Variations...

Three new pieces, not anything that much different from previous items, but nice variations none the less...

This first is one of my double-leaf pendants, this one has a pierced Ichthus (Christian Fish Symbol) on the top leaf & a nice colored Blue Kyanite stone that has been embedded in the bottom leaf with a backless bezel.  Both leaves have a fish scale texture.  I call this one "Living Water".

"Living Water" - Sterling Silver with Blue Kyanite

Then there's "Lucy" - not at all presumptuous, just fun and playful... I made the center of her flower from a bit of Shibuichi (blended copper & silver) to give it a bit of color, that center has been coated with a protective coating to help prevent oxidation (copper oxidizes quickly).

"Lucy" - Sterling Silver with Shibuichi sphere

Finally there's "Sacrifice" a simple pierced single-leaf pendant (btw: the leaf on a single leaf pendant is larger than the leaves on the double-leaf pendants).  This was requested by a friend (I don't normally do requests) for someone special... I call it Sacrifice because the cross that has been pierced through appears to be stretching out its arms...

"Sacrifice" - Sterling Silver

I have another piece I hope to get posted soon, its another experimental ring... still trying to find something that really works for me in that arena... until next time!!

A Suggested Item….

This triple-cross design was suggested by a friend, not for sale at this time since the friend gets first dibs, if it does go up for sale I'll update this post…

Made with Sterling Silver 1/2 Round wire, on a bar chain…

Whorls...

Sorry fans, this one's already spoken for… but I thought I'd show her to you…  I call this style "Whorls"… I've named this one "Twisted Suzie", partly due to her owner…

She's made of Sterling Silver & Zebra Stone.

Twisted Suzie, Necklace & Earrings.

Twisted Suzie, Pendant closeup

Special Requests...

I've been working on a couple special requests…

This first piece is similar to a prototype piece made previously (in case it looks a little familiar), I was asked to do something "like" the prototype for someone who likes to keep things "simple".

Sterling Silver with a Water Garnet… unfortunately the photos don't show how pretty the stone is - it's a beautiful purple & aqua colored stone.

A closer look shows the marbling in the stone… the stone is set in a fine silver backless bezel, topped off with a sweet little heart-vine decoration made of sterling silver - yes, that's another heart peeking out from behind.  The "back" looks basically the same as the front.

For this second piece a specific stone was selected, and I was asked to make something "unique" for someone who would appreciate a "statement piece".

Sterling Silver with a piece of Fossilized Coral.  I had been wanting to try making a piece like this, but hadn't gotten to it yet - I have a bit of a backlog of ideas.

The "frame" is made of a sterling rectangular wire, the lattice behind the stone (yes, it continues behind) is made of 20 gauge round sterling wire.

Sorry, these are not for sale, but if you would like something "like" either of these pieces just drop me a line by sending an email to Gavotian@gmail.com or leaving a Comment on this post.

Something Elegant...

Update: this set is now for sale, click here to find out how to purchase.

I wanted to try my hand at something simple but elegant…  I also wanted to try using a very heavy (6 gauge) silver wire… this is the result.

"Sophia" - Red Creek Jasper set in Sterling Silver.

I named this after a woman I think of as both elegant & strong, Sophia Loren.  The pendant is a large rectangular stone with a 6 gauge 1/2 round silver wire decoration, earrings are small circular stones with 10 gauge 1/2 round silver wire.

"Sophia" pendant closeup.

This is the first in what I hope will be a series that I'm thinking I'll call my Elegance Collection.

That's much better...

I'd been a bit unhappy with a piece I made a couple weeks ago… it was one of my Whimsical Hearts pieces, the one with the skull bead… it just wasn't working for me… so today I reworked it, and I like this much better.

This now has three smaller hearts hanging down… no skull… Large heart is torch-fire enameled copper with a coating on the back to keep it from staining skin/clothes, the rest is sterling silver.

Water Garnet in Silver...

I love the colors of this stone, greens & purplish-pinks…

I decided on a nice simple setting - a backless bezel with a vine-like decoration…

Much simpler than my last piece, but beautiful in its own right...

It's Finally Done!!

You really can't tell from this picture what a pretty piece this turned out to be… the subtle changes side-to-side from rounded to flat… the hand bent little heart-shaped leaves… the wide variety & depth of color in the stones...

This finally got finished this evening, and though it may not look like it this is my most difficult piece to date - by far!!  More heart & sweat & pain & time in this one than any of my others…

This piece is Sterling Silver (bezels are Fine Silver), made with 10 gauge 1/2 round wire, and has 6 small Red Creek Jasper stones set in backless bezels...

A Favor For Mom

When I was a teenager my Dad bought my Mom & I matching Turquoise rings. Each had a rather large Turquoise stone which worked ok for me (I have large hands) but was huge on my Mom's slender hands (she wears a 4.5 on her ring finger).  My Dad passed away several years ago, so gifts from Dad are precious to all of us…

I knew Mom wasn't likely to wear the ring, so I offered to remount the stone in a pendant… I thought I'd do a double-heart motif, but that ended up being rather large & Mom doesn't go for large necklaces… so I called Mom & told her that wouldn't work, and she gave me carte blanche - that's right, she's not seen it & doesn't know what it looks like.  She'll only know what it looks like if one of her sisters shows her an online picture (which would be ok).

This piece challenged me, I was working with a heavy wire (that's a 1/2 round wire around the edges) and having to work it around the bezel.  Also I soldered the base of the bezel so that it would attach in the middle of the wire - on the back you can see that it's raised up in the center.

I've learned a few things, and hopefully I'll remember what I learned the next time I try a piece like this.  The hard work on this is complete, now I just need to get a lobster-claw clasp (I have some on order) and attach it to one end of the chain… then it will be ready to ship off to Mom - I hope she likes it!!

Garden Wall...

I'm calling this "Garden Wall"… that's what it makes me think of… a stone wall with vines…  made with Sterling Silver and Jasper...

And some earrings that "agree", again a vine motif...

This was the original concept model I got from just playing around a couple days ago...

Plug in the Pickle!

I'm upstairs blogging, but only for a few minutes because I plugged in the Pickle already… for those not "in the know" Pickle is something that's used after soldering to remove unwanted oxidation & such…  It has to be warmed, so a "pickle pot" (tiny crock pot) is used…

Here are some random pics I've taken lately of projects in process… none done (hence I really need to get downstairs & get busy)… Also some pics are simply items I found inspirational… take it for what it is!

This is a starting piece I had formed for a Pendant (there are earrings as well) that I'd shown a mock-up of previously...

Here are the earrings with the stones getting set...

Here I was working on setting the stones in the Pendant…

The pieces are coming along, but more work is yet to be done… hopefully I can finish these sometime in the next day or two…

This is a rough mock-up for something I'm working on… all I've managed so far is to create the frame, so this is the only picture for now...

Another mock-up, this one even rougher than the previous… I really needed to play with this stone to see what I wanted to do with it… still working on the mock-up, not sure I like where this is going yet.

I know, this isn't jewelry… but I looked at it & thought "filigree ring"… so for now this is simply a source of inspiration...

Twists & Turns...

Typically I blog about a single piece, or a single topic, but I'm breaking form today because a lot has been happening lately…

First, a very nice lady I know asked me to try to do a piece for her (actually two matching pieces), she knows I'm still a student/novice but decided to give me a chance - I appreciate the opportunity!!

The piece she asked for is a saw-pierced piece, leaf shaped with a double crossed cross, with some words & a date stamped on the back… so I started by drawing the shape & epoxying it to some silver, drilled a hole in the middle (in class - I don't have my rotary tool yet).  The above is a picture when I first brought it home.

I used a saw to form the leaf shape...

That's my saw on my bench, with my magnifying light that I find works well for saw work.

Here's the first one after I finished the inner cuts with my saw...

This is the state of both of them now, they still need filing (I can do that at home at this point), they also need stamping (words & dates), sanding, polishing… if the rest of my equipment (on order) gets here before classes start back up these will be finished at home, otherwise they'll get finished in class.  They may not look like much now, they'll look much better when finished…

I made this set a couple days ago in my studio… just Sterling wire & Red Creek Jasper beads & pliers - I don't have my soldering equipment yet (on order)… two earrings & a pendant (have you figured out how to get those earrings on yet?)

Yep, I put one on to take a photo… have you figured it out yet?  That's right, you have to corkscrew them on your ears… but they look pretty cool on!!  In other news...

I've been busy making some small purchases locally, and finding odds & ends around the house that will work in the studio...

Those books on my bench, those were Christmas Presents!!  Thank You Tim & Marta, and Thank You Jeff… I know the references will be handy!!  I hung a little decorative triple basket that had been unused elsewhere in the house, and I put up some pegboard...

I've got an old bookcase I'm also using for getting organized...

A huge piece of styrofoam left over from one of Jeff's projects is making a great idea-wall...

Yep, that's my studio for now… lots of stuff on order should be here in the next few weeks… loving getting things set up here at home!!

New Friends...

I recently made a couple cute little Christmasy sets that I sent off as Thank You gifts to two very special ladies…

Both sets are made from Sterling Silver wire, with a decorative-bell ornament...

They make me smile!!  Talking about smile… my Workbench is here!!...

Now I just need to borrow some tools from my hubby so I can put it together… :)

Trying something new...

I decided to try using a chunky 1/2 round wire for this piece, which has a nice Dyed Magnesite stone bead.  I was also trying a new s-curve hanging dangle…

 Oh, and of course I made some earrings to go with…

On to the next thing!!

Experimentation & Results...

So, I go into my metalworking class week before last, and I start telling Kirk (instructor) about some ideas I had been "playing" with… and of course he wants to challenge me so he suggests an experiment of sorts.

He'd been noticing a lot of Arcs in my work (I also use Swirls - more on that later), so he suggested I make a variety of Arcs & simply drop them and see what shapes form… then manipulate a bit to get something I like… ok, I had other ideas but decided they could hold for a while… so…

Some interesting patterns that came out of this, I captured the interesting ones for future ideas...

Copper Arcs of medium to large sizes...

Copper Arcs small to large sizes… I like the way the Ichthus shape occurs quite naturally with Arcs...

This is one of my favorites… I'll probably pursue this sometime in the future...

This one almost seemed to be dancing...

This one made me think of a family embracing...

This almost looks like a Chinese word-symbol… or something… I just like it :)

This made me think of a fat finny Goldfish...

This was the result of dropping Arcs & Swirls then doing minor manipulation… This caught my fancy so I pursued it a bit further...

A stone with another swirl...

Topped with a swirl… I like this!!  Then I decided to take this idea and make it into a pendant...

Voila!  The pendant is in Silver rather than in Copper (which was being used simply to experiment with shapes)...

I decided to take an element from the pendant and create some simple earrings...

Here's the set… I'm very happy with how it came out (even if I don't like the quality of the pictures)…