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A METALSMITH'S JOURNEY

Weeks 11 and 12

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

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

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

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

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

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