18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gorgeous must have for your jewelry making library!, May 12, 2010
This review is from: Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry (Paperback)
I have been an online follower of Kate McKinnon and her remarkable journey through the beading and design world ever since I first began to create jewelry, myself.
She has always been a generous person, allowing others access to her superb designs, and to her vast fount of knowledge, with good humor. As a teacher, she is nonpareil.
This is now demonstrated when you read her latest book, Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry, and view the accompanying DVD.
So what is this book (and DVD) about, exactly?
It contains, quite frankly, everything you need to know to chart your earliest course through the sometimes confusing world of precious metal clay.
The book is perfectly beautiful in its presentation, with excellent clear and informative photographs, whether of the tools you will require or of the projects offered. The DVD reinforces aspects of the book which you may have missed or which were not covered as thoroughly as YOU might like.
It is all a question of how much experience the reader has, because he or she holds in this offering the potential to grow vastly as a metal clay artist.
As a person who is unable to get out to meet teachers in real life, because of my family situation, I thank heaven for invigorating, elucidating jewelry design books like this! On the other hand, even if I could get out, I would want this book in my library of jewelry inspiration/information/ how to books.
As Kate McKinnon says in the opening lines of her introduction, "This book is a poem to the possibilities of pure fine silver, which is too often overlooked by traditional metalsmiths."
She is going to grab you, right there, by your heart and soul, if you have any interest at all in this medium. And if, like me, you love this medium but at times find it confusing, she is going to simultaneously clarify all your questions and urge your creativity until you are on fire.
Whether you are a beginner or have experience in this medium, this is the book to own if you love the look of handcrafted, organic, textured or smooth, beautiful metal clay. This is also the book to own if you love amassing ideas which will aid your personal search for further experiences in this arena.
The chapters, or sections, go as follows:
1) Basics: the essentials required for you to have a proper studio to work with metal clay. This includes tools, tips and techniques.
2) Elements: such a great choice of words as it encompasses so many concepts! So does this section. The reader will learn everything from making circles and rings to clasps, toggle bars, bead caps, a sculptural S clasp, charms and branches, band rings of many sorts (I suggest her DVD section on this especially for further understanding--it is great to watch her work!) and MORE. What more, you may ask. Well, drawing a bead, which is essential, fused wire chain, metal clay chain, and so very much more, I am out of breath, as well as breathless.
3)Projects: This section really gets down and gives the reader as much as he or she can handle in the way of the author's integrity and creativity combined. Kate McKinnon's beautiful stacked rings are among the projects, as well as a gorgeous "Circlet of Flowers Necklace", the beautiful "Skyscraper Ring", an evocative "Returning Ring"," which I found really lovely, as well as a terrific "Bird on a Branch Necklace", which has a variation which is great and tips which are really fun. I loved all the projects and these are only a few of them.
4) Terms: in this section are the words which allow the reader to reabsorb and process further the lingo of metal clay, which is a must as he or she comes to the fullest understanding of the medium possible.
As a person who has worked with metal clay, I never thought, " Oh, I am going to know all this! I don't need this!", before I read this book.
However, having now read the book and viewed the DVD, I think with great excitement, "I WANT TO KNOW ALL THIS, AND I want to know MORE!"
Kate McKinnon is a teacher who really ignites sparks!
As far as I am concerned, you will not find a better book than Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry by Kate McKinnon out there in the marketplace if you are interested in learning all you can about this fascinating subject.
And then ... expect to want to get going, having fun using your new information to create beauty, with fine metal clay, in the right way, yourself!
additional info about Kate: she won the Saul Bell Award from Rio Grande in 2005 for her Spiky neckpiece, and then placed again in 2006 with the first submitted metal clay chain, a double neckpiece assembled with, amazingly, no solder.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Virtual Master Class In Metal Clay, May 13, 2010
This review is from: Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry (Paperback)
There is something to be said for an artist who focuses entirely on one medium with a relentless specificity. What happens is an alchemy of sorts, a magic that can only be forged from patience, tenacity and the willingness to dig deep and make glorious mistakes and in the process make amazing discoveries. Saul Bell Design Award winning artist Kate McKinnon is that type of artist and her work with metal clay has changed the way people approach the medium and inspired countless other artists in the process. Kate is a straight shooter and a smart cookie with a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. I don't know any other artist in the instructional jewelry making world who has such a singular dedication to her medium and a willingness to share what she's discovered with others with such generosity of spirit. Her new book Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry for Interweave Press is the most comprehensive, concise and detailed exploration of this medium that I have ever seen. If you're interested in metal clay, you absolutely have to add this book to your shelves.
Not only is the book stunningly gorgeous, it's meticulously written and every aspect of working with metal clay is covered in painstaking detail. Kate takes you through tools, kilns, torches. You'll learn the properties of this unique medium and how to achieve success while working with it. You'll learn how to create bead caps, soldered metal rings, metal clay rings, head pins, charms, clasps, prongs, rivets, armatures and much more. Kate is a huge proponent of safety and she shares what she's learned about the proper way to fire and finish your pieces to avoid exposing yourself to toxic fumes or particulate matter.
This book is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to an art form. You will benefit from Kate's journey and you will come out of the other side altered forever. The writing is extraordinary, the photographs are stunning and the addition of a 60 minute DVD with key techniques taught by Kate in her studio makes this an unparalleled value. Kate's approach to design as a dimensional exploration appeals to me immensely. I'm particularly smitten with her kinetic designs that incorporate spinning elements and images and her tiny skyscrapers. This is a book lovingly created by an inspirational artist and writer that speaks to the artist in everyone. It's a lovely gift and one from which everyone who reads it will benefit.
Margot Potter
Author The Impatient Beader Series, Beyond the Bead and Bead Chic
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