Assembling a Hand formed Pendant |  |
| This photo shows the major pieces that were used to assemble this pendant. The wings are slices from a murrini. The face was made in a press mold that was hand carved for the purpose of making a base such as this to make faces and masks on. It has the basic features but lacks the detail which is built by adding bits of clay. The face was created using a porcelain paper clay and the features were added using the same porcelain paper clay. The face was then attached to the wings using slip. After that the hair was applied and sculpted onto the face using the same porcelain paper clay but with black coloring. I use mason stains to color my own porcelain paper clay. |  |
| This photo shows some of the flowers that I will be attaching and some leaves along with the flower clay that I use to make them. The flower clay is a formulation of colored porcelain with a plasticizer to make it more pliable and so it will dry out more slowly. This allows for the forming of very delicate embellishments to be added on to pieces. |  |
| To make a leaf or flower I first cut a small piece from the coil of the appropriate color. |  |
| This is then rolled between the thumb and forefinger into a shape appropriate for the item being made. Spheres for the flowers and cones for the leaves. |  |
| Here you see the small cone I've rolled to make a leaf. |  |
| After flattening the cone into a leaf shape using my thumb, I add the vein lines with an x-acto knife to complete the leaf. |  |
| Once the various pieces are made for the embellishments they are attached to the pendant using a tiny bit of slip. In this photo you see me adding the center to a flower using a pin. The vine or branch between the clumps of flowers was applied using a brush and green slip. Each of the leaves were attached using this same green slip and then the flowers were attached on top of the leaves using the same green slip. |  |
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