Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

I purchased an Ultralite Kiln which only fires low fire clays so right now I'm using PMC3 which fires to fine silver. I was torch firing but you have to keep things pretty small with a torch. This kiln allows me to get a bit more substance in my pendants without having to worry about fully sintering.

I'd read that someone took their kiln and used it for soldering a larger piece by applying additional heat to the top with their butane torch. Great idea, thinks me. So I tried it. NOT a great idea. My element burned out. lol Those are like $45 to replace. UGH! Ah well. Live and learn.

But for the ones I managed to do before that, it worked great! But if I can afford a better kiln I'll prob get it. I have so many ideas of what I wanna do but no $$ to do it.

PMC has been very difficult for me to work with. For one, it dries out fast, and two, it's a bit sticky to work with, even with the slick on my hands. So, I devised a work around. I'm now modeling my design with regular polymer clay, baking it, and then making a mold with the two part silicon putties. That has worked out great! I give it a light spray with this silicon spray I purchased for my treadmill and it de-molds very easily. Then once it's dry I can carve it even further if desired and do any touch ups needed before firing.

I also found out that it doesn't work to embed the bezel prior to firing as the clay shrinks and causes the clay to cut a hole where to bezel goes. So now I'm just soldering on the Bezel & jump rings after firing. Tip here is to burnish first before soldering.

Thinking ahead, I have a design planned that will have a few components that I'll join together with slip before firing.

Anyway, so far so good. Yes, there's a learning curve but I can see many possibilities here. Now I've just gotta wait for more $$ to get more PMC...

Your work is lovely KJ

TY!! I do like that PMC feeds my need to sculpt things.

I think you're the only one I know using PMC, so I'm glad you tell us your experiences with it because I've considered using it, so sharing your trials and tribulations, and the tips you give are appreciated, and your work is evolving beautifully. Hope you get some $$$ soon so you can fix that element, get more PMC, and get that hotter kiln. Keep us posted.

Thanks! I know a couple of you were interested. 8's asked me if I'd used gold yet and that'd be a no. But I do have a design planned for this opal that's waiting on funding for gold. I'm removing the center stone. I have a champagne diamond I want to set there instead. I'll use yellow gold prongs to look like stamens. Then I want to make a sculpted necklace of silver flowers with a few gold floral accents and then set this piece in it.

Definitely interested.

I think that's got to be my favorite of all the opals you've shown KJ, and it will look even better with YG prongs around a champagne diamond in the center. Can't wait to see it finished.

I get the prongs holding the diamond. What will hold the prongs? I only ask as I have a black druzy I want to set a diamond in and I have not been able to come up with a way that my goldsmith says will work.

I"m going to drill a hole in the opal and post a post through the opal and through the back of the necklace setting and secure it on the back. I'll have to experiment a bit to test it before I do.

Yes, that's how I was thinking it would have to be done. It's going to be scary to drill it, but it will be worth it when you get that diamond mounted on it, and it will be worth a whole lot more when you go to sell it; assuming you're not going to keep it, which is what I would want to do.