Alchemy is a medieval belief that non-precious metals could be turned into gold. Although personal desire and chemical optimism did not create gold from something not-gold, the magic of the idea is still very powerful.

Suppose you want to make a silver heart for a necklace. You need silversmith's skills to cut, file, smooth, drill, and polish a piece of silver. It takes a long time, mistakes are expensive, and offcuts are hard to recycle.

Now suppose you want to make a modelling-clay heart. You need no special skills to shape, smooth, and dry a piece of clay. It doesn't take long, mistakes can be corrected, and offcuts can be kneaded back into a re-useable piece of clay.

Now make an Art Clay heart. Fire it in a kiln, on your kitchen gas hob, on a camping gaz ring, or with a butane torch, and it turns into a shining solid-silver heart. The alchemy magic is that it's real metal: it doesn't just look like metal.

Art Clay is easy to work with: you can shape it in minutes, dry it quickly with a hair drier, fire it on your kitchen gas hob, and polish it with toothpaste. You start with soft clay and end up with real solid 999 silver: ready to wear, give, or sell.

You can design and make your own unique necklaces, bracelets, earrings, charms, keepsakes, rings, brooches, anklets, ornaments, and seasonal decorations.

You can add silver clasps to clothes, overlays to gift cards, motifs to handbags, highlights to wood, ceramics, glass, and shells, and produce complex shapes, textures, and patterns from moulds.

You could also take a teacher-certification course, start your own business, resell all the clays, kilns, and tools, and run your own courses. If you're interested, mail or call.

Art Clay, sometimes called silver clay, gold clay, metal clay, or precious-metal clay, is made by Aida Chemical Industries in Japan: it's a composite clay-like material, made of fine silver or gold powder and a harmless organic binder.

As it's fired, in a kiln, on a kitchen gas hob, on a camping gaz ring, or with a butane torch, the binder vapourises and the metal powder sinters, leaving solid 999 silver or 22 carat gold: real metal, not something that just looks like metal. During firing, small amounts of non-toxic carbon dioxide and water vapour are released: so it's safe to use at home.

The firing temperature and time are important: metal clay has to sinter, not melt. There's a difference between sintering and melting. During sintering, metal powders bond to produce solid metal, but don't melt. During melting, metals become liquid and lose their original shape.

Art Clay is available as 650 silver clay, original silver, slow dry, slow tarnish, paste, oil paste, overlay paste, syringe clay, paper clay, gold clay, gold paste, gold foil, and cork clay.

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Art Clay Silver Pendant.

Art Clay water-based silver and gold clays look and feel like dull grey and dull yellow plasticene or polymer clay, and can be shaped easily using familiar modelling tools and similar techniques. The silver clay comes in regular, slow-dry, and slow-tarnish: the gold in regular.

The slow dry silver clay stays malleable for about four times longer than the regular clay: so it's ideal for beginners, or anyone making thin, delicate, or intricate shapes.

The slow tarnish silver clay is slower to tarnish. However, remember that all silver, not just Art Clay silver, tarnishes due to environmental oxidants and pollutants.

Silver clay, after firing, is solid silver, which can be hallmarked as pure 999 silver. Gold clay, after firing, is a solid gold and silver alloy, which can be hallmarked as 22 carat gold: 91.7% gold and 8.3% silver.

Silver clay can be combined with a wide range of materials, before firing: beads, copper, dichroic glass, pearls, porcelain, polymer clay, semiprecious gems, and fine silver findings.
Its easy-to-use flexibility makes it a versatile material, ideal for home hobbies, jewellery making, craft businesses, glass studios, ceramic cafes, metalsmiths, modelmakers, and potteries.

Art Clay water-based silver clay paste, oil-based silver paste, water-based silver overlay paste, and water-based gold paste, look and feel like dull grey and dull yellow double cream, and can be applied with modelling tools or a soft moist brush. The water-based silver paste comes in regular and slow-tarnish: the gold in regular.

The water-based silver paste has three main uses: to paint onto a mould; to add shape to existing unfired silver clay; or to stick two pieces of unfired silver clay together.

The oil paste has three main uses: to add shape to existing fired silver clay; to stick two pieces of fired silver clay together; or to repair a broken fired silver piece.

The overlay paste has one main use: to add silver highlights, texture, or decoration to fired silver clay, glazed ceramics, glass, or porcelain.

The water-based gold paste has four main uses: to paint onto a mould; to add shape to existing unfired gold clay; to add gold highlights, texture, or decoration to fired silver clay, glazed ceramics, glass, or porcelain; or to stick two pieces of unfired gold clay together.

Art Clay water-based silver clay in a syringe looks and feels like dull grey toothpaste, and can be squeezed out to make fine patterns. The silver clay comes in regular and slow tarnish.

It has three main uses: to create delicate patterns, either on unfired silver clay or on a cork clay mould; to add shape to existing unfired silver clay; or to stick two pieces of unfired silver clay together.

Art Clay silver clay as paper looks and feels like thick soft aluminium foil, and can be cut easily with a modelling knife or a shaped cutter.

It has two main uses: to create flat, folded, curved, or hollow shapes; or to add shape to existing unfired silver clay. Although it can be used for origami-like shapes, it's thicker than ordinary paper so can't be folded and refolded neatly.

Art Clay water-based cork clay is a composite material, made of fine cork particles and a harmless organic binder. It looks and feels like thick biscuit-mix, and can be shaped with modelling tools or a soft moist brush.

It has one main use: to create a mould on which to build a metal-clay shape, particularly for a delicate or hollow piece that needs support until it's fired. The cork burns away during firing.

These products are not in the on-line shop, so transfer to The Kitiki Studio, using the Kitiki link above the menu bar near the top of the page. Alternatively, visit the Cherry Heaven Shop in Corfe Castle village.

To learn more about working with metal clays, buying and using kilns and tools, or choosing a course, transfer to The Art Clay Club using the The Art Clay Club link above the menu bar near the top of the page.

The Art Clay Club is an information resource, not a shop, providing free on-line help, 24 7 52: you don't have to register, log on, or remember a password.

Cherry Heaven is an EU distributor for Paragon Kilns made in the US, Advance Kilns made in Canada, Efco Kilns made in Germany, Kitiki Mini-Kilns made in Turkey, and UltraLite Kilns made in the US.

Cherry Heaven is a UK distributor for Art Clay made by Aida Chemical Industries in Japan and BronzClay made in the US, and an EU distributor for AccentGold For Silver paint and Metal Clay Veneer, both made in the US.

The Kitiki Studio is an Art Clay UK distributor, an on-line shop, and a learning centre with three Aida-certified teachers. It provides the full Art Clay range: 650 silver clay, original silver, slow dry, slow tarnish, paste, oil paste, overlay paste, syringe clay, paper clay, gold clay, gold paste, gold foil, and cork clay.

The Kitiki Studio on-line shop includes electric kilns, kiln shelves, kiln paper, precision jewellery and craft tools, pliers and cutters, rotary tumblers, magnetic polishers, shot, grit, mini-drills, mandrels, triblets, UK ring guages, files, rollers and spacers, texture sheets, moulds, stones, findings, abrasives, glues, safety equipment, and other tools and accessories.

The Kitiki Studio provides a comprehensive Art Clay educational programme as classes, masterclasses, workshops, and Art Clay Level 1 and Level 2 teacher-certification courses, as well as classes for related products and techniques.

The Kitiki Studio, Electric Kilns, The Art Clay Club, Cherry Heaven, and SilverClay, provide the definitive UK on-line Art Clay knowledge-base and an unrivalled range of clays, kilns, tools, materials, and courses.

The Kitiki Studio is committed to the Art Clay world, so Art Clay is not just a secondary product within an existing polymer clay, glass, or craft business.