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Metal Clay Origami Jewelry: 25 Contemporary Projects (Lark Books $19.95 US) introduces jewelry designers to the unique properties of metal clay sheet combined with origami folding techniques.

Author Sara Jayne Cole has been a long-time origami expert and certified instructor in both PMC and Art Clay. With this book, she offers her tried and tested jewelry designs.

Techniques Section

Two technique areas cover first the basics of origami and then the fundamentals of working with metal clay sheet.

For the first, paper folding techniques are covered and include full-color photos accompanied by text. Following this is a brief explanation of the materials and tools required, and then there is a techniques section covering elements of metal clay sheet such as how to attach findings, how to set stones, how to embellish, and how to fire. Finally, this section ends with information on polishing the fired metal as well as oxidation using Liver of Sulfur.

Those who already know the basics of origami or metal clay may be able to skip some of these areas in the book, but it is provided in a way that does not assume the reader already knows all of the information. In fact, one point made by the author is that those new to folding paper should practice with paper before moving onto the metal clay sheet and should expect a noticeable difference between the two since the clay is more elastic than regular paper.

Projects

The 25 projects include a range from earrings, bracelets, necklace, rings, and pins.

All, of course, have a modern, and, in many cases, Asian flair to them such as the Butterfly Pin project and Samurai Pin project. The projects section combines color photos, text, and illustrations. Because of the folding methods used with the clay, many of the designs tend to have a geometric look and will appeal to the jewelry designer who has very contemporary tastes.

A little bit of wire work is included in some projects, but none of the additional methods outside of the two - origami and metal clay - are overly involved.

Final Thoughts

Metal clay sheet is sometimes referred to as metal clay paper, so it makes sense that this medium would work so well with a paper folding technique such as origami; however, it is obvious that the author has spent a lot of time and energy mastering this combination of materials and methods. If you enjoy contemporary lines, then the combination of folding techniques and metal clay techniques offered in this book will definitely appeal to you.

Publisher's Site

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