Chasing and Repoussé - Number Five

What does Wikipedia say about Chasing and Repoussé? Repoussé or repoussage is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. It is also known as embossing.

I took another class in the Fusion Beads here in Seattle, this time with the wonderful Janice Berkebile. We were actually learning two techniques - basket weave and repousse/ chasing.

The piece was called "Fruit of the Vine" and this is what the finished jewellery looks like (Janice's own piece):

Here you see a pod filled with beads/ pearls and a beautiful leaf forged out of metal sheet. The pod was a very nice and intricate weave to learn, but I was primarily interested in the repousse technique. Honestly, it took me FOREVER to get a nice leaf shape out of a piece of copper sheet, but once I was finished, I was feeling like a king! unfortunately this is something I wasn't able to replicate at home yet, because the chasing tools are very pricy and I will have to find a very good reason (or sell some of my handiwork) to be able to justify a buy like this. So for the time being, I am keeping my beautiful leaf for myself. And hopefully later on I will find that reason to invest into a bundle of chasing tools.

Here is my pod:

And here is the leaf I'm so damn proud of:

More Sawing - Birdie Necklace

Here is a necklace I have created after seeing an episode of Portlandia called "Put a Bird on it!" I guess all the hype about birds on bags/ pillows/ jewellery .... is because a birdie is non-offensive! The case of dogs and cats could be always up for a debate - if you're a "cat person", a doggie ring might not make you happy and vice versa, however a birdie is just fine. Haha. That was just a thought.

And totally by chance, the second design I tried with saw was a bird too (see it here)!

The bird is copper, chains are antiqued brass and the beads are small faceted peridots.

Sawing - Number Four Technique

Number 4 on my pledge list (http://designbymisa.blogspot.com/2012/02/pledge-i-will-learn-new-technique-month.html) !!!!

I still remember the day when I spent $20 on metal shears in our local hardware shop... I was so excited that I would be able to cut ANY metal into ANY shape! But that didn't quite happen. While it was easy to cut very thin sheet metal and it was good mainly for straight lines, more complicated shapes were nearly impossible. And I knew that if I wanted to continue exploring metal, I shall learn to SAW!

And I did, again in a class in Fusion Beads. This class was tought by sweet Samantha Slater. Such a versatile and absolutely indispensable technique! My first attempt was a butterfly - I like the fact, that I can use the cut shape AND the shadow both. I would never be able to get the same result with the shears and I couldn't possibly get both shapes uniterrupted.

My second attempt, still in the class, was this birdie. I have put a nice rivet where the hole is and voila!

Turquoise Set - Viking Knit Technique

Another bracelet I made with the Viking knit - I just bought these adorable turquoise beads (it's actually dyed magnesite of a brilliant colour!) - hexagon rondelles - and I want to use them in a thousand of designs!

The bracelet looks really nice on the wrist.

...and it comes with earrings!

My First Viking Bracelet

Here is my first finished design with the viking knit technique, a bracelet I made in the class with Tracy Stanley.
Copper wire and copper findings (handmade clasp:) and keshi pearls with handmade headpins.

Thanks Tracy! Such a great lesson! I can do it all by myself now! More coming...

New Technique Number Three - Etching

Another technique I was longing to learn was etching. It is one thing you should learn if you are planning to use lots of metal in your designs as it adds so many possibilities to jewellery. And it's especially nice to use it in designs that are supposed to have antique look. 

It seemed to be easy enough for me to try on my own. I read a step by step tutorial in an issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry - one of my favourite sources of desings - and bought a bottle of PCB Etchant in Radio Shack... easy it wasn't. I still don't know what went wrong with my first etching experiment, but this is what it looked like:



But as they say, don't give up! I didn't and tried it again. I swear it did everything exactly the same way as the first time and the result was just as I wished - beautiful deep etch of a butterfly!!! Yay!!!

And I kept trying with different scrapbooking stamps and it all worked well. I'm so glad I only ruined one piece of copper:) Now I need to think of a nice piece to use the etched metal in.

Second New Technique - Viking Knit

Fusion Beads have some great jewellery making classes and it took me WAAAAYYY too long to discover it. I always thought I will have to go to one of the big bead festivals to ne able to get a class, but then I realized that some of the most talented jewellery makers live right here in the Pacific Northwest. And what more - the same classes they teach at the festivals are available here in Fusion Beads for much less money and right in the neighbourhood!!!

So the first class I took was Basic Riveting, which rocked (it is documented here in the blog too) and the next class was Viking Knit with Tracy Stanley. Aaaaaawesome! I actually learned how to make a Viking Knit (you may say "That was the aim of the class", but with many classes you might be able to walk away with one finished piece, but not be able to recreate it at home).

See photos below:

Start of a new chain (I like the fact that even if the chain here looks irregular, it WILL be 'perfect' once finished):

And two finished chains - both are made with copper wire, one is oxidized, one is not oxidized yet. The oxidized one is also thicker and the shiny one is thinner - see, I can already experiment with different finishes!

I will soon post some finished products!

 



First Jewellery Making Class - Rivets!

I am lucky enough to live in Seattle close to one of the best beading shops in the state - the Fusion Beads. They have most beading supplies and tools one might need when beginning making jwelllery. AND they offer classes; same classes with same teachers that are available at different bead festivals.
Following my resolution to learn more techniques (via my last post) I have signed up for a few of the classes - not to be revealed in advance, just so you have something to look forward, just like I do:).
My first class was "Making Rivets". First half of the class was dedicated to learning how to make rivets from a wire, the second class was supposed to demonstrate use of the Riveting System (available via Beaducation.com).
Here are pictures from the first hald of the class:

My first rivet made with sterling silver wire on a copper sheet:

Detail of the rivet (the sheet is scratched, but I was still proud of my very first rivet!):

Pledge - I will learn a new technique a month

I am not a person, who can deal with New Year resolutions - I just don't believe that if I tell myself to do something I don't want to do or don't like doing, that I will actually listen to myself and make myself doing it. If I know something is good/bad for me and I need to start/ stop doing it, than I either go cold turkey or slowly faze into it. But I have to get going "right now", because "next year" or "next Monday" usually turns into "next century".
So there was no New Year's resolution on my side... but there is a resolution RIGHT NOW. I just spent money on yeat ANOTHER jewellery making book and then had a look at my EMPTY etsy shop and felt embarassed... I really need to make some more stuff, take more pictures before I give it away (because there have been some cute pieces I gave out as gifts, but never documented them) and mix up the techniques a bit, so I can start feeling like a jewellery artist! I just kicked myself in the behind (which reminds me, I need to do more yoga:) and signed myself for some jewellery lessons.
The last year was very lazy, we moved from Jackson Hole to Seattle and I didn't even unpack half of my jewellery-making supplies. Now I see how many amazing tools I have collected since I started making adornments and I know I have to give them an active life NOW.
So I thought I need a goal, a tough one, but a reachable goal - and decided I will learn 12 new techniques I haven't tried before - all before the end of this year. It doesn't matter that I have missed almost 2 months already - the aim isn't to try a new thing a month, but get to the number 12 before end of December. So if I work on it and learn 12 by August, I can just continue the pace and learn MORE...

Here is a list that I compiled while thinking what all I'd like to know or make:

1. sawing
2. chainmaille
3. etching
4. riveting
5. foldforming
6. viking weave
7. soldering
8. electroforming
9. drilling
10. stamping
11. enameling
12. working with resin

>> not necessarily in that order and maybe not all of these, I might just as well find something amazing on the way and learn a new thing that is not on the list. All of the above are just realistic things I should be able to get into, although some will require new tools (well, if it needs to be done... ;-))). I would also like to start using more recycled/ upcycled materials....

So next will be my account of the first jewellery lesson I took!

Note to self - I need to edit my blog settings too...

More Earrings from January 2012

Here are some more earrings I made at the beginning of this year - just some simple designs without any complicated wirework:



The first pair is made with some vintage Czech firepolished and pressed beads from a broken necklace that my aunt gave me to re-work into something. They're quite simple in design, but the sparkle of the crystals makes them very nice for a night out.

Second pair is very airy big copper leaf with a pearl.

And the last pair is again made with some salvaged Czech firepolished beads and brass.