Art Clay Silver Frequently Asked Questions

1. What exactly is Art Clay Silver?
2. What is the difference between Sterling Silver and Pure Silver?
3. Why is Art Clay Silver Better than the competitors?
4. How is Art Clay Made?
5. What are the basic guidelines in working with Art Clay?
6. How do you fire Art Clay Silver?
7. How do I become an Instructor?

1. What exactly is Art Clay Silver?

Art Clay silver consists of only 3 main elements. Pure silver powder, non-toxic binders and water. When you dry your Art Clay Silver you are removing the water, what is left is the silver powder and organic binders. When you fire the Art Clay Silver you are burning away the binder and you are left with .999 pure silver. Before you fire the silver clay you can roll it, sand, stamp, file, carve or pre drill or pre polish it. After it is fired it is pure silver metal. You can treat it the same as any other pure silver

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2. What is the difference between Sterling Silver and Pure Silver?

Sterling silver has 92.5% silver and 7.5% of one or more other metals. People often think that copper makes up the 7.5%, when in reality it can be titanium, platinum, palladium and other metals. When you add another metal to silver this creates an alloy. Sterling Silver is stronger than pure silver. Pure Silver is 99.9% silver and nothing else. We are not used to Pure Silver in the retail sector as most of the jewelry we purchase is Sterling Silver. Most of the Pure silver pieces are custom made.

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3. Why is Art Clay Silver Better than the competitors?

Art Clay Silver has a shrinkage rate of only 8-10%. You gain consistent results with Art Clay Silver. We offer a wide range of silver and gold products to cover all of your metal clay needs.

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4. How is Art Clay Made?

Aida Chemical industries in Japan is the parent company of Art Clay Silver. The are a green company, reclaiming most of the silver from film stock and film negatives.

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5. What are the basic guidelines in working with Art Clay?

We use the 10-80-10 rule with our Art Clay Silver. 10% of your time should be spent when the clay is still malleable for example when rolling out or designing your piece. 80% of your time should be spent on the clay during the dry phase, sanding, carving, filing, and engraving. The other 10% of your time should be spent finishing your piece. Tumbling or patina or polishing your piece.

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6. How do you fire Art Clay Silver?

Art Clay Silver can be fired using a butane torch, gas stove or kiln. Check out our general instructions for more in depth information and steps of torch firing your silver. Your pieces must be no larger than 24 grams and no bigger than a half dollar when using the butane torch to fire. You must keep the heat source consistent on your silver piece.

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7. How do I become an Instructor?

You have to complete the Level One Certification course. The course covers 9 different projects covering a variety of techniques.

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