Posts filed under 'Silversmithing'
So the whirlwind that is CHA is over & I’m back home to unwind. What a great few days. For those that have never been, CHA (the Crafting & Hobby Association) has a semi-annual tradeshow for the industry with over 3,000 booths to visit! There were make ‘n takes at most booths & a buzz in the air as buyers met sellers from all over the world! There were hundreds of talented designers scattered around the show floor as well.
Some of this year’s highlights for me… Meeting Carol (see previous blog entry) ;), classes with Tim Holtz & Lisa Pavelka, visiting with some of my favorite designers from the Hero Arts booth (hi Lisa & Shari!), talking to a few publishers, purchasing the new “it” tools from Zutter Innovative Products (will post more on these later when they arrive in the mail!), and seeing some friends from last year’s show.
Mike & I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my close friends, Caroline, and her fiance, Terry, on Sunday night as well. We spent the evening at Disneyland! It was a great way to see the park, in my opinion. Paid half the price because we were only there from 6-10, but we were able to visit most of the rides due to the short lines & see the Disney Fanstasmic night show on the river as well!
January 31st, 2007
Ok…so I’m a crafting geek. I totally admit it. And being the crafting geek I am, I can’t think of a cooler thing to experience at CHA this year than meeting the queen of crafting herself, Carol Duvall. 
So how did I run across Ms. Duvall? Carol has a new papercrafting book coming out in mid-2007 and just happened to be doing a meet & greet in the DRG publishing booth when I went strolling by. She was ever so gracious & sweet as I gushed compliments towards her & was kind enough to take the above picture. So her eyes are shut, but who’s really looking that close? 
January 31st, 2007
Hard to believe CHA is already here! Amazingly enough, knock on wood, I think my prep work is done. 
Last year, I was still scrambling at this point (Mike & Rhonda can attest to this)! Press kits & portfolio are complete, and I sent ahead four projects to be displayed in the lobby in the Designer Home Accent Display as well as a couple of projects for the Polyform booth. I also recently found out that AMACO selected one of my Bottle of Hope submissions as a finalist in their designer challenge this year! I am both honored & humbled to be included in a list with such incredible talented polymer clay artists. I can’t wait to see their creations. Hope to see some familiar faces & make some new friends over the next week. :) Will report back with all the news when I return.
January 25th, 2007
This is a rotating ring I recently fabricated from a sheet of 20-gauge sterling silver. It is based on a “poetry ring” design by Julia Converse Sober. See her wonderful pieces here.
I first sawed out the band & the ring base. The round ring bezel was soldered together, then 14-gauge wire was soldered to either side. I bent the ring piece into a U-shape & drilled holes for the wire to fit through. I then soldered small pieces of sterling tubing to either side for the wire to fit through. Finally, the wire was riveted to hold the ring in place. After sanding & buffing, I placed polymer clay inside the ring & a couple of beautiful cane slices on either side (blue cane by Denise Spillane & pink flower cane by Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg). After baking, I added a layer of Kato liquid polymer clay to the surface to give it shine.
January 21st, 2007
I recently tried my hand at another sterling silver fabricated hollow bead. The flower design was drawn free-hand on a sheet of 20-gauge metal. The metal was then sawed out, filed, domed, soldered, sanded & polished to a high shine. There are a few rough spots where my torch was a bit too hot for the metal…but it’s not too noticeable from a distance.
January 18th, 2007
This was the latest project I made in my silversmithing class. The chain is made from 14 & 16-gauge sterling silver wire. All links are soldered closed with every other link made of twisted wire. The toggle was also hand-made by soldering jump rings to a piece of square wire (see picture below).
Quick instructions: To twist your own wire…simply cut a long piece of wire (approximately 4 times more than the end length you want) -fold in half & attach looped end to a hook connected to a hand drill or electric drill & the other two ends to a vice. Twist until you get the look you want.
December 15th, 2006
It has taken me months to find a gallery program that I really like that was easy to install on my server & user-friendly to boot. I’m now a huge fan of ZenPhoto. True to its name - it is simple & clutter-free, but easy to customize as well.
You can check out my new gallery here. There are only a few pictures in each section. I will be uploading more in the future as I am able to scan in some of my older published designs that I am now able to show online. TFL.
December 6th, 2006
Between preparing for my first art show & having my home internet down for the last week, I haven’t had much chance to blog. Sorry for the lag!
My boyfriend was ever so thoughtful and gave me an 8-week silversmithing class for my birthday last week (among other things). Thanks, Mike! This was the project I made in the first session. I’ve been wanting to try hollow beads for a while. I free-handed the design so it isn’t exactly symmetrical…but you get the basic idea. Mike says if you turn it sideways it looks just like the X-men symbol.
Quick Instructions:
Use a divider to scribe two circles in 22 gauge sterling silver. Saw both out with a jeweler’s saw (blade 4/0). Lightly scribe geometric design into one of the circles. Dome both discs. Drill holes into scribed circle & saw out design. File as needed. Sand edges of each dome so they will fit together snugly. Solder together using torch & easy silver solder. File notches on either side of bead & drill hole for cord to pass through. File any excess solder off of bead, sand, & buff to a high shine.
For some gorgeous samples of this type of bead, check out ‘Making Beautiful Beads‘ (which I highly recommend for the polymer clay projects as well).
November 13th, 2006
Well - I finally made the project that I set out to do when I began silversmithing classes a couple of months ago. I have been wanting to combine silver & polymer clay for some time & am fascinated by how amazingly beautiful it can look when done right. Of course, this isn’t one of those examples. But it isn’t bad for a first effort, I guess. The design reminds me a bit of Mondrian.
Quick directions:
Fabricate the bezel from fine sterling silver & solder it to a 20-gauge sterling base. Saw out the shape, file it, & attach a handmade bail (from 22-gauge sterling). After polishing, add some polymer clay in earth tones, bake the piece, sand it & buff to a shine. Helpful hint: Use some Mica pearlescent clay in at least one panel of your design to add interest (see top right panel of pendant). The light will reflect off of it beautifully & add texture to your piece.
August 14th, 2006
With a stroke of luck, I finished the sterling silver necklace I’ve been working on for the past 6 weeks in my final silversmithing class.
This piece was made entirely from sterling silver wire. It involved soldering 42 handmade jump rings to 21 strips of measured wire. The “dogbones” were formed to shape, then soldered together using larger jump rings as a connectors. The back side of the necklace (not visible in this picture) contains a handmade chain & clasp.
I have to say that I was a bit nervous getting started (I mean the thought of me coordinating a torch in one hand & solder in the other can be frightening!), but it really ended up being a lot of fun. Suzy at the Craft Guild of Dallas has been a great teacher, and I’m hoping to stay involved in this new hobby. Thanks for looking!
July 15th, 2006
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