ancient

modern
polymer clay
+ wire jewelry

ronna sarvas weltman

lush sonata bracelet

desert abundance bracelet

nightfall in mozambique necklace

 Introduction

Designing Jewelry
Color Inspiration
The Mechanics of Necklaces, Bracelets, Earrings, Rings, and Pins

Working with Wire

Understanding Wire Gauge and Properties
Wire Tools

Wire Jewelry Techniques

Texturing Wire
Creating a Patina
zen earrings Designing Clasps
Coiling Wire

Working with Polymer Clay

Understanding Polymer Clay and Its Properties
Polymer Clay Tools

Polymer Clay Techniques

Curing Polymer Clay
Surface Effects and Texturing
Marbling
Beadmaking

the projects
Moondance Necklace
so much and more bracelet Serendipity’s Sister Necklace
Nightfall in Mozambique
Necklace
Aria’s Dream Necklace
Ancient Vessel Necklace
Lush Sonata Necklace
Whole World Necklace
Springtime Afternoon Bracelet
Desert Abundance Bracelet
So Much and More Bracelet
Mama’s Mambo Bracelet
Twice-told Story Ring
Embrace Me Ring
Zen Earrings
Dancing Ladies Earrings
Three-Ring Circus Brooch

Resources
Index

three-ring circus brooch ancient m o d e r n : polymer clay + wire jewelry 3

materials
Polymer clay in variety of
harmonious colors
Shoe polish
Acrylic paint
Wire
2 jump rings
2 crimp beads
Clasp
Beading wire

tools
Acrylic roller or pasta machine m a m a ’ s mambo bracelet
Tissue blade
Needle tool
Chain-nose pliers This bracelet is so joyous – the wavy spacers and the rich jewel
Flush cutter tones exude energy, and the colors blending into each other make

design notes : it feel as if it’s undulating. The watercolor focal bead adds to the
+ Y
 ou may want to string your discs sense of energy and motion.
onto elastic cord to make a stretch
bracelet. If so, then you’ll want to
make all your discs more or less
the same size.
+ Y
 ou can blend each of your colors
thoroughly, or you can make your
blends a little “rougher” and add
some more visual interest to your
piece that way. Striations in the
blends look great.
+ I f you use different colors, re-
member that different colors have
different saturation levels. A little
bit of black added to pearl will look
much more saturated than a little
bit of yellow. Therefore, you need
to alter how much you add to each
ball depending on the characteris-
tics of the colors you blend.

ancient m o d e r n : polymer clay + wire jewelry 5

gallery

embrace me ring

springtime afternoon bracelet twice-told story ring

aria’s dream necklace

pendant moondance necklace

ancient m o d e r n : polymer clay + wire jewelry 7

 make unforgettable jewelry
with polymer clay and wire
Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s work has been featured
in Wire Artist Jeweler, Art Jewelry, Bead Style,
Lapidary Journal/Jewelry Artist, and Step by Step
Wire Jewelry magazines. She regularly teaches
workshops in polymer clay and wireworking and
has appeared on That’s Clever! on HGTV. She
lives in Seattle.
Paperbound, 8½ × 9, 128 pages
300 photographs, 20 illustrations
ISBN 978-1-59668-097-5
$22.95
May 2009
Learn to create organic, sophisticated, and
distinctly contemporary jewelry by combining
polymer clay and wire with Ancient Modern. Use
a range of innovative techniques to design beads
and jewelry components from polymer clay, then
add wireworking elements, inspired clasps and
ear wires, wire bead caps, polymer clay tipped
head pins, and more for a signature look.
Ancient Modern includes:
• A
 wealth of techniques plus 20 step-by-step
projects for necklaces, bracelets, and pins in
Ronna’s distinctive style with detailed instruc-
tion and process photography.
• A
 n inspirational gallery showing the endless
possibilities for using the techniques through-
out the book.
• U
 nique polymer clay techniques not shown in
other books plus an exclusive design approach
for combining polymer clay and wire for one-
of-a-kind pieces.
Ancient Modern draws on Ronna’s fundamentals
of jewelry design, what makes a piece elegantly
“primitive,” and shows how to achieve her organic
effects, from color mixing to texture effects. Bead-
ers and jewelry makers will be making gallery-style
jewelry in no time!