Anyone can.......

Or: Hadar's Pearl Grey Steel XT metal clay - Part IV!

My third trial piece that I made in steel XT metal clay, along with the ring and cracked bird, was my little "anyone can" figure.  Can you guess what this "fitness" anyone is called?  Keep guessing as you read this blog post.....

He worked fine. The body parts attached very nicely and easily using the clay. In fact, I think attachment with this clay is even easier than with the silver clay.  However, when I sculpt, I attach all the different pieces together when they are all wet clay. I don't wait for one part to dry before adding the next part. This is because they each have their own contours, so it's good to get a good match and seal in contours and easier to do when each component is still malleable clay.

While this method works very easily with this clay in terms of joining, I do now think it is a little more difficult to sand and finish the steel clay in those hard to reach areas - such as those attachment sites.  I think that in future, for example with "anyone", I will make the body first and let it dry and then sand it.  Only after all the sanding is finished on that part, will I then add additional body parts.  I think this will give a nicer finish to the whole piece, rather than having the joints looks a little rough.

Anyhow, firing and sintering all went well. And I'm learning something new with every piece I try.....

So have you managed to guess what this "anyone" is called?  I did say he was a "fitness" piece......Yes, he is:

"Anyone can.... have abs of steel" 

- as he does indeed, have abs of steel!!!! :=D

Experimenting with Prometheus Bronze Clay

I've just tried out a new bronze clay that doesn't require activated carbon for firing. It's made in France and called Prometheus Bronze Clay.


I decided to test it by making a simple sculpted pair of cat earrings. Meet Claude and Claudia (get it?..Clawed??)

I liked working with it in it's clay stage a lot. It had a nice feel to it, parts attached very easily with just a little water, smoothed and sanded nicely..... It reminded me of Original PMC in it's feel.

For firing, you can fire it wrapped in paper towels and kiln blanket or fire it open. For my first experiment, I tried it wrapped. Each piece was first wrapped in half a paper towel, then both were rolled together in a kiln blanket. They were fired for 30 minutes at 700 degrees C /1292 degrees F. It was straight forward.


After firing, I took them out and quenched them in cold water. At this stage, black oxidised flakes came off. On one of them, a large chunk came off the front, causing a big indentation. Both seemed fully scintered.

The result was two very pink colored cats. I polished them and tumbled them.

My main comment re. the fired pieces was that the bronze looks mottled in color. There is definitely a rosy tinge to the bronze, but it seems a little patchy in the pieces. A more golden color shows through in some areas as you can see in the photos.


Anyhow - I assembled the cats, as I wanted to figure out how to do the four legs! The legs now ring very gently against the body - making them sound like quiet little bells!

Anyone else get this mottled rose and golden bronze in the same piece? What have your experiences been trying out this new clay? I'd love to hear. I'm going to try and open firing next and see how that compares.