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Combining With Other Materials

Whole books can be written about the wealth of opportunities that exist to combine silver or gold PMC with glass, polymer, paper, leather, fabric, shells, found objects, enamels, wood ...well, you get the idea.

Polymer Clay

Make a PMC object and fire it as usual. Sand, burnish and complete any soldering, then press polymer clay elements into it. If possible, provide handles of silver to grip the polymer. Cure the polymer at its recommended temperature (see package; manufacturers differ). This will cause no harm to the fired PMC. In some cases it is recommended to glue the polymer to the PMC.

Glass

PMC can be used with glass in many creative ways. There are many formulations of glass with a wide range of melting points. Experimentation is recommended. Completed PMC objects can be inserted into lampworked or blown glass, and glass can be slumped over it. Silver has a tendency to create a green tint in some glass. To reduce stresses, all glass should be cooled slowly in a process called annealing.

Enamels

PMC is made for enamelling! Create a silver object with recesses, fire and finish as usual. Wash enamel powders and pack them into the recesses. Dry and heat (torch or kiln) until the powders melt and fuse. Repeat as needed to fill the cavity.

It is also possible to mix enamel powders into PMC to create a metal/glass hybrid. Knead together equal parts of each material, model a form and fire for a slightly shorter time than usual.

Found Objects

PMC can be used with brass, steel and nickel silver elements, though because of heavy oxidation the PMC will not fuse to base metals. Plan ahead to create a mechanical connection like a hook, prong, rivet or undercut to secure the pieces together.

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