Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry by Tammy Powley

From the Picture Yourself series of books come one about jewelry making entitled Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry by Tammy Powley. Published in May of 2008 by Course Technology, this book is 260 pages, written in English and includes a CDROM with two techniques explained.

This trade publication (paper back) is organized into eight chapters and an appendix. Chapter 1: About Metal Clay; Chapter 2: Tools and Supplies for Metal Clay; Chapter 3: Metal Clay Firing Equipment and Techniques; Chapter 4: Setting up Your Clay Work Area; Chapter 5: Basic Metal Clay Tips and Techniques; Chapter 6: Basic Jewelry Techniques and Findings; Chapter 7: Metal Clay Jewelry Projects; Chapter 8: Metal Clay Gallery.

Powley writes in a manner that is an easy read. The text includes a lot of explanations supported by multiple detailed color photographs. This text works well as a resource, which can be read in sections as needed and out of order without feeling lost or confused. The gallery section includes work from a variety of noted artists and covers a nice range of creations. There are nineteen artists included in the gallery section with many of them having multiple project inclusions. We are introduced to the artist, and each work is described in paragraph form giving the reader more information than many gallery type publications.

One of the most interesting sections of the book is the look into a variety of artist's work areas. It is interesting to see how one can create in a lavish setting as well as a minimal space. Powley discusses the basic needs for the craft, which would greatly assist a newcomer to the craft. She goes into detail how to set up a safe working environment, supports it with photos of work spaces as well as showing us her work environment in the included DVD.

The resource section of the book includes a variety of supply sources located in the US as well as International locations. Each listing includes a phone number a URL as well as a brief description of the supplies they carry. The only addition I would suggest would be the inclusion of an address if they had a bricks and mortar location. You will also find additional resources on the web in the form of blogs, groups and societies and these are listed in the book as well.

The included DVD has two bonus projects that are not covered in the text. Powley takes the viewer step by step through two projects giving many tips and suggestions along the way. Working at her kitchen table, she shares with the viewers the minimal needs for her craft from concept to completion. After watching, I desired to view more projects so this format of presentation on DVD was a good supplement to the text and could be integrated further.

While this book is generally written for the beginner, there is enough additional content in the form of resources, gallery and descriptions that those artist's experienced in the medium will find enough to be excited about in this text. I find myself suggesting this work to many people interested in getting involved in Metal Clay work.