Jewelry Challenges

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noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:17:00 +0000

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A METALSMITH'S JOURNEY

Weeks 11 and 12

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:24:00 +0000

Sorry I'm so behind in posting!

For week 11 I actually made a few things - they all came together one morning so I photographed them all and here they are!

Onyx and sterling pendant - hand fabricated from sheet with a ball melted from sterling wire. I chased a few lines at the bottom for some 'interest'.

Then I have a malachite and onyx pendant - this was so much fun to make! The onyx is only 4mm and its all hand set. I added some wire to bring in some negative space and I like that the onyx swings - its not static.

Then I have my really fun piece!! This is an interchangeable pendant. Its not made to come apart - rather the two pieces are permanent but they will 'flip' which allows the wearer to bring either the copper or the sterling to the front. With the copper in the front the peridot and sterling peek through. With the sterling in the front, the copper outlines the edges. There are also copper elements at the rivet points to tie it together.

Then finally, just for show and tell, is the copper piece by itself, pre-assembly.

For week 12 I have a very simple ring - sterling and carnelian:

I am not sure of the size of the carenlian - maybe 8x8x8.....set in sterling with no embellishments, just the split shank. Simple, clean, to the point. :)

Week 10

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:23:00 +0000

This week is a combo of a lot of techniques all rolled into one.

I was playing with fold forming and wanted to do some scoring (thanks Stephanie for reminding me of that!) and so the copper is roll printed and scored and folded. I then had to figure out what to do with it - as I was playing with various stones, with the copper in a vertical orientation, my mother came over and began fiddling - which I highly encourage! I love to watch others get in on the creative process and unleash their own creative energies! So she oriented the copper horizontally and turned this particular stone on its side rather than symmetrical as I would have had it. The end result was rather fishy...so I decided to run with it. :) I added some copper wire and sterling wire and then a row of small sterling granules. Another small granule at the tip of the tale and he's done!

There is some mild heat patina on the copper - the photo doesn't bring it up too well though.

I fabricated a pin backing from sterling tubing and wire and a quick polish and here we have my week 10 'fish pin', a little bigger:

I'll add a side shot later tonight - he's kind of 3-D on the copper part. :)

C&C welcome here or by the network forum.
~Janice
www.doxallo.com

Week 8 & week 9

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:36:00 +0000

Might as well do them both in one post since I'm running a bit behind. :)

I have been doing fold forming lately, so both weeks are showing some of what I've done. Week 8 is the copper fold formed pin with a small CZ set in it. Then for week 9 a pendant of copper with some tiny pearls cold joined to the front of the pendant.

Pin (wk 8):

Pendant (wk 9)

This is the bail on the backside:

And here are some other pieces I am playing with but haven't yet decided how to finish...

All of the coloring is the natural heat process, I didn't do anything else to them. Copper offers such great colors when it is heated!

C&C welcome. :)

Janice

www.doxallo.com

www.jewelryartistsnetwork.com

Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:13:00 +0000

This necklace was a contest entry in the No Holiday Blues Color Contest 2007. I was nervous about entering as I've never entered my work in anything before! But it took 3rd place, so I'm very happy!!

I chose the focal stone because of the great colors and then decided on a split complementary color scheme. The choice of triad was informed by the stone chosen for the pendant. With the purple and green of the pendant as a starting point, I then chose purple as the focal color and green and yellow as the split complements.

The pendant is all handcrafted from sterling sheet and wire and has been oxidized to showcase the depth. Sterling wire was used to wrap the lepidolite beads, with portions of the wire being hammered flat. 26 gauge sterling wire was used to thread yellow seed beads and wrap the green aventurine. Hand cut sterling jumprings finish off the necklace in a 2oin2 down to a 1in1 assembly. A handmade 's' clasp and tiny dangle complete the piece. LOS was applied to all of the units except the aventurine/seed bead links.

I don't normally use a lot of color so this was really stepping outside of lots of comfort zones for me!

Comments are welcome!

~Janice

Doxallo Designs

Jewelry Artists Network

Week 6 - Filigree

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:30:00 +0000

Filigree...........Or something close. :)

After reading an article in Art Jewelry Magazine and after seeing some 'scrollwork' on a few forums recently, I decided to take the plunge and try some myself. I began last week after having read the article, but not having it in front of me, and came up with these 'things' that I am sure are destined to remain 'things' for a long time...

Then I sat down last night and decided to fiddle some more but to actually turn them into something. So I now have two earrings. Not pairs of earrings, just earrings. lol. I made one component and liked it so decided to make another but slightly different. Then I remembered that my goal was to make SOMEthing, not A thing - so I made earwires, added a bead or two - and voila' - An earring. Times 2!!

I have yet to actually purchase filigree wire. According to the author of the article (Jeanne Rhodes-Moen) you can substitue twisted wire that you've passed through the mill. That is what I did, although I'm not certain what size wire you're supposed to end up with.

This is something I will continue to practice and incorporate into my own style and my other work.

Comments are more than welcome!

~Janice

Doxallo Designs ~*~ Jewelry Artists Network ~*~ Jewelry Artists Network forum

Week 5 - Cold connections

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:21:00 +0000

This week I am turning my attention to cold connections. I've had a piece sort of playing in the back of my mind and then a recent conversation stemmed from the Jewelry Artists Network Forum finally pushed me into trying to translate the thoughts into actual metal.

This ring is done in very lightweight metal as its really an exercise in determining measurements and getting the kinks worked out. Unfortunately, the lighter metal made it a bit harder to work with.

The ring is all sterling with an unknown oval faceted stone, something synthetic, could be glass.....the shank is chased for some extra glitter/flash, but the ring isn't polished yet so it doesn't show at all. I've done only the most minimal of sanding or filing on this, its really just a rough cut and then pop the stone in and wear it a bit to see what it feels like.

So what does it feel like? Too loose by far.....needs a heavier weight metal for the cradle of the stone and maybe smaller/thinner 'prongs' or tabs. I think its worth looking into the design more so that is what I will probably be playing with later this week.

Comments are welcome!
~Janice
Doxallo Designs
Jewelry Artists Network
Jewelry Artists Network Forum

Week 4 - Garnet Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:25:00 +0000

I made this tonight....it needs lots of clean up and its a bit too large for me, which means its going to be way to large for most of the population, but I was busy working along and didn't take time to resize it.

Its all sterling silver, the stone is a 7mm garnet set up off the shank....with a raised inverted disk and then in a flared setting. The stone is slightly offset and the shank is wider at the base of the stone and then slopes off. All hand fabricated. I would resize it but don't want to remove the stone right yet so I'm wearing it on the index finger of my right hand....and I may remove the stone later and resize the shank.

Comments welcome!

Janice
WEBSITE
FORUM

Week 3, Sterling Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 02:30:00 +0000

OK, here we are at week 3 and I'm on time again! YAY! I have been playing a lot with granules, so this weeks submission is a ring with what else but TINY balls!!

Mike C at the forum really inspired me to go small....and the difference is truly remarkable. I thought my granules were sometimes small before, well they were golfballs compared to these!

Here are some of the granules on a dime for size reference. The ring is all sterling, all hand fabricated. Because these are sterling, I used a small amount of paste solder to attach them to the dome/cup.

Here is the ring on my finger - I love it! Its a really simple design, nothing fancy, but it really appeals to me for some reason. :)

Your feedback is welcome! To learn more about granulation come by the forum!
~Janice

Week 2 - Mixed Metals

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 16:50:00 +0000

I am looking for new ways (new to me) of combining metals. This is a test of bezel setting a piece of metal and using mixed metals as granules. There is no real rhyme or reason to the layout of this piece, its meant to be technique oriented, not design oriented.

Sterling silver, brass. Hand forged bezel with chasing to add some sparkle - there is a lot of great light reflection! Hand chased motif, handmade granules of brass - with sterling overlay ;-)

A new challenge - a 'quarter' of jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 15:40:00 +0000

Moving along into another season, or quarter - whatever we call it, its a NEW YEAR! So a new start - another challenge...a piece a week for a quarter. So here is my first piece of the first quarter of 2007.

Rhodonite, black onyx, swarovski, blackstone....handset in a hand fabricated sterling silver setting.

~Janice
Visit me @ the Jewelry Artists Network forum!

Week 36

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 02:45:00 +0000

I'm still behind but expect to be caught up soon as I have several things in process. :)

The pendant this week began months ago with a large piece of copper that I had etched, oxidized, then put aside. I took it out and cut out 5 or 6 disks, one of which I used for this pendant. I cut a larger piece of sterling and sweat soldered them together then dapped to lightly dome the entire piece. Next I cut a diamond shape from 24 ga (I think 24 ga) sterling and then folded it over to create a bail. Soldered that on and did some light clean up and here we have the results:

Week 35

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 17:52:00 +0000

Still lagging behind here....

I finally received the silver etchant via courier. I mixed some off memory and took a small piece of maybe 20 ga silver and drew a freehand pattern with sharpie. Taped off the back in the similar manner to which I do copper and placed it in the etchant. And waited. Checked and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Have I ever mentioned I am not always a very patient person?

The tape was not sticking well and neither was the marker adhering, so I opted to remove the piece from the etchant to wash and view.

Not a deep etch, but good enough for my first go-round. I cut out 4 circles, 2 large, 2 small. Domed all 4, soldered a small piece of 20 ga wire to the back of each small dome and drilled holes in all 4 for jumprings. And here we have my week 35 piece.

Stars and Swirls:

Week 34

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Mon, 29 May 2006 02:45:00 +0000

These earrings have been quite a process! They began as sterling sheet which had holes drilled in it, that sheet was soldered to a copper sheet. Then it was put through the rolling mill, which distorted the holes into ovals....then the hole thing was reticulated...which filled in the holes and gave a lot of great texture. The piece was then cut into three - two smaller for earrings and one larger for a pendant (still a WIP). I soldered sterling tubing to the backs of the earrings and then put in 20 ga wire for earwires. :)

I was originally going to oxidize these, but I don't think they need them, I like the shine and the coloring from the texture, I'm wearing them now - I really like the way they turned out and they look MUCH better than in the photo!

Week 33

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Mon, 29 May 2006 01:32:00 +0000

This is a contemporary sort of 'abstract' pendant combining soldering and cold joins.

I used sterling sheet and sterling wire - the sheet was textured with chasing tools and then a bead was riveted with sterling tubing. I added tube rivets for later jumprings or some wire attachments for a beaded portion....

Week 32

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Mon, 29 May 2006 01:28:00 +0000

This is a good size piece of chrysanthemum stone which is ironic since the theme was wee ones jewelry. lol.

Anyway, I've been working on soldering and bezels, but all my bezels have been very plain and straightforward. So I decided to spice it up and add something, anything! I chose a piece of twisted wire, which I soldered into a ring and then soldered on to the piece prior to setting the stone (see I AM learning!)

Besides a tiny space where the bezel opened up a bit on the second solder, the piece ended up looking pretty good (I think) Guess I need to work with different solders or a protectant. Will figure that out soon....

Here's the piece, top and side:

Week 31, Monograms

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Mon, 15 May 2006 19:59:00 +0000

I have a tendency to churn out a lot of a certain technique when I am attempting to master it, soldering is no exception. I have been doing nothing but bezels lately, these with bails for the first time. Two of these I took apart and have now redone, I will take new pictures later, but here they are first pass through:

They are agate, picasso marble, and petrified palmwood. All handset in hand forged sterling silver settings with handmade bails and embellishments.I was very frustrated by the time I finished these, but learned a lot in the process and THAT is the goal!

Week 30 - All in the Details

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Wed, 03 May 2006 17:11:00 +0000

Well, I am not on theme AND I am very late! I was out of town and there have been other issues, but not to bother! Here we go - my first 'finished' piece in a long time!!

All handforged, pendant is from 22 ga sheet, bezel from 28 ga sheet, tube rivets, amazonite, glass, pearls.....realized I had made some earrings quite some time ago that match so you can see one in the margin. :)

Week 29 - Afternoon Delight

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 05:08:00 +0000

Well, I had no real plans of being on theme this week - but since someone mentioned walking through flowers -- I guess I am! This is a WIP, I am not certain if it will be a pin or a pendant....

I began 'playing' tonight and was going to create a test piece working with granulation - my idea was to just do something simple - I took a piece of silver and was going to chase a few lines and then add some granulation - maybe in the shape of flowers. But my ganules which I made were kind of on the large side and besides - I got so into the chasing I just never stopped until I had this:

I only used two patterned stamps, the rest is done with chasing tools. The scene was soldered on to a piece of copper and I was originally going to put some tube rivets in and tiny rings for a pendant - but ended up shaping the copper and now don't think I have room - so am not sure what to do - maybe a hidden tube soldered to the back?

Week 28 - Golden Fantasy

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:28:00 +0000

Wow, now I recall from my participation on the Year of Jewelry - just how quickly these weks come up! So I am NOT on theme this week, I have been working on my first bezel set 'thing'. This is a seraphanite cab - of good size - and an odd shape. This is a work in progress, I did the bezel and it didn't fit the original stone, so I ended up splicing it open and resoldering it and fitting it to THIS piece of seraphinite (the other one was a larger diamond shape piece). Then I did the backplate and soldered the bezel on..then set the stone - but it was horribly off and was totally puckered - so I took stone out, sanded down the bezel - the other stone was appaently much higher - and resoldered it (as there were gaps in the first one) and then reset it.

Here it is now:
Front , side,and back (and the back MIGHT be considered 'fantasy'...?)

Week 27 - April Showers

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 03:39:00 +0000

This week's theme goes very well with the etching I've been doing. I have also wanted to practice soldering and this pin gave me the opportune chance to try soldering a layered piece rather than two ends joining.

My April Showers pin is hand cut, hand etched copper...a large cloud, rain softly falling, splashing in a puddle and some flowers waving in the wind. A light oxidization helps the design 'pop'. The pin back is hand cut copper with drilled holes, soldered onto the pin....the pin itself is copper wire which has been filed to narrow the size and bring a nice point. I had originally meant to drill a hole and saw a spiral to accept and cage the pinpoint but got mixed up and ended up simply turning an edge almost into a loop for the pinpoint to rest upon. The pinpoint also extends slightly beyond the edge of the pin which is dangerous!

This has been a GREAT learning experience.

Spring Season 'themes'

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:41:00 +0000

Four Seasons of Jewelry SPRING 2006
WEEK	THEME	DATE DUE
27	April Showers	March 29
28	Golden Fantasy	April 5
29	Afternoon Delight	April 12
30	All in the Details	April 19
31	Monograms	April 26
32	Jewelry for Wee Ones	May 3
33	In Celebration of Life	May 10
34	Ice Breaker	May 17
35	Some Enchanted Evening	May 24
36	Fantastic Fantasies	May 31
37	The Silver Screen	June 7
38	Frame	June 14
39	I Have Always Wanted to Do This...	June 21

First post :)

noreply@blogger.com (Janice) — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 15:01:00 +0000

Taking part in the Spring session of the Four Seasons of Jewelry -link coming - hopefully I set this blog up properly!