Jeweler uses putty-like material to make gold, silver jewelry
Sarah Davison has a Midas touch.
Some things she touches do turn to gold. But more often than not, they become silver.
Davison is a local artist whose favorite medium is Precious Metal Clay, or PMC -- an alloy-filled, putty-like material that turns to metal after heating.
In a room just off her home's foyer, Davison set up a little studio, where she creates most of her work. Ten black, hinged gift boxes were open like oysters displaying some of her finished pieces, which gleamed with . . . Wait, we'll get back to that, in case you're still scratching your head over this clay stuff.
PMC is a material that was created in the '90s by a Japanese company called Mitsubishi Materials, Davison said. She started using it about three years ago when she stopped making boots and shoes -- a few pairs are displayed on shelves in her studio.
"It got to be not fun," she said -- too much time and not enough positive feedback. So she took up beading, a hobby that led her to a bead show in Tucson, Ariz.
And that's where she stumbled upon PMC.
Here's how it works: "Microscopic particles of silver are mixed with a moist binder to create a material that has the feel and working properties of modeling clay," according to information from the PMC Guild's Web site, www.pmcguild.com. The guild is an educational organization that promotes instruction, research, teaching and exhibition of PMC.
PMC comes
in a variety of forms, including the packaged clay Davison was using this particular day -- which looks, feels, even smells like Silly Putty. It also comes in syringes, pastes and sheets.
It isn't cheap stuff, either, she said. The paste is about $25, and the packages of clay start at $65 to $70. And she orders most of her material from Dallas.
Using molds and other simple tools, Davison can give the clay shape and texture. As an example, she pinched off a bit of clay, rolled it out like dough at her work table, then pressed a decorative stamp over it, like a cookie-cutter.
After trimming the rough edges, she scooped the clay up with a playing card -- "I use them for everything," she said -- and placed it in the dry box. The box, her own invention, is made from basic cardboard with a hole cut in front plus a small one on top, through which a hand-held hair dryer speeds up the drying process.
Once a piece is fully air-dried, Davison goes to her garage, where she keeps her Paragon kiln -- a small blue one on top of a stainless steel table. The objects are fired in the kiln, the particles fuse together, and the result is metal. The clay will shrink a bit, she said, but only about 10 to 12 percent.
After PMC is fired, it can be enameled, soldered or polished, Davison said. She works mainly with silver -- and it's not sterling silver, by the way, she says, but honest-to-goodness silver. PMC is also available in a 22-karat gold alloy.
Davison can add a patina finish to her pieces using liver of sulphur, she explained. She can also burnish PMC after it's been fired, placing real gold foil over an object on top of a burner in her studio.
"It's giving people a way to make jewelry and use their creative process without spending years learning traditional silver-smithing," she said.
Not that there's a thing wrong with traditional silver-smithing. Davison is even taking classes for it at Tulsa Community College.
But, she said, "Some silversmiths say it isn't a real art form."
That argument aside, Davison has kept busy working with PMC, as those 10 open boxes attested. One necklace was silver lentil beads strung with turquoise and carnelian. Another gleams with serpentine, coral and a gold-foiled piece of PMC. She uses gold PMC as decorative touches sometimes.
She uses real leaves -- gingko is a favorite -- and other treasures from nature, like a tree spur or a leaf she came across outside Barnes & Noble. Davison can also take someone's signature, perhaps a grandmother's cherished recipe, and create a pendant or keepsake Christmas tree ornament.
In addition to necklaces, which range from about $125-$450, Davison makes rings ($55 and up) and earrings ($60 and up).
Right now, her pieces, which she creates under the name Sarah Davison Designs, can be seen at the In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo Drive, in Oklahoma City. Those wanting to see her jewelry or take a class can contact Davison at 492-6398 or via e-mail, sarahdav@cox.net.
For more information on PMC, visit www.pmcguild.com.
Jason Ashley Wright 581-8483
jason.wright@tulsaworld.com
