Making Photopolymer Plates for Art Clay Silver

This one day course teaches the techniques needed to create textures and moulds using UV-sensitive photopolymer plates. This is the perfect technique for making jewellery using handprints, footprints and pawprints.

The Photopolymer Plates (PPP) course is aimed at those who wish to make their own moulds and textures using their own black-and-white artwork, including handprints, footprints and pawprints.

Students are taught about photopolymer plates and how they are used in the context of silver metal clay, including how to prepare artwork and make a test strip.

After they have made a mould or texture the students use it to make a piece from silver metal clay. Students learn from where the silver is sourced and about how silver clay is made. The different forms are described together with their uses, with many examples being available for students to view. Students are taught how to handle the clay, how to store it, how to reconstitute and recycle it and how to conserve as much of the material as possible.

Students are encourage to use syringe clay, fire-in-place gemstones and carving to embellish their piece. Pre-finishing techniques and their importance are demonstrated before students make and prepare their own pieces for firing.

Students are taught how to fire their piece using a gas hob. After firing their piece students learn how to finish and polish their pieces, in particular how to achieve a bright finish with a burnisher.

The cost of the course includes Art Clay Silver, sample artwork and photopolymer plate together with the use of all tools needed. A comprehensive, bound set of course notes are given to each student for them to keep.