for art
and jewelry will be carried on.”
F
rances Darby, the founder of Paragon
Industries, makers of the popular
Paragon kilns, died June 17. She founded
Paragon Industries in 1948 and produced
one of the first electric kilns in America.
“The outstanding thing about Mrs.
Darby was her sense of integrity and respect
for the truth,” said John R. Hohenshelt,
who bought the company in 1985.
22 · Studio PMC

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