Tangled Web Necklace

Step-by-step

1. Start each project by making sure your clay is well conditioned and rolled into a smooth, compact ball. If you have used the piece of clay before, this step is especially important.
2. Lightly coat your hands, roller, texture matt, and work surface with Badger Balm.

3. Roll the clay to a thickness of two cards and cut five 1" circles.
4. Carefully lay these circles on the texture molds and gently press into the surface of the molds. Be careful not to distort the edges from a general circle shape. Use different sections of both molds in the set for the largest range of textures.
5. Start the drying process while clay is still on the mold. Place the clay and mold in a dehydrator until the clay is firm enough to remove it from the mold without distorting it. After removing the clay from the mold, place the clay back into the dehydrator or another warm place to dry completely.
6. When the pieces are completely dry, refine the edges with the 4 Sided 4 Grit Sander/Buffer and drill a hole with the PV Set drill. Enlarge the hole with your scalpel.
7. When all your pieces are bone dry, fire. These pieces are quite thin, so I fired them to 1600 degrees with a hold time of one hour.

Finishing

8. After firing, scrub the pieces with a wire brush and tumble for an hour with a little Shine Brite added to the water.
9. Rinse and dry the pieces. Our disks were patinaed with a dilute solution of Liver of Sulfur. I use about 1/2 cup of hot water, a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ammonia, and a drop of Liver of Sulfur Gel. Using tweezers, dip the pieces into the solution. Remove quickly, and watch the colors change. When you have reached the desired color, rinse in cool water and dry.
10. Highlight the raised portions with the Ultra Polish Pad. Burnishing with an Agate Burnisher will highlight these areas even more.
11. To preserve the patina, spray with Nicholas 2105 Clear Lacquer Spray.
12. To construct the necklace, start with a Rolo Chain (CHRO3516). Starting from the clasp, measure 2 1/2" on both sides and cut the chain at that point. Attach a one foot length of Premium Chain (CH-102066) with 8mm m jump rings to each end of the Rolo Chain.

13. Attach the silver disks to the Premium Chain where desired using 8mm jump rings.
14. Cut a 3" piece of fine silver wire for each bead you wish to attach to the front of the disks. Ball up the end of each piece of wire by heating it with a torch until the wire melts and forms a small ball. Quench in cool water. Remember to hold the wire with tweezers as it gets hot!
15. Slide on a tiny iridescent seed bead and then the larger glass bead. Hold the wire with round nose pliers about 3/8" above the top off the bead. Bend the wire around one “nose” of the pliers and then back around itself to secure it. Snip off any extra wire.
16. Hang these beads on the same jump ring and in front of each silver disk. Close the jump rings.
17. These thin disks would work equally well as earrings or hanging in larger clusters in copper or bronze.

  Here is a variation with the edges cut to the shape of the texture.