For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on wirework rings — a bit challenging, given the number of wires one has to control, all at once, but with a pretty nice result (I think.) I made a few practice rings in copper wire, before attempting more costly metal. The below ring (a special present) is pink and yellow gold-filled wire, with a dreamy peach-colored moonstone I found in Tucson.
Interested in a ring of your own? I take commissions!
I meant to do a whole post on the Design class I took at Revere Academy last month, and lookie here, it’s a month later. Oops. To sum up, I had a great weekend in San Francisco, learned a lot, loved the school, and I can’t wait to take another class there, once they reopen at their new location (conveniently, across the street from their old location!)
I did a lot of drawing in two days, much more than I’m accustomed to, and it felt good to put ink to paper, in quantity, without caring (much) about the result (which was the point, to get ideas out without too much inner-critique.) I learned a bit about jewelry rendering — how to shade, how to make metal look like metal, etc. There’s two classes that go far more in-depth into rendering, both with dry and wet media. We made “jewelry” out of foil, designed things based on patterns in nature, and learned about generating original ideas, and documenting the idea development process. Useful stuff!
What else? I’ve been working with wire lately, studying two instructional DVDs from Wire-Sculpture.com. So far I’ve made an all-wire bracelet (like a cuff, but with a clasp), and a wire-work cabochon ring. My one picture of those is pretty lousy; I’ll take another one soon.
I just finished box #22 in Gemstone ID; I have 14 more boxes to go (280 stones), which means I’m almost halfway through the 500 stones I will examine throughout the course. There’s a lot left, but at the same time, I’ve seen a lot already! (Over 200!)
Unrelated (yet sortof related), I retired from my spaceflight blog this week, and in a way, Many Faceted has become my personal blog. I’m documenting my various gem/jewelry pursuits and adventures, and it’s fun to share! (I’ll be launching another jewelry blog soon, more research and article-oriented.)
Thanks for reading, and for anyone who came over from Silver Rockets, hello and welcome!
PS: When did this site get so pink? Can you tell I haven’t looked at it in a bit? LOL
Well, it’s official: I’ve sold my first jewelry pieces!
On July 2nd and 3rd, I had a booth at the Mt. Shasta 4th of July street fair (the Mt. Shasta Boulevard booths come down prior to the 4th, to clear the way for the fun run/walk, and the parade.) Although I have experience working and cashiering for someone else, this was the first sales booth I ran myself, with my own goods featured. It’s a lot of work! (Captain Obvious, at your service.)
It took a while to set up, mostly because I had a lot of things to display and arrange. I could swear my inventory grew overnight; I don’t recall there being as many when I put the tags on! (The pictures you see are from the first day; I didn’t have time to take any the second day.) I got a lot of compliments on the colors and decorations at my booth, and some great feedback on my jewelry.
That said, because the 4th fell mid-week, attendance was low, and I made only a few sales. (My little sister would like everyone to know that she made one of those sales, while I made a lunch run.) However, I now have a lot of inventory to try on consignment locally, and on my Etsy store, now open for business! (NOTE: Only some items pictured here will go on Etsy; if you see something you like, let me know and I’ll gladly put it aside for you!)
Fortunately, I earned enough from my sales to order more equipment for my gemology studies, and my posts will be swinging back in that direction for a while. Next up: a horribly belated account of my unexpected trip to San Francisco to hear a double lecture by one of the world’s great jewelry historians, Dr. Jack Ogden.
I’ve been so busy making jewelry, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d have time to post this! As mentioned last post, I will be selling my jewelry at the Mt. Shasta 4th of July street fair, July 2nd and 3rd, from 10 am to 7 pm. I’ll be on the Alma Street end of Mt. Shasta Boulevard — I’m the second-to-the-last booth. If you’re in the area, please stop by!
Without further ado, let me introduce you to my chandelier earrings….
I make the hammered frames from sterling silver or copper wire, and wire-wrap gemstones, Swarovski crystals and glass beads onto the chain and frame. They are oxidized, leaving the recesses dark, and the rest is polished to a bright shine. Each pair is a little different; each frame is hand-twisted and unique. If you see something you like, drop me an email or @ me on Twitter.
I also make strung gemstone and beaded jewelry — necklaces and bracelets — but I’ll save those photos for another post.
I’ve had a few folks ask if my Etsy store is up yet — the answer is yes (but there’s nothing in it.) That will change after the 4th of July, and you’re welcome to contact me with custom orders and requests. I will be back to jewelry-making by July 10th; depending on what you want, I may need to order materials.
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Over the weekend, I attempted some wirework projects from my newest book find, Wire Jewelry Masterclass by Abby Hook. I started out making a wrapped wire toggle clasp, as the wrapped circle is used in the lariat necklace seen at right. While not a project I planned to make first off, the different components required, and the amount of components required, seemed like good practice for my wire techniques in general. (Hello, rosary loops. I made a whole bunch of you. I now see why there’s special combination pliers, just for doing this sort of work.) I believe I spent 5-6 hours on this, in the end, spread over two evenings.
Having finished the necklace, I tried a ring project, which took me two tries — the first one is on the right, the second one is on the left. There’s something kinda fun about the first one, but the wirework on the second is far better. Practice makes perfect! One of the hardest things about this project was finding beads of the right dimensions, drilled large enough for two wires to pass through. I think, were I to make more of these, I would order beads in advance, as almost nothing I had on hand sufficed.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the results, especially the lariat necklace — if you’re unclear on how this piece is worn (I was, I admit), here’s some ideas and a video with more ideas (and Cajun music.)
The next jewelry how-to books on my horizon will probably be Weave, Wrap, Coil by Jodi Bombardier and Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers by Elizabeth Bone. The former has some projects I’d like to try; the latter has a lot of techniques (and is significantly less frightening, now that I been gone done it.)
