Rummaging Through Old Photos
Was digitally rummaging through some old photos, trying to create some semblance of order, when I came across these jewelry experiments I did quite awhile back. It was fun looking back and remembering how much fun I had learning new techniques and how awesome it was to morph metal from one state to another. I didn’t take time to run these through Photoshop (sorry!).
These bracelets started out as copper wire, which I hammered and soldered, then wrapped with fine gauge sterling silver wire and glass beads. I like the dainty, airy look of these.
This simple silver band was the first ring I made “from scratch”. Before it was a ring, it was a piece of sterling silver sheet metal, sawn and soldered and hammered around a mandrel. I learned to do this in a fun class taught by Michael Johnson of Cosmic Folklore Studio in Helena AL. Check out more of his cool metalsmithing on his Facebook page.
This next photo is of a clasp I made for a leather cord, another technique learned in one of Michael’s classes.
I wanted a handmade clasp because this cord would be used to hold my very first bezel / cabochon piece. I was so excited to take Jessica Dow’s class on bezel making at The Bead Biz in Helena AL. This is where you can find The Bead Biz on Facebook and Jessa’s Facebook page is here. What fun we had! This piece is sterling silver and Spectrolite.
Here is a photo from the bezel workshop. Stacy (middle) is soldering her bezel. Jessa (left) watched over us all to ensure we didn’t end up with liquid silver instead of a soldered bezel. Thanks, Jessa!
Lastly, these are some silver earrings I made for my friend, Donna. She had lost one of her favorite earrings, so I offered to make her a similar pair. I sawed the triangles from a sheet of sterling and soldered the wire to the top. The triangles are ever so gently domed, just to give them a bit of interest. I love that they’re very lightweight. I hope she is enjoying them.
Well, it was fun to reminisce a bit. Good “old” memories carry us through to the new ones waiting to be made. Now, go forth and make those memories!