Settling down in 2K10
Yes, the Longhorn game is behind us, the Christmas decor is packed away and routine is slowly reasserting itself. Last night I got my workroom organized once again so that the drawings in my sketchbook have a chance to morph into the real thing.
This year I will continue making earrings, seemingly my favorite item, but will push into making rings. Rings have been on the back burner for a long while and it’s time to try my hand at them.
I had not made a new necklace in a while until coming up with this new one, seen above: Lisa is photographing it to put on the site but here is my amateur effort so you can see it. I sold the first one of these, fresh off the bench, at the Christmas bazaar in December, and have one more. It’s assembled with cold connections except at the clasp where jump rings are soldered. I could have soldered the jumps at the pendant, but I didn’t want to risk heating the bronze (cool gel might have worked) because it would have turned the color of copper. The customer who bought the necklace said she liked cold connections better, however, thinking they are stronger. I can’t argue that point. See the website soon for pricing and more details.
The necklace does match the Leaf Drop Earrings already at the online store, but I made a shorter version of these earrings. I will comment on those and post a photo in my next blog entry. For now, though, Lisa will put up a photo of a new pair of earrings to complement the necklace, seen at right. I wanted something that matched but didn’t repeat the strong pattern of the leaf disk on the necklace, so toned it down with plain bronze disks and repeated the necklace’s silver leaf. Topped with a beaded earwire, I think these earrings are very pretty and feminine.
Another Project on the Bench: Quick Fire Copper Clay
Bronze clay has been a quirky material with which to work. I have only used the commercial BronzClay, but am going to try Hadar Jacobson’s new Quick Fire bronze and copper clays next. I am going to start with copper clay, which I have yet to do: Lisa’s already used Hadar’s older copper version. I will rework a pair of earrings sold a year ago at MQ; they resembled spoons although the design was taken from an African tribal rattle. The original pair was made with copper sheet cut and domed (left), with silver clay for the shafts, to which earwires were soldered. 
The new pair is similar to the photo on the right. Interestingly it features a switch in construction: the copper will not be sheet but clay, and the shaft will not be clay but sterling wire. In this “sketch” I was unsuccessful drilling the hole at top because I didn’t anneal first (had to explain that glitch). I will work the silver wire by hammer & sanding for an organic look–more pounding and working sterling wire, which I love to do. And using clay for the disk removes the need for etching, although that is not an unpleasant or difficult technique. If you look closely at the edges of the copper disk to the right, you can see the etched lines.
See my next blog entry for a picture of the shorter Leaf Drop earrings. Ciao and Happy New Year!
One Comment
Shauna
Folks, I gave the wrong reason in this post for not heating the bronze. Of course you can heat bronze without changing its color! What you can't do it pickle it without changing the color to that of copper. Now there is a new formula of pickle I just learned about yesterday that is for bronze, too. I put in an email to Metal Clay and asked about it removing the tin, which renders bronze copper-colored. I will let you know when they answer me!
The REAL reason I didn't heat it was because I had already oxidized the bronze, and then treated it with a finish to prevent tarnish. Heating the piece would have ruined that finish entirely.
Sorry for the error! I must have been tired to blunder like that!
Shauna