Customer Reviews

PMC Technic: A Collection of Techniques for Precious Metal Clay

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another wonderful book from Tim McCreight, who has edited this collection of techniques for PMC by assembling a veritable stable of stars. These brilliant artisans share their specific forte and we are definitely the richer and wiser as we work through their lovely projects.

The 10 artists cover : Syringe by Tonya Davidson, Hinges with Celie Fago, Bezels by Jennifer Kahn, Fusing Sterling and PMC by Doris King, Terry Kovalcik looks at Developing Form with Slip and the amazing Noortje Meijerink takes us on a PMC and Ceramic journey. Kelly Russell looks at using Stencils while Barabara Becker Simon merges Lampworking and PMC with a flair all of her own, add CeCe Wires Water Etching and J.Fred Woell's gorgeous Coreless Beads and I doubt that this book would not have something for everyone.

This book is not for a beginner, but you will certainly aspire to recreate the projects, beautiful each and every one of them. Lovely hand drawn pencil illustrations of both the steps and techniques compliment a rich gallery of colour photographs. The techniques are covered in detail - up to 20 pages, so you are left in no doubt how to create.

This book clearly states PMC and in fact exclusively uses this product throughout, however, the ideas are transferrable accross the Metal Clay's. Thank you for another wonderful book which I am sure will be read and re-read many times.

This is a very good pmc lesson guide. There are different chapters with different lessons from each guest teacher. Each lesson is valuable and insightful into the particular techniques employed by the likes of kelly russel, celie fago, jen kahn and fred woell - amoung others. Beautiful photography of work and handy sketches provide more detailed examples of a process etc. I own every metal clay book ever writeen! Including any foreign ones and this is very good. I've written a more detailed review on amazon.co.uk and the book Pmc techniques with a blue cover is the same as pmc technic! very good book and intermediate/advanced - finally! There are masses of beginner pmc books out there, so this was appreciated by me.

Less than a year after publishing PMC Decade, a wonderful volume of essays and lavish photographs showcasing extraordinary metal clay art and artists from the past 10 years, Tim McCreight's Brynmorgen Press has brought us the highly anticipated PMC Technic: A Collection of Techniques for Precious Metal Clay.

PMC Technic consists of ten chapters, each written by a different well-known artist about an advanced metal clay technique that he or she developed, refined/advanced, or adapted for metal clay.

Every chapter contains a wealth of valuable and detailed information about a specific technique. Tim McCreight's clear, hand-drawn illustrations provide a welcome complement to the written descriptions and instructions. Many sumptuous, high-quality photographs show inspirational examples of finished pieces incorporating each technique.

I am very fortunate to have received my PMC Certification instruction from two of artists in this important book, and to have benefited from the wise and generous advice of several of its other authors. I can attest personally to their extraordinary expertise and teaching abilities, and I recommend this book enthusiastically as required reading for any serious metal clay artist.

In this book, Tim McCreight has brought together ten different artists, each of whom contributes a chapter on a specific, specialized PMC technique. Although this is not a beginners' how-to book, the writing is so exceptionally clear that even someone with no experience in working with PMC will be able to understand how each technique works, and will probably be inspired to put at least some of this instruction into practice right away. Experienced users of PMC will surely find new information here to expand their repertoire of techniques.

Since PMC is relatively new, artists have had to spend countless hours discovering the limits and capabilities of the material. Having worked so hard to successfully execute a new and complicated technique, an artist might be forgiven for hoarding that hard-won knowledge. Fortunately, that is not the spirit of this book. Each contributor has generously distilled his or her painstaking experimentation into a concise, immeasurably helpful lesson that will enable others to bypass many of the missteps that come with charting new territory.

For me, the most fascinating and helpful chapters were those that dealt with combining PMC with other materials in a way that resolves incompatibility issues. For example, one chapter tells how to prepare sterling silver (through a process known as depletion gilding) to accept PMC additions. Another chapter describes how to include PMC in flameworked beads, explaining along the way how to knead enamels (essentially powdered glass) into PMC to produce a hybrid metal/glass material. Another chapter provides instructions for making delicate bezels from PMC paper, so that even stones unable to be fired along with the PMC can be included in PMC pieces. Yet another chapter shows how to add PMC to glazed or unglazed ceramic pieces, and even includes information on using raku glazes with PMC.

In addition to these mixed-media chapters, there are chapters on making delicate yet functional hinges out of PMC; building up form with PMC slip; making brass or Mylar stencils and using them with PMC; mastering the use of PMC syringe; and water etching PMC (that is, using a resist and washing away portions of the design that are not covered by the resist). There's also a chapter on a clever way to make hollow PMC beads by removing the bead core before firing.

Each topic is illustrated with plenty of gorgeous color photographs of pieces that use the technique in question. Equally valuable are Tim McCreight's detailed, easy-to-understand black and white sketches, which serve to clear up any mystery about the more technical operations. This book is worth its weight in PMC gold.

I have been using PMC for 5 years, teaching for two,and have had the great pleasure of studying with Tim McCreight and a couple of the artists featured in this book. What a treasure this book is! Several of the very best PMC artists each write a chapter about an advanced PMC skill that is one of their specialties. Each chapter gives you so many ideas to use for your own exploration, because the chapters are not step-by-step projects to slavishly copy. I plan to sit down this winter with this book and just play, based on some of the ideas presented. Another great book by Tim McCreight's Brynmorgen Press. With so many new books on PMC coming out these days, how do you choose? If you've got the basics down and want to be pushed in your use of PMC, give this book a look.

This book has some interesting and different techniques some of which I haven't seen before. I'm really keen to try making a bead core and then doing a flamework bead over the top.

I prefer books with clear photographs to show techniques and this one has mainly sketches. But they are clear and it's easy to follow.

This book is clearly aimed at more experienced metal clay users which is fine with me.

PMC Techniques edited by Tim McCreight is an excellent reference book for metal clay artisans at the intermediate or advanced level. The technique chapters are written by metal clay experts well known in the field, and are presented in a stimulating manner. The illustrations are excellent and the format is very inviting and easy to read. It inspires the reader to move outside the box and incorporate new techniques and experiment. I love it, and hope McCreight will work on a second book incorporating more techniques as this medium is in a state of constant evolution.

Just received this book , it is the absolute best for anyone wanting to explore the best in pmc creations. The artists featured are awesome ,their explanations are understandable even by novices.Their work is so inspiring. I have been a fan of Celie Fago,(who wouldn't be?),so it is great to get her instuctions.I know I will just look at it for a while,relishing every word and picture!

As a miniaturist, I've worked with sculpting clay for many years, and PMC is a newly discovered joy for me! Being uneducated in the formal jewelry-making field of expertise, it's all a big play-pen for me, and I have been desperately searching for artist-quality inspirations, and that is what I found in this Luscious book on metal clay artisan styles! Not only am I able to learn techniques, but there are masterful photographs and detailed directions on subject matter that I have never seen before....such as HINGES! Kudos to the Author, and to all of the extraordinarily talented artists who share their tricks of the trade! Perhaps this wouldn't be the best book for a beginning artisan, but even for me, with very limited experience with PMC and metal clays, I have found a TREASURE of KNOWLEDGE in this book! Blessed & Inspired! Deanne

This is one of the better PMC books out there for explaining things. A must for all metal clay artist.