Happenings<strong>PMC</strong> Guild member Sherri Haab ofSpringville, Utah has written a bookabout metal clay entitled The Art of MetalClay. Published by Watson Guptill, thefull-color soft cover book features step-bystepinstructions for a variety of techniquesthat can be used with <strong>PMC</strong>. Thefirst part features basic informationon tools, working with theclay, firing, and finishing, whilepart two offers step-by-step projectsfor texturing, molding,carving, sculpting, and combiningmetal clay with stones, glass,epoxy resins, and polymer clay.Other sections address goldmetal clay and silver paper.A plethora of full-color photos make theinstructions simple to understand, and thephoto galleries in each section offer a greatsource of inspiration for ways to use thetechniques described. The projects rangefrom simple enough for a beginner tomore advanced projects that can be asource of ideas for experienced <strong>PMC</strong>artists. The book is available throughAmazon.com.Sherri is an accomplished writer as wellas a certified <strong>PMC</strong> artisan. The author of aseries of best-selling children's books,including The Incredible Clay Book fromKlutz, Sherri has won awards for herbooks, including Publisher’s Weekly Cuffieaward, Oppenheim’s Toy Portfolio GoldAward, Parent’s Choice, and Family Fun’s ToyAwards. She also teaches craft, jewelry, andmetal clay classes.In December, the Fairchester <strong>PMC</strong> Guild(Ridgefield, Connecticut) celebrated oneyear of meeting with a holiday pot-luckdinner, reports Pam Lacey, one of the localguild's founders. Most meetings haveattracted at least 10 participants, and haveincluded demonstrations and discussionsof a variety of techniques, such as Keum-Boo, hollow boxes, a tear away transfertechnique, and buying quality dichroiccabs. In October, CeCe Wire stopped inafter a certification weekend inBrookfield, Connecticut to say hello andAuthor Sherri Haab.treated the group to a demo onthe water resist technique.(CeCe will share this techniquein the Summer 2004 issue of <strong>Studio</strong> <strong>PMC</strong>.)At the November meeting, guild membersproduced a number of <strong>PMC</strong> works fordonation to the Ridgefield Guild of ArtistsAnnual Holiday Sale, as an expression ofthanks for free use of their studio spaceeach month.Next year promises to be just as interesting,says Pam. Demonstrations scheduledfor the first quarter include cold connectionsand wire work. A resource swap isalso planned. For more informationabout the Fairchester <strong>PMC</strong> Guild andupdates on events, check out the localguild section of the <strong>PMC</strong> bulletin board onthe Guild Web site (www.<strong>PMC</strong>guild.com— click on "Resources" and then "BulletinBoard").Certified <strong>PMC</strong> artisan Marcia Hersonof Bedford, New Hampshire, recentlyreturned from a trip to Turkey, whereshe introduced students at the GlassFurnace, a glass school outside of Istanbul,to the wonders of <strong>PMC</strong>. "From 1967-1970,my family and I lived in Turkey. It has aspecial place in my heart," she writes."Three years ago, I returned to Istanbul forthe first time in 30 years! When I wasthere, I spoke with potters and silversmithsand told them about this amazingnew material, <strong>PMC</strong>."When she returned to Turkey in 2003,she decided to bring a couple of packages of<strong>PMC</strong> along to demonstrate. Her opportunitycame when she visited the Glass Furnace,and discussed <strong>PMC</strong> with a raku teacher andher students. "Because of post 9/11 security,I couldn't bring my usual tools," sheremembers. "I knew getting olive oil wouldbe easy. [The students] got me a knife.Finding texture was no problem. They hada kiln (for fused glass). But what turned outto be the missing step was finding a way todry the clay. So there I was holding my pieceon a trowel over a tea candle!"Unorthodox as it was, Marcia reportsthat the tea-candle drying methodworked, and she was able to fire the piece."But I had to leave after the piece was putinto the 'firin' (oven)," she writes regretfully,although she notes that she's still hopingto be invited back to teach an entireclass in <strong>PMC</strong>.Certified <strong>PMC</strong> artisan Trish Tinsley ofSomerset, Massachusetts, was recentlyfeatured in an article in the Fall RiverHerald News. The article, which appearedon the front page of the paper's Lifestylesection, featured a photo of the artist andseveral pictures of Trish's work. Under theheadline "Silver Wares: Jewelry Artist'sCreations Gaining National Accolades,"Trish talks with Herald News reporter PaulaKerr about how she discovered silver clayand what it feels like to be recognized innational magazines such as Glass Art andJewelry Crafts. To read the Oct. 5, 2003 article,visit the Herald News Web site atwww.hearldnews.com, and search for"Trish Tinsley" under News Search. (Youwill need to go to the Advanced Search andchange the search parameters to articlespublished in the last six months.)The January issue of Lapidary Journalfeatures an article by <strong>Studio</strong> <strong>PMC</strong> editorSuzanne Wade, showcasing the workof seven metal clay artists. Artists featuredin the article include <strong>PMC</strong> Guild DirectorCeCe Wire, Carl Stanley, WendyWallin Malinow, Candice Wakumoto,Shahasp Valentine, Gordon Uyehara,and Kurt Madison.16 · <strong>Studio</strong> <strong>PMC</strong>
Portfolio: Brenda A. Midyette & Susan B. Jepsen"We’ve been robbed — twice! Now what?No jewelry left. OK, let's make jewelry."That's how Brenda A. Midyette and SusanB. Jepsen, both of Santa Fe, New Mexico,describe the start of their jewelry business,BSDesigns, three years ago. With the goalof replacing their lost jewels, the twowomen attended The Bead Expo in SantaFe and took wire work and beading. Theythen traveled to San Diego to learn wirework, followed by the Taos Art Institutefor silversmithing."That proved to be too intense for twoinstant gratification women," writeBrenda and Susan, who soon after discovered<strong>PMC</strong> by taking classes with SusanLewis in Miami. "We were hooked, butsoon learned we needed more silversmithingto maximize our use of <strong>PMC</strong>. Wereally never liked the make-your-own-toolapproach, and wanted more of a fine jewelrylook in our product."After becoming certified <strong>PMC</strong> artisans,they taught for six months and beganexperimenting extensively with <strong>PMC</strong>. "Wewent a little crazy on making pieces just tosee how they would look," Brenda andSusan say. "Finally, our husbands rebelledat the jewelry all over the house and said,'You have to do something with this.'"The pair began doing home trunkshows, and in two months had sold threequartersof their work. An article on thepair in Santa Fean magazine gave the fledgingjewelry business another lift, and mostrecently, Brenda and Susan had 24 piecesexhibited at the Ogden Museum ofSouthern Art in New Orleans."It was an honor we didn’t even understanduntil someone asked, 'Do you knowhow long it takes most artists to get into amuseum?' We didn’t!" say Brenda andSusan. "They chose the <strong>PMC</strong> pieces overothers because 'they could see the artists’hand' — and I bet a few thumbnails too.""We love the organic look and feel of<strong>PMC</strong>, and like all <strong>PMC</strong> addicts we havecoated almost everything in paste," theywrite. "When we got really brave we tookCeCe’s suggestion and had champagnewith the first gold experiments. We justwish the gold didn’t cost as much ascaviar!""We are definitely having fun, and if thefun stops, we stop," Brenda and Susan conclude."No QVC, no employees, just fourhands of two good friends."Winter 2003 · 17
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