I discovered a small piece of metal clay in one of the boxes where I keep my scraps but unfortunately it was completely dry.
I had read before that you can reconstitute metal clay and re-use it, as long as it’s not fired yet.
So I did an online search and found some really nice resources. You can use a pestle and mortar or a coffee grinder to turn clay into dust. By gradually adding drops of water, eventually it will become reusable again.
But I only had a small piece of clay and none of these methods seemed appropriate for my situation. One tip that I read struck me: according to this, clay takes a lot of time to re-hydrate and it is advised to even leave overnight, to absorb all the moisture.
This is what I did: I placed the dried clay on a piece of plastic wrap, added a few drops of water, wrapped it tightly, left it there and waited. Next morning, I squeezed it a bit, while still wrapped in plastic and the clay was as good as new.
Imagine how delighted I was! Now I could work on an idea that I had in mind for quite some time. I used a mold of a lavender leaf, made a couple of weeks ago, rolled the clay and pressed in on the mold.
This is how it looks after firing:
I plan to have this piece cast in sterling silver and then I can make the lavender leaf ring and earrings that I want.
It’s surprising how forgiving this medium can be and also amazing how many textures you can transfer in metal, by following a few simple steps.
Thanks for reading!