New, Unbiased Metal Clay Certification Program

Published: September 23, 2008

For metal clay artisans, getting certified as an expert in their field just got less confusing. The Metal Clay Masters Registry is a new program that awards certification without being affiliated with any product, discounts, or classes.

Although the PMC Guild teamed up with Mitsubishi Materials to get the program up and running, according to the Metal Clay Masters Registry Web site, the program is intended to be "an independent, brand-neutral enterprise" that will eventually support itself through registration fees. The program is reportedly looking for support from others in the metal clay field.

Artisans can earn certification at five levels. For each level of certification, registrants must select and complete 10 projects from a pool of 50. The 50 projects are separated into five categories: construction, color, materials, metal clay & other metals, and miscellaneous. Registrants must meet a set of criteria for each project, while creating a piece of their own original design. Here's an excerpt from a project description: "Make a hollow bead from two cones, ornamented with a non-commercial texture (i.e. no ready-made texture sheets)."

A level I certification requires the completion of any two projects from each of the five categories. Levels II, III, and IV require 10 new projects each, with at least one from each category. Level V requires the remaining 10 projects, plus a significant
original work.

A professional team will evaluate the submissions. Each project will be worth a total of 10 points, and each of the criteria in the project description will be assigned a point value. For example, "design" might be worth five points in one project, but only two points in another. The members of the evaluation team, along with their credentials, will be made public when the team roster is finalized.

The program's setup has some perks: there is no deadline for completing the projects, and registrants may resubmit pieces as many times as necessary to achieve certification. Also, all pieces are professionally photographed when they're submitted, and registrants will receive a disk of the images, which they can use for promotional materials. To find out more about the program, go to www.mastersregistry.com. --Kristin Sutter