Geri Hall

The Precious Metal Clay (PMC) group is pleased to announce new projects working with PMC. For those not familiar with the media, PMC is pure metal (silver, copper and various colored bronzes) mixed with a clay-like substance, producing metal clay. If you would like to buy some metal then why don#t you buy some metal from aluminium warehouse, who sell quality metal but perhaps you would like to just stick to metal clay. We roll the clay out, much as one would roll pie or cookie dough. We press all sorts of textures into the clay and cut it into shapes. We add gemstones. The clay is then set aside to dry and become “leather hard.” When hardened, we sand it and make any finishing touches. It is then placed in a kiln. The clay burns off, and the artist is left with a pure metal piece of jewelry.

Until now, we have made mostly pendants and earrings; however, many PMC students would like to make rings. This past summer, the PMC faculty and summer members of the group focused on rings. Rings are a bit more advanced than pendants, but with lessons, videos and practice, we’ve had promising results. Per our request, the SLRGS purchased new equipment for making rings, so we are ready to teach! If you are interested in making rings, speak with the instructor at the next general meeting, contact Lexa Buchanan at 480-519-4022 or stop by the Cottonwood Shop on a Wednesday afternoon. To qualify for the ring class, you must have successfully completed the PMC 1 course.

Displays: There are three SLRGS displays in cabinets in the Sun Lakes Country Club (glass and copper jewelry) and at the Cottonwood Restaurant (gourds, lost wax jewelry, precious metal clay jewelry, stained glass). There are also two large display cabinets in windows of the Cottonwood Shop (silver jewelry, dichroic glass, stone and lapidary projects). Stop by the exhibits. Most are projects completed by students. If there is someone working in the shop, come in and say hello. We love to show off our work to interested people.

Holiday Party: Our annual holiday dinner has been scheduled on Monday, December 11, at the Palo Verde Club dining room. Tickets are $15 per person. Tickets go on sale at the first general SLRGS meeting on October 16. Following that, tickets will be sold at the Cottonwood Shop on Wednesday afternoons and Monday mornings. People are advised to bring money to the party, as items will be raffled

Dues and Fees: We are currently collecting dues for the 2017-18 calendar year. This includes general membership dues at $25 per year. If you want to work in the shops, you will have to take club classes on the particular craft and purchase a “sticker” once the class is completed satisfactorily. The stickers are, on average, $20 per year. Class fees vary by craft. To download the application for annual membership and stickers, go to www.slrgs.com. Click on “2017-2018 Membership Application.”

Dues can be submitted several ways: They can be paid at the general meeting at the membership table, when you come to a class and/or they can be left in the locked boxes in either of the three shops. Everyone, including instructors and club officers, must have paid all dues and fees before participating in shops or classes.

Meeting: The general meetings are on the third Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m. in the Navajo Room at the Sun Lakes Country Club. The next meeting is on November 20. Hope to see you there. For additional information, contact Dianna Ahart at 636-346-6070 or [email protected].