Part 1 - Silver Clay
You Will Need: foraged plants or flowers, a cutting mat, moulding compound, playing cards, tweezers, olive oil and a paintbrush, an acrylic sheet
For this project the first thing you’ll need to do is to source some plants and flowers from the garden. The plants and flowers you choose are unique to you but when you’re searching don’t forget to look at the textures and shapes rather than colours - what can seem like an unassuming weed in the garden can produce a surprisingly beautiful design. And of course, if you don’t know what a plant is look it up before picking it up. Some plants are poisonous so it’s best to check first.
In order to create a bracelet of around 175mm in length (the average length of a bracelet) you’ll need to create five or six silver clay impressions with a diameter of between 10mm and 15mm each (don’t forget that silver clay shrinks by around 10% when fired so to achieve a finished coin of around 15mm you’ll need a pre-fired diameter of around 17mm - please see the printout in the downloads section for guidance). 20g of silver clay will make six medallions so I would recommend making all six, and if you find that you only need five to achieve the desired length you can turn the remaining one into a bonus necklace!
Once you have your botanicals you can use them to create your moulds. Take equal parts of your moulding compound one at a time, being careful not to contaminate one with the other. I like to use one hand for white and one hand for blue. Put the lid back on straight away to keep the compound clean and fresh for next time. The amount of moulding compound you will need is dependant on the size and thickness of your botanical, but two small marble-sized pieces are enough to make one mould. Mix the two colours together thoroughly using your fingers until you have a uniform colour throughout. Roll it into a ball and place it onto a playing card. By making each mould on a playing card rather than directly onto the cutting mat you will be able to easily move them to one side to dry while you make more moulds.
Use a small amount of oil (here we are using olive) to lightly paint one side of your acrylic sheet with a paintbrush. With the oiled side down, flatten your moulding compound into an even disc. The thickness of your disc needs to be greater than the thickness of your botanical. If you find that you have flattened it too much or it is uneven, simply roll it back into a ball and go again.
Position your plant or flower onto the moulding compound and press it gently and evenly into the flat surface of the disk with the oiled side of the acrylic facing down. You will know when have an even and complete impression into the compound when you see the acrylic sheet form an air tight and opaque join.
Then simply slide your acrylic sheet off the moulding compound.
You can either use a pair of tweezers to carefully remove your plant from your mould and then leave it to fully harden or leave it to fully harden and then remove the plant - it depends on how impatient you’re feeling! You’ll know when your mould is ready as it will have a rubbery texture and will no longer change shape when pressed.