Experiencing A Metal Clay Workshop
15th February 2025 - New Experience Number 2.
Experiencing a metal clay workshop was the second of my 52 new things in 2025. I wasn’t aware of metal clay, and was even more surprised to learn that we’d be working with clay that was made of actual silver.
Just a few days earlier, it had been International Day Of Women And Girls in science. Combining science and craft, Innately Science hosted a brilliant workshop using metal clay to make pendants.
Although everything was fully explainable through science, at times it felt like we were dabbling with magic – it was amazing!
What Is Metal Clay And How Does It Work?
Metal clay is made up of tiny particles of either bronze, silver or gold, which are mixed with an organic binder and water to hold it all together. This creates a material which is very pliable and easy to work with.
The water evaporates as the clay dries, and the piece becomes firm.
When this hard clay is heated at a high temperature in a kiln, the binder combusts and decomposes to carbon dioxide and water, whilst the silver particles fuse together.
After the heating process, the clay has an almost white covering which can be brushed off. Finally, through sanding, buffing and polishing, the clay is no longer clay, but a shiny piece of metal. In our case it was almost pure silver, at around .999 silver.
Getting Started - Metal Clay Workshop
Taking the clay out of it’s packaging, it reminded me a lot of blue tac. It had a similar plasticity, and feel.
There were two things to bear in mind when working with metal clay.
- It sticks to whatever it touches. We had the choice of using a specific metal clay oil, or a balm throughout the workshop to ensure the clay didn’t stick to the mat, the tools, or our hands.
- It dries out quickly, so needs to be kept moist when its not being worked. Ingeniously, Nadia had sprayed some water into a shot glass and turned it upside down. We could place this over the clay if we weren’t using it, and it would be enough to stop it from hardening.
‘Are you oiled up’ wasn’t a phrase I had anticipated hearing during the workshop, but it was a good reminder to make sure we’d prepped our tools.
Spraying a small amount of oil onto the corner of my mat, I used my finger and smeared a thin layer across all the surfaces the clay was going to make contact with.
Creating The Design
I didn’t have a clue what sort of pendant I wanted to make, but Nadia had lots of stencils and a book full of beautiful designs for inspiration.
Deciding to keep it relatively simple, a slightly wonky heart stencil appealed to me. Not a neat symmetrical shape, but rather one that was a little lopsided.
This wasn’t the only part of the design process though. There was so much more we could do to make our own unique and personal pieces.
Making The Shape
To begin, we squished the clay into a ball in our hands, and then rolled it out flat.
Making the shape was simple, gliding the tool smoothly through the clay around the shape of the stencil to cut it out, and placing the excess clay back under the wet shot glass to keep it moist in case I wanted to use it for anything else.
Some of the other participants were far more ambitious in their designs. One lady created individual space shapes which she placed onto a clay base to make a more 3D pendant.
Embellishing - Metal Clay Workshop
Drawing freehand with one of the tools, or using one of the embossed cards, our next step was adding some texture to our pieces.
Some of the other participants used the silver clay paste, which they either brushed on to their pendants, or squeezed out using a syringe.
As I grew up just south of Manchester, I decided to use the honeycomb pattern to represent the worker bee emblem of my home city.
Placing the card over the clay, and gently pushing the roller over it, I then peeled it back to reveal a neat and even texture.
Forgiving
Whilst I was fairly pleased with how it had turned out, it was at this point that I decided I wanted to make a slightly larger pendant.
With metal clay, this was no problem. I simply squidged all of the clay together in my palm and started again. Rolling it out slightly thinner to make a bigger area for the next sized stencil, it is a material that is perfect for starting again.
In fact, metal clay is absolutely brilliantly forgiving. Mistakes or messes are usually rectifiable at various stages throughout the process.
Making More
Repeating the first steps, I made a slightly larger heart, again using the embossed honeycomb card for the texture. I have no idea how I did it, but somehow the pattern had imprinted as though it faded away, and I loved the effect.
As I had enough clay left over, I chose to make another pendant. This time I used a cutter to press out a circle shape in the rolled out clay.
I thought it would be nice to create a piece that represented my challenge of trying 52 new things a year. Trying to keep as steady a hand as I could, I used one of the tools to draw the numbers into the circle. They weren’t the neatest, but it was obvious it was the number.
Lastly, I made a small hole in both of the pendants near the top for the jump ring to go through.
Drying - Metal Clay Workshop
Once we were happy with our pendants, they needed to dry before we could neaten them up. Mine had a few raggedy edges which I wanted to tidy.
To speed the process up, Nadia used a combination of a hairdryer, and a heated mug warmer!
It didn’t take long for the water part of the clay to evaporate, and our pieces to feel firm to the touch ready for the next part of the process.
Smoothing And Tweaking
A piece of black foam, which I am sure has a technical name, was brilliant for ‘healing’. Dampening it, and rubbing it across any cracks which may have emerged, made them disappear! I did say this was a bit like magic didn’t I?!
My next job was grinding off the rough edges, and smoothing over the back of my pendants. Just a few light rubs with a blue sandpaper-like pad, and then working through the colour graded cloths, I had two neat and even shapes ready to go in the oven.
At this point, some of the more intricate parts of the designs other participants had made, broke off! With Nadia on hand, she calmly came to the rescue offering a variety of solutions. The paste was very helpful in sticking bits back together again.
Firing - Metal Clay Workshop
I had no idea you could get such a small kiln! Looking a bit like some sort of safe, it silently heated up to a whopping 800 degrees.
All of our pieces were on one slab which when placed inside reminded me of a dinner table in a dolls house.
Closing the door and allowing the science to happen within the hot box, we took the opportunity to grab a bite to eat. It wouldn’t take all that long, but it was a good opportunity to stretch our legs.
Finessing - And More Magic!
The first thing I noticed when my pendants had cooled and I held them, was just how solid they were. For such small and delicate pieces, they felt exceptionally strong.
They still looked like clay, but a lighter colour now that they had baked. All that was left to do, was brush off the coating, polish them up, and add the jump rings so that they could be attached to a chain and worn as a pendant.
Brushing across the surface of the shape, just a few flecks of dust came off, and instantly it was looking metallic. It was amazing to watch how quickly the transformation happened! Working our way through the different colours of the graded paper next, the silver really began to shine.
The final thing to do was adding the jump rings, which were by far the fiddliest part of the whole process, but essential to being able to wear the pendants.
Using a tool to make the small hole I’d made earlier just that little bit bigger, this was a definite moment of concentration trying to gently prize apart the jump rings and loop them through the pendant. I’ll admit I got a bit of help with this from one of the other participants who seemed to have got the hang of it and was on a roll.
Done And Dusted And Polished
I am really, really chuffed with my finished pieces. Often when I’ve had a go at a new craft, I’m genuinely pleased with the outcome for a first attempt, but you can tell it was made by an amateur, and it has some unique imperfections making it a one of a kind.
Well, I am really impressed with how neatly both of my pendants turned out!
Seeing the finished works from everyone else was equally brilliant. We had all created something individual, and they all looked absolutely gorgeous.
Huge thank you to Nadia who was such a fabulous instructor – always on hand to offer help and solutions when needed, encouraging us with our designs, and making the science come to life.
Why You Should Try A Metal Clay workshop
I can highly recommend having a go at this.
- It’s forgiving. If anything doesn’t quite go as intended, there are many opportunities to tweak it throughout the process.
- It’s a wonderful mindful craft that’s easy to pick up.
- You can get really creative. Whether you have an idea in mind for your make before you go along or not, you’ll be inspired throughout the session,
- It’s a brilliant way to pick up a bit of science.
- A great experience, and a brilliant craft to try with friends.
- You’ll get to make something unique and personal that you can either keep or give as a wonderfully thoughtful gift.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- I found the metal clay workshop on Class Bento.
- Follow Innately Science on Instagram and take a look at their website. You can keep up to date with this and other workshops which they offer.
Cost Of Experience
- I paid £55 for the 4 hour session. This included the materials and tools to make at least 1 silver pendant.
- It also included some light refreshments.
- Prices will depend on the workshop provider.
Recommendations
- Embrace the creativity. Whatever you fancy making with the silver clay, you probably can!
- Don’t worry. Any hiccups or things that don’t go as anticipated can usually be rectified.
- Don’t forget the oil. Remember that metal clay has a tendency to stick to surfaces so use oil on anything that it is going to make contact with.
- Keep it moist. To prevent the clay from drying out before you’re ready, make sure you have some means of keeping it moist.
- Ask questions. Whether it’s about the process or for help throughout the make, your instructor should be on hand to answer all your queries.
- Take pictures. Have a great time and let me know how you get on if you give it a go!