A little challenge always gets the creative juices flowing, so I presented a challenge to a group of talented Metal Clay artists. The group is a diverse cross section of Art Clay and Precious Metal Clay users who engage in intellectual discussion and technique sharing. The Yahoo Metal Clay Gallery forum and discussion group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/metalclay/ ) also has a marvelous gallery of photos. The most up and coming metal clay artists can be found there, in fact many innovative pieces can be seen on the forum before they ever reach the magazines and jewelry publications that make their work and accomplishments immortalized.

The motivational challenge was to create a piece incorporating metal clay and Titanium. The winner of the challenge was to receive $75.00 in sparkling beautiful Titanium. More than anything the challenge was designed as an exercise in creativity. It was an opportunity to learn more about techniques involved in creating pieces where the main element could not be fired in place and it was unusual in shape, in this instance Titanium. It was an opportunity for us all to learn from each other, the motivations and new techniques that inspired the participants of the challenge. Below are the names of the people who submitted a piece and a description of how they created their wonderful metal clay jewelry. The entries were all so well done that I think they are all winners! You can view the artwork and the projects by clicking on the project titles in the content bar.

Reversible pendant with Titanium
by Judy Dunn
http://www.judydunn.net

Silver Apples of the Moon, Golden Apples of the Sun
by Pat Hartman

Neptunes Garden
by Ellen Miles

I hold the Moon
by Deby Henry

Looks Like Candy to Me!
by Carol Weidman
http://iceopalsjewelry.com/

From the Redwood Forest
by Colleen Stella