Customer Reviews

Creating Your Own Antique Jewelry: Taking Inspiration from Great Museums Around the World (Jewelry Crafts)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoy ren-fairs and I love old style jewelry. This book was an impulse buy entirely. I have no experience with clay (beyond the flour clay I had as a kid) and none with jewelry making.

I bought some clay and today I tried the simple pendant near the end of the book. It turned out beautifully! The author's simple advice and step-by-step instructions were a great help. The clear photographs helped me to see what I was doing.

All of the pieces in the book can be basically broken down into just a few shapes: the main shape, small balls of clay and spaghetti like strands used to simulate filigree. The pieces are modeled in black polymer clay and painted with patina which makes them look antique with very little effort.

If you like the raw look of ancient jewelry, or if you want to broaden your artistic horizens, this book will be a help and an inspiration. I am excited and can't wait to try another piece.

I wrote an initial review of this book when I had never worked with polymer clay before. In the few months that have passed, I have gotten pretty excited about the medium and have a few varied projects under my belt. Which means this book is worthless, right?

Wrong! This book is still quite an inspiration to me. I love the way the author blends stones and clay for an affect all her own. While such stones and jade and rose quartz can be simulated to near perfection with clay but rubies and emeralds and such must still be replicated with glass and semi precious stones since even the transparent clay is relatively opaque.

This is most certainly a book for people who enjoy and can pull of chunkier, ancient looking jewelry and if you fit into this category I am certain this book will appeal. If you taste runs toward cute jewelry or more delicate stuff, there are plenty of polymer clay books that will fill your needs. This book is also ideal for rennaissance fair junkies, and people who need specialized ancient looking jewelry.

One element I really enjoy about this book is the collection of pictures that show where the author got her inspiration. (many are paintings from the Louvre) So, you're really getting two books in one, a light art book and an instruction book.

As to painting, the way I like to add a metallic look to black clay (after comapring many different instructions) is to dust it with powder and then add highlights with metallic wax. Both items are easily available.

If you fit the profile of someone who would read this book, give it a try. If it isn't to your taste, shop around for another book and enjoy the wonderful medium of polymer clay.

Ways to imitate metal and gem stones to create the pieces of jewelry shown in famous paintings.... the cover shows only a hint of how wonderfully authentic the pieces are. And there are step by step instructions for so many of them!

The instructions and illustrations seem to be easy to follow, and I'm hoping to re-create a bunch of the pieces shown.

Really nice addition to my library.

I just received the book today and have two projects in the oven as I write. Beautiful reproduction ideas and fairly simple directions to follow. Highly recommended for those who enjoy creating their own pieces of jewelry, without requiring a lot of jewelry making skills.

This book is a must have for those who like to have some inspiration for jewelry that's just a touch different from the trendy stuff you see all around. It's not available in Dutch unfortunately, but I still bought it and haven't regretted it for a single moment. I've had it ever since it came out and I've used it as a source of inspiration lots of times already. I use it for making pendants especially...and the result is always super!!!
The fun thing about it, is that the artist was inspired by art and when I'm in a museum nowadays, I often find myself looking closely at painted jewelry.
This book shows how you can make wonderful and stylish jewelry of very cheap materials. Also, the techniques used are not as difficult or as painstaking as many other polymer clay techniques like making canes for instance. It's a matter of preparing your clay, shaping it in combination with stones, glass, shells...etc...adding some colour with metal powders, baking, cooling, (painting), polishing, varnishing and attaching some findings...Ready!!! You can have a splendid result in one afternoon's work!

From start to finish this book is inspiratonal in concept, content, application and continental style. The photography and presentation is sublime. I have worked with polymer clay for 12 years, have art training and work in the art field. This book is both a classical feast for the eyes and very informative. The clay techniques are straight forward, easy and fun. The arthur lives in Paris, France, and so the book has a very continental classy appeal. The book is very different than the polymer clay books here in the US. It opens the door for thought and creativity. The close-ups of the classical jewelry pieces are breathtaking, and the special sketches are wonderful and easy to understand. The photography is from around the world. The book is simply a feast for the eyes. If you are into costume, portraiture, jewelry, paintings of the great masters,jewelry crafting in whatever medium, this book would be a lovely asset to your libray.

I just completed two projects in this book and the pieces turned out beautifully! This is my first foray into the polymer clay medium and I can't wait to create more pieces.

I do not understand some of the previous reviewers' comments about the pieces being unsophisticated etc.... these are reproductions of ANTIQUE pieces which, by definition, didn't use modern "sleeker" methods of metallurgy etc... One reviewer also mentioned that painting with the model paints is a problem. Not so! My only conclusion is that the author of that review didn't try the techniques or didn't follow the directions for painting. The "Testor" brand paints I used worked great.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in recreating antique pieces. The projects are easy, fun, and a springboard to use one's own creativity.

I'll admit I'm an advanced metal work jewelry student which means I like punching, filing, dapping, polishing and soldering with various metals. But, I had some time on my hands recently so I purchased some polymer clay to fool around with. I guess the mixed media artist in me was trying to express herself. In any case, the more I worked with pc (between my metal working classes) and the more I researched pc artists on-line the more I realized here was a completely independent artistic medium that deserves recognition as a fine craft (for those pc artists at the top of the pyramid). So, I purchased some basic beginner's books because I needed some detailed advice and didn't want to burn up my work effort while the clay was heat curing. This book was one of those purchases and I wasn't disappointed. BUT; take note that I love ancient and medieval jewelry designs which means I'm the targeted audience. The book detailed enough tricks and tips for me to expand the topics (and designs) at my own leisure.
So, if you're new to polymer clay, or if you like ancient/medieval jewelry designs and would like some inspiration you should enjoy and learn from this text.

The ideas and instructions in this book make it look incredibly easy. Though I have not tried to make anything yet, I know I will be using the book soon for some special projects and gifts I have in mind. It is a wonderful way to make that antique look without having to go to the antique store!

The projects in this book are good sources of inspiration, but the techniques the author uses are not very sophisticated. There are other books by polymer clay artists, as well as videos, that would allow even a beginner to create more professional and realistic looking pieces than the ones presented in this book. I would recommend that anyone considering buying this book check out other offerings by Sue Heaser (Polymer Clay Techniques Book), Donna Kato, Syndee Holt, or Steven Ford & Leslie Dierks instead of or in addition to this book.