Here are two origami cranes I made recently.  The one on the left is, of course, paper.  The one on the right is now 99.9% fine silver.  I used a silver precious metal clay sheet and folded it just like a slightly thicker piece of paper.  I’m actually pretty happy with my first attempt at this.  I chose this crane because it was the first origami form I taught myself how to fold.

What is frustrating about it was the size of the sheet, about 2.5 inches square.  While I have made numerous very small and even tiny cranes and other forms in the past, doing it with such a thick (and expensive!) sheet was a little difficult.  I cannot see myself doing very intricate pieces with this unless I could use a larger sheet.

I’m still very excited about this and cannot wait to get more!

This is just a quick shot, and not very good, but it shows the colors ok.  The yellowy one with the brown mottling was the one that broke.  The green one in the center is the best.  All are grainy, but the rough edges are how they looked before firing, so that was me.  Not wild about the colors, and I don’t know what they mean, if indeed they were not fired enough.  After the yellow one broke I tried breaking the others too and they all are ok.  The firing process took 5 hours.  Programming the kiln was a little wild, but I got it figured out with Gary’s help.  The nice thing is it will save my settings, so when I try this again I only have to tweak them a little bit.

Overall, not bad, and a learning experience!

Soon, I promise soon I will be up and running!

The first is something I have really wanted for a long time, a nice macro lens for my Canon Rebel Xsi.  It’s pretty slick!  I’m finding it a bit frustrating using it on things that move, but I’m still learning it.

I also got a nice sturdy tripod.  I’ve had one for years but it was too short and wobbled every time the camera took a photo.  My new one, a Slik Pro doesn’t budge!

Also in neat photography toys: Photomatix software!  I can now make HDR or High Dynamic Range photos!  See them here.

And last but not least I got a Paragon Firefly Kiln!  I will be able to fire ceramics, glass, and precious metal clay!  Just as soon as I figure out where to put it…. and do some experimenting with it!

Look for cool new creations in the near (hopefully) future!!