Art Clay Certification Level 1

Well, after 3 days of really hard work, I have passed my Art Clay Certification Level 1 at the London Jewellery School.  I have to say, this course is not for the faint-hearted and there were times when I really didn't think I was going to pass, but thankfully, our tutor, Julia Rai was very patient and encouraging.  Her high level of experience meant that she could warn us of the many pitfalls of each piece, in the hope that we would not make the same mistakes.  I did, of course make the same mistakes at times and also found a few of my own!

Day one involved doing a lot of preparation.  We started by applying the paste to the leaf for the leaf pendant, which turned out to be my favourite piece.  We also prepared the cork clay balls for the lacy ball earrings, made the casual daily ring and syringed the lines for the leaf motif pendant (see photos below).

  

Day two was a wee bit stressy. Lots of projects on the go, a very tight time schedule and art clay that dries in seconds in the heat!  Julia really wanted us to have all the projects finished and in the kiln by the end of the day, but despite the fact that I went in an hour early and left an hour late, I still had to finish off the syringe-decorated ring and the syringed pearl ring.  The syringed pearl ring was really tricky and kept getting cracks and falling off the mandrel.  I could have happily chucked it out of the window!  In one day we prepared the daily casual ring for the kiln, syringed the lacy ball earrings, filled in the sides of the leaf motif pendant and made the twig brooch and two rings.

Day three was the final day of the course and all seven pieces had to be completed and assessed.  So again, I went in early to finish off the syringe-decorated ring and the syringed pearl ring.  The rest of the day was spent polishing the fired items, setting stones and attaching findings etc.  Each piece is assessed on preparation, technique, pre-firing refinements, finishing techniques and overall appearance.  If a piece fails, you have to repeat it at home and send it off for assessment.  Fortunately all of my pieces passed and a couple got better marks than I was expecting (see below for the finished pieces)

 

 

 

My favourite item is the leaf pendant and I will definitely be making more of these in the future.  I also really enjoyed applying the texture to the leaf brooch and syringing the lines for the leaf motif pendant. 

In order to do the certificate, you have to have completed a beginners course first, but I would say that you also need to have practiced a bit too as the pace is so fast.  I can't believe how many techniques we have learnt in just three days.  Julia is a fab teacher and I have leant so much from her.  I really want to get myself a kiln and get practicing - but which colour though, pink or purple?