Adventures in Metalsmithing — Insomnia Talisman

At last, the final installment of the adventures of my weekend metalsmithing class!

This project was actually the second piece I made, but I saved it for last because it was the most complicated, and the one of which I’m the most proud. This is also a piece that I’ll never sell.

I sketched out a design ahead of time — a shield with a stone bezel set in the center.

For a stone I ended up with a round piece of blue dichroic glass, about the size of a dime, but tall, and I decided that the blue would look best with all silver, so scrapped the copper/silver idea.

I was a bit afraid of the saw, so instead of sawing the shield out of 20 gauge silver sheet, I cut it out with shears. That meant a lot of heavy-duty filing. And we weren’t using any power tools whatsoever in this class. Hand drills, hand files, (and of course no pickle) — all elbow grease.

(I think next time, I’ll use the saw.)

Next, I made the bezel. In my summer class, I worked way too quickly and subsequently didn’t do such a good job. This time, I took my time, took deep breaths, and got that bezel just right. Once the bezel was done, though, I realized, the glass bead was a good 3mm taller than the bezel wire. “What do I do?” I asked the teacher.

She thought that if the bezel fit tightly enough after soldering, and I pushed the bezel wire in enough, it might hold. That didn’t work. So we looked at the piece, looked at each other silently, and she said, “You know. You could put a dab of glue in the bottom.”

Thank heavens she wasn’t against glue like some metal teachers!!!! Besides, this was my piece, not something for MOMA, so who cares. ‘Tis mine. Glue it is.

While soldering the bezel to the shield, a cool thing happened — the solder “bloomed” in a beautiful pattern all the way around, just like a sun’s corona. I marveled at how that happened, and decided that was a sign that it had to become part of the design. So I took a repousse tool and deeply scratched the surface of the metal to create sun rays around the dichroic glass.

Next, I wanted to stamp the word “DREAM” under the glass, but heaven forbid if I screwed that up after all the work I did soldering and filing. I practicing on copper first, but when I tapped the stamps on my pendant, I hit them HARD — all except the E. So I got little half circles above the letters. Oh well, I thought, we’ll call those clouds.

And then I got brave.

I had some empty space at the bottom of the shield that just NEEDED something. And it needed negative space — it needed me to cut something out. That meant using a saw. So I drew a tiny heart, drilled a hole in the center, threaded the saw blade through, bit my lip, and began to saw.

And I’ll be dipped, but it worked. I didn’t even break a saw blade.

Here you have it….

My Insomnia Talisman. Blue sky, suns rays (to help me wake up), “DREAM”, to help me get to sleep, a heart for Heart’s Ease and Relaxation, and those clouds over “DREAM” because who doesn’t like to look up at the clouds?

Finishing the pendant was a challenge. I should have drilled the holes on the sides, per my sketch, but forgot in my excitement. I tangled wire up on a 16 gauge branch, thinking for some reason about bird’s nests, and finally, it’s done.

Not in the least bit perfect. But I am so incredibly proud of myself for doing something that is completely against the grain of my comfort zone, working with metal in this way, making something rustic when I normally like whimsical, and taking the time to work without power tools so I can feel what I was doing.

No idea where this will lead. But I’m glad I took the road.

Lori Anderson designs and blogs from her studio in Easton, MD. You can buy her work at her website, Etsy, and craft shows, and read more about her at her blog.

Assembly Part 2 - Just Do It!

The comments and a couple private emails on my first entry about my assembly style made me realize how intimidating some people find the process of design and assembly. This is a shame because the comments/emails were all sent by people I know for a fact are tremendously creative. Therefore, part 2 is going to be a bit of a pep talk along with a few ‘rules’ I have come up with along the way.

1 - Don’t be afraid, beads don’t bite.

You can do pretty much anything you want with beads. You may be the only person who likes it but as long as you are happy who cares what anyone else thinks of it? Jewelry is so subjective that no one can ever tell what will or will not sell.

2 - Stringing or other Assembly techniques are not permanent.

If you make a piece of jewelry and don’t like it, redo it. Stringing a bead is not a permanent commitment. Nothing says that you cannot take your piece apart and redo it if you don’t like it. The necklace in this picture was taken apart about 10 times before I came up with a design I liked.

3 - Symmetry, Take it or Leave it.

Symmetrical or pattern based pieces can be quite lovely, but don’t be caught up in the trap that says all pieces must be symmetrical. As long as a piece you are working on is properly weighted so that it hangs properly the rules of symmetry can be tossed out the window. Try using a pretty clasp as a focal point, group a few focal beads together in one section but don’t have an identical cluster on the other side. Here is a picture of a necklace I made where I decided the clasp shouldn’t stay in back.

In this picture you can see the cluster of lampwork with no corresponding cluster on the other side.

4 - Experiment with different sized beads and uses for the beads.

Just because your focal bead or the bead set you are using in your piece is a certain size don’t be afraid to use other beads that are wildly different in size from your focal pieces. Seed Beads can be great with lampwork despite the vast difference in size.

5 - Experiment with wild colors.

Just because your focal bead is one color doesn’t mean the accent beads have to be shades of that color. The necklace I posted in the first Assembly entry had a teal focal, and yes, some of the seed beads were teal, but I also had cobalt, light blue, and emerald green in the necklace. The colors didn’t match, but they did coordinate into a harmonious whole. If you missed that post you can see it here, complete with the picture of the necklace.

6 - Experiment with fibers.

This is one I haven’t used yet but I plan to. There are so many cute eyelash yarns, silk ribbons, and other fibers available now there is no reason not to add them to your work. These fibers will add not only an interesting visual component but a textural one as well.

And last but not least, the most important rule of all.

7 - THERE ARE NO RULES!!!

What I just typed is what works for ME. If you find that you wildly disagree with one of my rules, or it just doesn’t work for you then toss it out the window. Not only is jewelry making subjective for the buyer but it is also subjective for the maker. If you take nothing else from this post I want you to take away one thing. Just Do It! As long as when you complete the piece it doesn’t fall apart and you are happy about it then you have done it right. There is really no wrong way to create jewelry.

Now get up from your computer and go make something. Don’t forget to let me see what you have done.

Heather blogs from her studio in Wisconsin. If you would like to see more of her work check out her site at www.squareonebeads.com.

Tis the season to create a blushing pink lampwork bracelet!

It isn’t often that I have the pleasure of sitting down to create pieces of jewelry. This time of year is an exception to the normalcy of my routine, as I get to enjoy more than my share of creating gifts for family and friends. It’s a true pleasure because I explore the personalities of each individual as I try and design something special just for them. It comes with struggle however, as I tend to think of jewelry as being an extremely personal thing.Recently, I filled a custom order for a lovely set of pink and gray beads. I really loved how they turned out and my first thought as I strung them, was “Ah!! My mom would LOVE these!!” I made another large set for her to be used in a bracelet, necklace and earrings. Her style tends to be somewhat simple. Making things with her in mind leaves me with a craving to create something a bit more complex and detailed. Luckily, I had several of the lampwork beads that I used in her jewelry set left over. In fact, it was just enough for an additional bracelet.

As I sifted through one of my many coveted boxes of gemstones, I came across some pink Peruvian opal rondelles that I picked up at show last year. Their blushing color seemed to be a perfect accent to the pink and gray lampwork beads. Still, I thought, “Yes, there IS such a thing as TOO much Pink!” This idea paved way for a seeking mission that kept me digging through ten boxes of semi precious gemstones, only to find the beautifully faceted, steel blue-gray labradorite that I had purchased just one week ago.

With components chosen and scattered about my workspace, I began to think about what I really wanted the bracelet to look like. I knew that I wanted to do a double strand design, but at the same time, I wanted the design to also have a sort of flowing movement. Normally I can only achieve this idea in a piece that has a great deal of wire wrapping. Since I was bored of that idea, I chose to try and creatively string the design that I saw in my mind’s eye. I must admit that I am very pleased with this piece. Were I a wearer of the pinks, I’d have likely kept this one for myself.

Lydia Muell is a glass bead maker who blogs in her studio from Lexington, NC. For more information please visit here website at ashtonjewels.com

Introduction: Lori Anderson

Hi, I’m Lori Anderson, and I’m new to Watch Me Create. I’m currently a jewelry artist, and I use handmade beads, gemstones, wire, and whatever is sparkly and pretty — but in an effort to differentiate, I’ve made a vow for 2008 to Try New Things.

I love eclectic things and have recently embraced quirky, kitschy things. Lately, I’ve been collecting vintage ephemera, making charms out of non-traditional supplies. Here are a couple I’ve done:

These are made with plastic tubing that I bought at the hardware store. I glittered the edges of the tubing, and then inserted rolled up paper from ads out of a 1952 National Geographic magazine. I capped the ends with Swarovski crystal, and added a vintage lucite butterfly dangle.

Next up are altered Scrabble tiles:

These were first painted multiple times. On one side, I glued Asian-print paper. On the other, I glued torn out bits from one of my Korean dictionaries. I sealed all that, and then glittered the edges.

A lesson learned from this experiment — don’t use the drill on the kitchen table. Nuff said.

Lori Anderson is a jewelry artist that blogs from her studio in Easton, MD.

Assembly, the other half of jewelry making

Most of the articles here have been on the creative process of working with the glass to create beads, sculpture, tiles, etc… Very little has been said about the creative process of making jewelry though, and for many of us who work with glass the glass we create is not where the process ends. For me, only about half of the glass beads I make are sold as beads, the rest I turn into finished jewelry and sell it that way.

When I write out my work plan for the day I designate on my plan what will go to auction and what will go for jewelry. Sometimes however, I like something so much I will make two similar sets, one for jewelry and one for auction. If I REALLY like something I make three sets, one for jewelry to sell, one for auction, and one for a piece of jewelry for me. After all, if I’m not going to wear my jewelry, why should I expect anyone else to?

After I’ve made a bead or bead set for jewelry I then compare it to the image I had of the finished jewelry in my minds eye and make any adjustments that may need to be made. Sometimes the adjustments take a while so the bead(s) will sit on my desk until I have decided on the final product.

Lately I have been on a seed bead kick. I really love how slinky and slippery a hank of seed beads feels when I run my fingers through it so the last time I was at a bead store I bought 5 or 6 hanks of seed beads just to have and fondle until the prefect lampwork beads came along. I thought the beads were pretty just on their own so I wanted a piece where they were allowed to shine. Here is one of the necklaces, mostly seed beads except for a single open lampwork heart connecting the two sides of the necklace.

I think it turned out great, don’t you?

Heather blogs from her home workshop in Wisconsin. If you are interested in the necklace featured here you can see it at her Etsy shop. Other pieces of hers as well as links to her current auctions can be seen on her site Square One Beads.