Eight Susquehanna: Butterflies

Butterflies!
I made these butterflies with .999 fine silver Precious metal clay. They each have a design on the front; some have plain backs, and some have designs on the backs. Precious metal clay is a product that uses very fine particles of, in this case silver, combined with an organic binder. This makes a material that looks and feels a great deal like a fine ceramic clay. You can mold it, and shape it, and and sculpt it, and even carve it, before it’s been fired. When it’s fired, the organic binder burns off, leaving only the silver - .999 pure silver in this case. There are several brands and varieties of metal clay - the .999 silver like these are made out of; or you can also find it in sterling silver, copper, bronze, and yes, even gold! There’s even a stainless steel metal clay product! Some of the clays have different firing requirements, but this particular clay is very easy to work and to fire. For me, working in this material is like making miniature sculptures. The colored butterflies were patina’d with liver of sulphur. It does get some amazing color, but I have a tip for you - when you set about to patina your metals, DO NOT use liver of sulphur IN YOUR HOUSE - mercy, that stuff stinks! But it sure makes pretty colors on metal, so use it in the garage, or outside, with plenty of ventilation. I made this video originally, to show someone who had asked for a custom piece with one of these butterflies. She selected the third patina’d butterfly with the swirls on front. I wonder if perhaps she chose it because the texture on the back also contains a little bonus butterfly! Butterflies, by the way, represent Metamorphosis, Change, Unfoldment, Becoming. I will be getting these put together into jewelry pieces and post them online for you at EightSusquehanna.com. Meanwhile, thank you so much for watching and reading - I appreciate your attention. You can shop my other items at http://www.EightSusquehanna.com If you want to try your hand at making something like these, you can shop Precious Metal Clay Supplies at the following Affiliate Links (I do get a small commission from any orders from these links):

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