The Making of a Locket

First comes the design, I suppose. Actually, first might come the financing, the commission, and the many competing ideas on what to do. I'll start with the design that hasn't made the cut. And that's the rose lid. I made this out of silver sheet, and was thinking on making the final piece out of gold wire and gold sheet for the roses. Though, I could do silver sheet for the stems with gold roses. I dunno. Still mulling this over.

The reason i went ahead and made the mock up out of metal was, if I wanted to finish it off I'd sell it. (Try to at least!) Or I could stop with the lid and do what I think I'm going to do and mount it on the top of this black onyx.

*Yikes! Still needs to get cleaned up! Antiquing will soften some of those iffy lines, but shouldn't rely on it that much!*

My father wanted me to make my mother a locket, for Christmas. Uh, this past Christmas that is. I warned him it might take me a while, but would love to do it. Hence the rather conservative rose design. I'm also doing one with a tulip that I might post on flickr, or maybe not. I'm doing that mock up in paper mache. *lol.* Silver is expensive, and the tulip design is a bit less straight forward. *My mother likes flowers.*

On the Positive Side of Things...

The June challenge of the Metal thread group involved turning a "sow's ear into a silk purse." *Open for interpretation and all that.* It was a fun challenge. I like the attitude of looking for possibilities in discarded or odd items. I might try to do more of these. It suits my brain.

What I used was a steel ball (bearing?) I found in the street. I wrapped it with silver. The silver was going to get further cleaned up after I antiqued it. But I stopped with the piece still looking a bit abused, and unpolished.



More of the Chatty Metalsmiths challenge pieces can be viewed here.

And my hero of fun..

Ocean Creatures

In the 1990's, I had a job where occasionally I'd look out the window to the Boston harbor, and see the cormorants. They'd lift their wings to the air the sun to the environment around them. I may not have been alone in feeling a sadness in that picturesque view. Creatures like those birds have no choice but to exist in the polluted waters, the polluted air. They derive no benefit from all those massive chemicals washing downstream towards them. They must only survive, and spread their wings.

Even before the catastrophe that is now the Gulf of Mexico, (but was already a catastrophe in making as there was a 70 mile wide dead zone created by chemical runoff,) I thought of a very frought design* indicating my tension and sadness about the environment, specifically the Ocean. There is something so intimate about diving or swimming in an ocean to survive. I tried, but could not make any design so loaded with feeling work. I hope at sometime to be able to. I'll call those pieces "Killing the Ocean." The below piece, called "Small Hope" is the only thing I could get going on. It's more designy, and is less about hope than a letting go of total despair. It is the only thing I could do. Hence the name. Not that the design itself says "hope."

I won't be able to get this piece finished in time for the May challenge. The center tentacle area is to be cast in bronze, along with the circle beside it. The 2 side pieces will be in silver.



*This design is for the May challenge on the Metalsmith's thread. It was for an Ocean creature, highly polished. Not sure the tentacle piece will get highly polished, but maybe!

Spring Cleaning

Well, kinda Spring cleaning! Wiping the dust off the blog anyway. Thought I'd post an inspirational video clip, and a photo of a ring I finished last week.

hahahahahaha! Doesn't that look like fun?

The top part is something I carved that never really made it on its own. I just combined it with a band I'd fabricated.

Have a merry May everybody. ;)

Rose Rake Challenge

Here's some pics of my Rose Rake Challenge piece from the Chatty Metalsmiths thread on Etsy. It has a small cobaltian calcite druzy stone. Obviously it isn't set yet! Neither is the ring oxidized to bring out the forms. The 2 sides of the ring are competing forms, with the leaf-like side having holes and the rake side with straighter lines. The druzy sits in an odd shaped cup between the 2. I had thought to do the rake side with square wire, but it didn't turn out that way! Hope you at least get an idea of the piece. Druzy is impractical for rings, but I enjoyed playing with something different.


Here are some of the other responses to the Rose/Rake challenge.

Addendum: here's the finished ring as I posted to the challenge page earlier this week:

Biz Cards

Thank you very much, those of you who have visited. I am not apathetic about blogging, my blog or others'. I'd say more accurately I'm de-energized on life, at the moment. I'm finishing one job, beginning another, and have a mountain of projects I MUST DO NOW TO STAY SANE in my workroom. I also am in desperate need of business cards. I think I knocked off at least the card goal tonight. I've gotten rather tired of apologizing as I hand out my business card. "My card might look kind of silly, but check out my work..." I've ended up with a card that may not be less silly, but. Well. At least it's drawn and painted silliness. And that is the most serious kind. ;)

The card is reference to the avatar I use for my blog. And is from a previously posted drawing of mine. A troll, under a bridge, holding a flower and making the peace sign. (The colors are more vivid than this pic.)

One small project I finished is my Itty Bitty Cool Tree earrings. What I did was cut out the center of the Cool Tree Ring I'd carved, and made it into earrings.

Cliff Notes

*Note the cliff note. Hahahahaha!*

This is what I most strongly saw in a piece of jade bought from BeadersBoutique. I may revise. The stone is a pretty translucent new jade stone. It might do better with form, than relief. But I love the idea of Icarus staring at the ocean before he takes off. Somehow I identify with it. ;)

edit: I think I'll stick with a simple torso for my first carving! lol. I decided the above scene might be just a *tad* complex.

Muttering Meditations, Pendantic

There is a difference between self expression and self obsession, and it is not even esoteric in definition. I looked at a clip of the below artist, and though the clip was about 2 minutes and 40 seconds, I got bored. I thought about the ballet dancers in the clip and that my lack of appreciation had to do with this demanding art form used in such a trivial fashion... but it bored me. I thought about self obsession being a part of the end result of capitalist society... how being advertised to and receiving information through the reductive quality of advertisement would lend itself to such cultural self obsession... but it's boring. Sometimes I think intense naval gazing blinds a whole culture to the huge abyss between self expression and self obsession. And the inescapable fact that, self obsession is mind numbingly dull. I'm sure this lady is a decent person, but I'm totally not interested.

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;)

And here's a pic of my lady of the wax, slowly emerging.

The Stone Roots Pendant

Well I'm sending this to my mother, regardless! And being a mother, she'll be delighted. They always say, know your target audience. lol. With some audiences the bullseye is bigger than the target... the delivery being what matters. What's great is I can sit there and tell my mother everything that's wrong with this and it will add to the charm. The next "Stone Roots" pendant will be improved, but probably less appreciated.

Time

This is my first figurative thing in a while. It will be a pendant with a stone, but the overall shape will probably change. This is a couple of pictures of the first hours of the piece. The second pic might have about 5 hours in it already. And this is the last estimate of time spent you'll see on this! Which, is one reason my work is molded and cast. The amount of time it take me to produce stuff cannot be recouped in one offs. I still hope to do a series of one off figurative pieces. But. We'll see. I don't have plans to mold this one, yet. I don't have plans for it period. My figurative fingers are still in the reforming stage.


One reason I appreciate figurative work, and well made work in general, is time. Time becomes a visual element. Its not that every piece has to take many hours to make, but the time to develop the craft is also present. That quality to me is deeply and recognizably human, whether the piece succeeds or fails.

Pondering Pendants

This is just a follow up post. Because this might be a model to be molded, it's not polished and antiqued. But I'm happy with it! Even though I managed to photograph it slightly crooked.... Like I'm unconsciously making up for the deliberate imbalance of the design.

With the model, I'm leaving the area around the stone blank. that's where I'll solder in a bezel or prongs to set the stone. I could add prongs before molding, but not a bezel. Oval cabochons vary too much in shape to do that. And I'm thinking this design calls for a bezel. There will be about 5% shrinkage which is why the area around the stone looks so big. Hopefully it works! If so, my mother will get one of these! I'm much happier with it than the triangular thingy.

Resolution

Its the New Year. I'm not into resolutions. Not really. Its like I look around and say I've been meaning to do that, and that, and oh yeah that. Same old same old, in other words. Like I don't know how many times "brush up on my Spanish" has made the list, though this year "organize" is there too. (I know hopeless, and "organize" on any list of mine pretty well defines that.) So this year "eat more chocolate" is there, and I bought some chocolate fudge brownie frozen yogurt to get the New Year off to a good start. *I would have put down "drink more beer" but I didn't want to get redundant.*

I have this theory, that if you pay attention to what you were into between the ages of 10 and 12, you can peg what kinda makes you click. So like, for me, since I spent those years squirreled away in a workroom, messing around with different materials like twigs and sawdust, varnish wood burning lead soldering slate and chalk and beans and peas and boxes and clay and a jigsaw and whatnot... getting a job in a public relations firm, for instance, might not meet with the happiest of conclusions. *I still have that jigsaw, by the way.* So same old same old resolutions are like a scrap book revisited. They may not take you any where new, but they can make you smile.

Another thing that sidesteps into view, is the definition of success. Which is problematic with me. Because, well, I've thought about living out of a step van and (again) as a kid drew cartoon pictures of bums. At the same time, I *adore* showers, clean clothes and sufficient heat. I like being able to buy the metal and stones and tools I want. Money abstractly is not attractive, but anyone that says it isn't important has enough heat in their dwelling. You can't diss money with blue lips.

So if I were to add a resolution targeting my definition of success? a resolution about making stuff? What would it be? Selling would be nice for sure for sure. But more than anything, I want to make great stuff. I want to sit in my work room and have fun. I want to continue to evolve.
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Here's a pic of the pendant I've been mulling over. I've finished carving it now, just needs casting. I'm still up in the air about whether to have it molded, or just make it a one-off. I think there's enough slack there for molding (you need to allow 5% shrinkage.) But. Haven't decided. It will be cast into sterling silver, and the stone is torquoise.

And here is a pic of Linda's very fun piece. *The picture doesn't do it justice at all! Plus, the wall isn't right for it. but I have cats that like dangly things. so. What can you do.* *and the flash x'd out the shadows.*

They're Here!

My newest pretties. I think its taken me so long to finish them up because, well, time has been at a premium. But I also just wanted to pet them for a while. The Lucky Bird pendant has a moissanite stone in its head, and a pink troumaline in the bail. The moissanite is way more expensive than a CZ would be, and I'm not sure anyone would notice. (Unless I was standing right there saying ain't it cute.) The moissanite does have better light qualities than a CZ. But the main reason I wouldn't set a CZ in something like this is, after going through all this effort why not use a nicer stone.

The Lucky Lips pendant, (not sure how lucky it would make anyone's lips!), has a mexican fire opal for an eyeball.


Sometime I'll collect all my writings on the penny pieces and post it under a link at the side. It has to do with finding coins in the street and the lottery. The luck of the jewelry, by the way, is for the pennies. They were lucky to be found and given a new life. Hopefully they'll spread the love.

(ugh. another bad pic!)

Work in Progress...

Here's a pendant I'm working on. My mother gave me that ugly green stone in the pic, and asked me to make a pendant for her out of it. *She doesn't know she's getting the pin yet.* *I think she thinks she's "helping" me.* *lol.*

I don't like the stone. I figured I'd use the stone as a size gauge, but set another stone that I liked more and tell her if she wants her ugly one put in she can take it to another jeweler. But. That was before I saw the price of cabachons that size. Yikes. So. She'll get a slightly smaller, but cuter stone. The wax isn't finished at all. Its just roughed out. I need to wait for the stone to finish it up. I think I might go for a one off... not mold and reproduce it. But I do think the basic shape works.

(The wax in the picture is carved, and will be lost wax casted for silver.)

Making Music with MY PIANO!

When picking up MY PIANO! from the salvation army thrift store today, I expressed *hopeful* optimism that the piano can be tuned somewhat. Or, at least enough for my tin ear. I'm not musical at all. I know this very well having grown up in a family with a musically inclined older brother, and parents that could differentiate between musically inclined and not. The instruments I tried as a kid were piano, guitar, banjo, french horn and bass violin. The bass violin is something I played in grade school. There are no pics of that wonderful juxtaposition, unfortunately. I wonder if I had my black horn rimmed glasses at the time. ;) *oh. I think I looked into harmonicas at one time too.*

*The moment of greatest impact of my french horn career was when I decided to exercise my eyes during band practice. This involved making big circles with my eyes and looking out the corner of one side and then the other. That the clarinet section, which I was visible to, had difficulty playing was due to my ernest pursuit of visual health.*

But I've always felt that I'd never be really grown up or living somewhere until I owned a piano. It's sort of the fine wine of life. You have to understand. I don't own a stereo and have never owned a stereo. I've gone many years without a microwave or telephone or computer. Stuff is not a big concern of mine *unless you're talking tools.* There's just something centering about pianos, like a wooly mammoth in the room. Also, like the salvation army guy admitted about himself, I just like being around pianos. I have no illusions of making beautiful music, I just enjoy thinking about it. Here's MY PIANO!

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And onto other matters. I must admit I've been starting my New England Patriots games watching at the easy neck bad beer bar. Which didn't make last week (against the Colts) any less painful. I ended up at the bad neck good beer bar... with an Austrailian asking me "what's the local team?" when the Pats are at 4th and 2 late in the fourth quarter. And I'm explaining its them... them... "F*** ITS THEM!" Well. As just a fan, what can you do but have another brew. *As an aside, I'm learning to meditate.*


Here are a couple of other pics. One is the pin I finished for my Mother. The other is of a piece I've posted about before. I'm just happy with new the pic!

Two Penny Pendants

*These are my newest models. More text later. Maybe. Its just one of those days, ya know?*

Labor Day

I enjoy working in my workroom on holidays. Holidays, early in the day, are splendidly quiet. The traffic is light and even lawn mowers don't do much. Later on in the day people get a bit active in the hurry up and have fun mode, but the mornings are wonderful.

This fellow I started on yesterday, and pretty much finished it up this morning. I was going to change the bale. But think not now. He's carved out of wax, and will be cast into sterling silver. The circular bezel will hold a 3 mm stone.

He's kind of a fun way to get back into things. I've been busy with, ah, "life" I suppose you might say. If paying bills is considered life, and not a slow death!

The Persistent Life of a Small Bonsai

Or at least, I don't think the Bonsai is dead yet. Last summer I gave up on worrying about this thing. I do fine with plants that that are outdoors, plants that can survive fairly well with benign neglect. The tag on this plant when I got it said to do all these things to it, (forget what,) and that it needs temperatures between 50 to 70 degrees F. It has been where it is now, hiding behind a rose bush outside, since last summer. *I live in Rhode Island. That little thing spent the winter outside.*


I feel like I should reward this plant somehow by transplanting it. Or something. Weeding around it?

And here is the lid, cast into bronze. *It's been cleaned, but not polished or antiqued.* It looks big on the glass, but I made it with about 5% shrinkage calculated in in case I decided to mold it.

Flower Power

Here's the next finished Lucky Penny ring, Flower Power! lol. The date on it is 1968. Kate suggested 1969 as Woodstock's year, and suitable for a Flower Power ring, but I'd already picked out a 1968. The stone is a 3 mm blue topaz.


Which brings up a funny point. As I stated before, I started picking up change I'd find in my walks for lottery tickets. Then I started admiring the varying road textures of the coins, and began making jewelry with them. The end result is, a growing mound of unrecycled road change. The only coins I use for lottery tickets anymore are quarters and pennies younger than 1983. (the last year of good copper content in pennies.) If I come across a totally unscarred dime, sure I'll recycle it. But, I have lots of great looking dimes, nickels and pennies covering my table top.

Which means, of course, I need to start selling lots or get a life! Eh. Maybe I'll go get a beer instead....

New Goodies

Here are a couple of new models I've been working on. I was unsure of the Fish ring... fearing it might turn out too dorky. I don't think it ranks obnoxiously high on the dork-o-meter though. I made it for pennies fished out of a fountain. Right now the bezel (where you put the stone) got crunched down a bit in casting. (Insert favorite gosh darn it phrase here.) So I can't fit any penny in. I can fix it. It just was taking a bit too much time and patience so I decided to go ahead and take some pictures with a dime.


**One of my problems with the fishy ring is... I kinda have a dork asthetic. Obviously. But when I tried to stylize the fish at all... I was messing with symbols, it seemed to me. And since I'm not religious, I don't like to utilize such symbols in my work unless its for a particular purpose. A fish symbol with the casual inference of religion didn't feel right. If I could stylize the fish successfully, to where I didn't see such casual inference, that would be best. I didn't make it in this round. I was left with dorkiness.

**This may seem like over thinking. (lol.) But this is one step where things succeed or not. It is not just that a design is pleasing, but whether there is a sense of coherent thought or intention behind the work. Which, in all honesty, may be one reason why my successes are dwarfed by my failures. I do not excel in coherence. In fact, I think dorkiness is okay, the way pizza and beer and football can satisfy if a few brain cells and a certain portion of the psych is left, fumbling for the ideal.
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This is the flower POWER ring. Both of these models need to get cleaned up, then molded and recast for the finish piece. (They are carved out of wax then cast into the silver shown here.) I made the flower ring so that I can use nickels too. Or dimes.