New Semester, New Theme

Second day of Jewelry and I learned how to weave a chain today.  It seems a lot less complicated than when I researched how to do this in a book a few months ago. Phew!

Last semester, my theme was rodents.  It was really fun and I came up with so many good ideas, but I think I'm going to go out of my comfort zone this semester.  I'm moving away from mammals and moving into unchartered reptile territory.  This should be fun.  I've been researching images  of several different species of reptiles and the texture alone will bring great inspiration for pieces.  I learned how to do marriage of metals last semester and I would love to get better at it.  I think designs incorporating this technique will come easy.

What the flux?

Here she is, on the one and only Tina Vu:

The chain has a silver granule on each end, keeping it from slipping out of the pendant.  These granules also aid in adjusting the length of the piece, which can be worn tight, like a choker or loosely.

Best lesson of the semester: Don't forget to quench your metal.  A nasty burn in the palm of your hand makes work slow. :)



Its the CLAW

This is my initial idea for the pattern/texture project.  My inspiration was from a squirrel paw.  I'm always curious about those little critters! But, ya gotta be careful not to make your work too cute.  I guess I'm pretty good at abstracting these things!

The chain will come up through the long tube at the bottom come up out of a tube at the top of the piece, go around the neck and back down through the bottom tube. I still need to figure out my catch for the chain, it's adjustable at the bottom, so I want it to flow with my design. 

This is my marriage of metals!Textured copper and silver, so fun.

Last Day of Class!!!

Right now, I am making a pendant, it will be adjustable from the front and the chain will hang down pretty far.  I'll post some pics of my progress soon.
I married copper and silver together, then textured the copper area.  It was much easier to do than I thought!
After that, I used the hydrolic dye form and domed out my largest form, silver on the sides and copper down the middle.  The piece has a nice taper to it, strong triangle shape. Almost done! Yay!!!

I make stuff, now I sell it.

I'm getting ready to sell my artwork for the first time ever!  Most, if not all of my stuff is going to be ceramics, but there will be plenty of cool local vendors to check out and buy from including Buff State Alum!

Pattern & Texture

Gathering up images for the pattern and texture project coming up.  I'm pretty interested in using the paws of the animals I've been referencing this semester.
Here it goes:

STAMPEDE!

I finished my mice production earrings yesterday night and made my display for them tonight.  This one was a bit touch and go for me, which I wasn't expecting, but overall, I am satisfied with the results.

Once I sanded them down and got some patina on the pieces, I was much happier.
I used liver of sulfur to make them completely black, then buffed them with triple E and rouge.
The silver granules are highly polished as well as the smooth copper areas.  The textured areas (tails) are highlighted.

Bring on the next project!