Glossary

At Least – means that you must include the number of materials stated but are welcome to include more.

Co-fired – decorative elements (like glass or ceramic pieces) or different metal clay types have been combined with or added to a ‘raw’ metal clay design and sintered in a single firing.

Comfort fit – refers to the rounding of the inside edges of a ring band, which makes it more comfortable as it slides down the finger.

Commercial – means that the tool or texture sheet, tile, stamp, etc. was mass manufactured.

Direct to Clay – textures are those that have been created in or on the clay itself. Most often starting with a previously shaped and dried clay form, examples would be carving, water etching, slip printing, viscosity painting, etc.

Finish – refers to the degree to which the piece has been polished. (i.e.: Brushed, satin, or mirror finish) and the choice to use patina or not.

Found Object – this refers to any object not traditionally used for jewelry making. It can be something old or new, something that you found in the street or something that you buy in a store.

Gild or Gilt – is a thin application of gold or silver on the surface of a different metal type.

Original, Handmade, Self-Made, Non-Commercial, Custom, and Unique – mean that the participant made the item and that it was not purchased from a vendor or manufacturer.

Milled Metal – is metal that has been fed into a machine to create wire or sheet metal. It can be hand-made or commercially manufactured.

Mirror Finish – is not the same as ‘high shine’. A mirror finish is one that is applied to a smooth, untextured surface which has been polished to such a degree that it is highly reflective and mirror like. There are no scars, scratches, divots, or other blemishes.

Paintable gold – a collective way to refer to AGS, 24K Gold Painting Powder, or slip made from adding water to lump gold clay.

Re-useable textures – are texture tiles, stamps, sheets, rollers, etc. that can be utilized repeatedly to recreate the same texture. Examples are scratch foam, photopolymer plates (PPP’s), molds, tearaway, die cut stencils, etched sheet metal, etc.

Slip Printing – A method of creating a raised texture by spreading thick slip/paste through a stencil.

Surface treatment – is the ‘topography’ of greenware or sintered metal. i.e.: a textured or smooth surface, patina or lack of patina.

Viscosity painting – is a method of ‘drawing’ with slip thinned to a specific consistency that allows it to flow smoothly and build up solid layers.

Wearable Object refers to any item that can be worn on the body such as a barrette, belt buckle, earrings, pendant with chain, etc.