Radiant Opal Pendant
May 13 - 19, 2026
Go to Sinter Event
https://sinterevent.com/workshop/holly-gage-radiant-opal-pendant/
 
Bold design and rich textures surround beautiful Fire in Place Cultured Opals. With a combination of surprising techniques, you’ll form your piece using dry-to-dry construction to create dimensionality. Then, can create intricate open spaces and surface textures with your rotary tool. At the same time, I will demonstrate the various surface treatments you can achieve with diamond burs in the greenware stage of your Silver Metal Clay. Yeah, your rotary tool! And it’s easy on your hands!
Then you’ll capture the allure of Heat-Resistant Cultured Opals, which have all the radiance and iridescence you love in a good-quality Opal. Still unlike Nature Opals, these can be fired at 1650º F or 900ºC without burning up from the extreme heat needed to sinter the Metal Clay. What a breakthrough!
 
Techniques Covered:
Dry-to-dry construction to form the base and walls
Texturing Metal Clay
Using a rotary tool with various diamond burs for carving into the greenware
How to fire Cultured Opals in Metal Clay
Creating Unique bails
 
Go to Sinter Event
https://sinterevent.com/workshop/holly-gage-radiant-opal-pendant/
Find the Basic Tool Kit and
Workshop Specific Tool Kit