NM200 - Sculptural Design with Mixed Media

Learn how to combine clay- and paste-types of metal clay to produce more vibrant and 3-dimentional designs, and experiment with forming shapes and textures using a 'build-up' technique. You will also learn additional methods of stone setting and attaching fine silver findings.
Master the creation of crisp lines and accurate symmetry as well as invisible joins and effective repairs so as to produce quality, professional-looking jewellery with sharp features. Your second project involves the accurate reproduction of carved patterns, and also extended pre-finishing techniques to ensure perfection once your design is fired and polished.

Further refine your skills at making accurate, perfectly-sized rings. Learn to combine clay- and syringe-type metal clay to create unique, refined filigree patterns or reliefs on any surface. Fire these designs into solid, lasting pieces of quality jewellery.

Instead of working with pre-fabricated syringe-type metal clay, learn the steps to prepare your own custom syringes and custom tips that allow for exciting extrusion patterns which will form the basis of your eighth project. Add a touch of elegance to this project by permanently setting a half-drilled cultured pearl using professional techniques.

Learn about the characteristics of coloured glass and how to properly evaluate and combine glass of different refractive indices to form creative fused-glass centre pieces. Explore different methods of fusing glass using electric and microwave kilns. Following that, use your very own glass creations to beautify your silver jewellery! With an emphasis on setting and firing techniques that will not damage glass components, you'll practise safe handling, fusing, firing and cooling of mixed glass and silver elements. Finally, learn the proper polishing methods to make your glass and silver designs stand out.

Enamelling is an inexpensive and popular method of adding value to jewellery via the simulation of inlaid gemstones or the creative use of colour. Traditional enamels, however, are painstaking and time-consuming to apply. You'll learn to use modern resins and dyes to simulate the depth of traditional enamels using popular modern UV/Epoxy techniques.