Free Project – Bulls Eye Earrings Without Caning

These bulls eye earrings are made without using a jellyroll or an extruder, but with a technique called “onlay,” which I am currently working on with my first group of accredited teachers for Hadar’s Clay.

Materials: Quick-fire copper, quick-fire bronze, and Low-shrinkage Steel XT.

Special tools: you will need a few square cutter tubes in different sizes. Any other shape will do as well.

1. Roll a large layer of copper clay, 8 cards thick.

Step 1

2. Roll a layer of bronze, 2 cards thick.

Step 2

3. With the biggest square cutter, cut two squares off of the bronze layer.

Step 3

4. Lay the squares on top of the copper layer, at a significant distance from each other (you are making both earrings at the same time).

Step 4

5. Using a glass or clear plastic board, press on both squares until they are flush with the copper layer.

Step 5

6. Remove the board. You can smooth the surface gently with your fingers.

Step 6

7. Cut two smaller squares from a 2-card layer of steel. Place them on top of the bronze squares.

Step 7

8. Repeat step 5 with the board.

Step 8

9. Repeat step 7 and 8 with smaller copper squares.

Step 9

10. And again, with smaller bronze squares.

Step 10

11. And last, with smaller steel squares.

Step 11

12. Cut the copper backing layer into equal squares.

Step 12

13. Insert a bronze embeddable at the top of each earring.

Step 13

14. Dry, then sand lightly, since the onlays are very thin now. Fire at mid-fire schedule.
15. finish the earring following the instructions in the document entitled “Finishing Fired Metal Clay,” available on the right-hand pane of my blog.

Onlay Bulls Eye

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