One of the most frequent questions I am asked regarding metal clays and Art Clay Silver is, "What is the difference between Precious Metal Clay® (PMC) and Art Clay Silver (ACS)?" The question that usually follows is frequently "So, why do you use Art Clay Silver?" My usual, and short, answer to the first question is that both materials are pure silver metal clay and that the differences are minor, similar to the differences between cola brands or facial tissues. The answer to why I use Art Clay Silver ends up being a bit longer.
Four and half years ago or so, I took a one-day workshop with a Precious Metal Clay instructor and began working with metal clays. I bought my kiln within two weeks of this introduction to the material and immediately began to experiment with combining PMC and other materials — particularly glass. I had my first show with these materials shortly thereafter. The high shrinkage rate of the original PMC caused some complications but we found ways to work around it. I found that with the pieces I was working on, I could fire a piece and then combine it with other materials in a second firing.
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Kurt Madison (center) leads an Art Clay Silver course for fellow Rings & Things employees at the company's warehouse. He additionally teaches several ACS courses per year to other professional crafters and moderates the R&T online Art Clay Silver Discussion Forum.
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Soon, new products were coming into the market: PMC+ and the Art Clay Silver line. I did research to see what was now available. Sometime in 2002, I decided I wanted to get further instruction, so I could begin teaching. At that time, I found Art Clay World's education program to be more accessible than the instruction program around PMC. So, off I went for the first-, second- and senior-level certification courses with the Art Clay Silver products. I had a great time.
Art Clay Silver had a much lower shrinkage rate and a number of products in their line that PMC did not. I live in a fairly low-humidity area, and ACS Slow Dry has been great when I am working in the hot mid-summer months. My interests in combining other materials with metal clay had already expanded, and here was a line of products which dovetailed with the materials I was using. My partner, Margot Casstevens, and I ran with it.
We find many formulations of Art Clay Silver to be very useful in our work. ACS 650 Overlay Paste is great for use with porcelain, ceramic and glass additions to jewelry pieces. The 650 line of ACS is also wonderfully useful when working with various types of glass and enamels. At this time, our studio is actively stocked with regular ACS Clay, Paste and Syringe form, as well as the ACS 650 Clay, Paste and Syringe form and the 650 Overlay Paste and ACS 650 Slow Dry. This gives the flexibility we expect and need as we wend our way through new designs and further experiments with these wonderful materials.
So, in short, the accessibility of the educational program got me started with Art Clay Silver, and the flexibility of product line and materials has kept me using Art Clay Silver over the years. Still have questions? Ask me in the Rings & Things Art Clay Silver Discussion Forum.
Additional Links:
Art Clay Silver products at Rings & Things
Profile article on Kurt Madison
Photo gallery of Kurt's work
Profile article on Margot Casstevens
Photo gallery of Margot's work
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