New Designs...

So I made these flower rings and one pendant, but can't seem to come up with a name for the design.  I'm pretty happy with it, though I did try putting stones in the center.  I thought they looked too busy.  The last photo is the pendant.  Would love some comments...

Sylas Studios featured on Indie Junction

Indie Junction is an online "guild" of DIY crafters who sell their wares.  I joined IJ a few months ago when I found out about them on the etsy forums.  They do a weekly "artist of the week" feature which is awesome, and showcases a few members every week.  I was lucky enough to be included in this weeks feature.  Check it out here: http://indiejunction.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/indie-junction-featured-artisans-for-the-week-of-august-1st/

Trunk Show happening July 23rd, this friday

I will be doing my first ever trunk show at Garden of Beaden!  Come chat with me, and see some of my work up close and personal.  Sign up for my metalsmithing classes which will be held at the store.  The trunk show runs 11am-7pm on Friday July 23rd, 2010.

Big shiny citrines

     So a frequent client contacted me recently about having a slide pendant made with a big sparkly citrine.  She wanted a square cushion cut that was 13mm, but haven't quite found it, then I was talking to her about other possibilities and mentioned a rather dark citrine I already had.

      She is looking to have the pendant in silver and gold, but the setting to be silver to contrast with the stone.  I got to go shopping at my favorite stone dealer's today and picked up a few potential rocks.  For the record, taking pictures of small shiny detailed things is hard to do.  I had six lights on these and I still had to photoshop them to be light enough to see. Here they are:

These are half on white paper and half on sheet silver, so you can see any color difference if any.  All stones are natural and untreated citrine (quartz).

This is the biggest of the stones. 35.74 carats.  It is rather light, but exceptionaly clear.  It is very deep below the girdle, and the flat top allows you to see the facets on the bottom of the stone quite well.  22mm x 17mm.

This round stone looks like its machine cut, with more facets than usual for a round stone.  (Probably because of its size.)  it is 15mm, and as you can see, not quite as big as a dime.  This stone also has a deep cut. 13.68 carats.

I loved the cut of this stone.  Its an elongated marquis and it really shows off the stone's color.  8.80 carats, and 22mm x 10 mm.

This is another unusual cut.  A little darker in color than the previous stones, and almost a marigold rather than yellow.  6.45 carats and 10mm x 14 mm.

This is my darkest and smallest citrine.  A classic oval cut (traditional proportions) with deep marigold hues. About 5 carats (forgot to weigh it before writing this).  10mm x 12mm

The other thing to think about when planning to wear a larger stone is how big the setting will have to be to get around the stone.  For instance, the deeper cut stones above will have to have metal supporting the sides to protect the stone and to hold it up off the skin.  The points can be sharp and you risk damaging the stone if the point is not kept off the skin.  A trend that is happening in the art-jewelry world right now is to take these stones and set them upside down.  There are more facets on the bottom anyway, so it can be more sparkly. And in the case of these stones, it would mean less metal, so less heavy to wear, and less expensive.  Just a thought.

the force of gravity on bananas

     So I had a fitting with the client on this gold banana ring.  The band fits perfect, but there was some concern that the peel was a little fluffy and flowery.  So I went back and made this peel more subject to gravity, with the peel appear more floppy, and dare I say droopy (in a good way). 

gold banana peel

     So I've started on the gold banana.  When it comes to forming, gold is a lot like brass, including in appearance.  Forming involves annealing, which is when you heat up metal to make it soft (literally you are re-aligning molecules in the metal), and hammering of course, both of which tend to get a little dirty.  The thing about metal is even when its beat up and discolored, it's only skin deep.  When you polish it, the metal will get all shiny and pretty again.  The images are of the gold peel and the silver band.  I am planning on removing the hammer texture from the band, however, I do not want to invest any more time into it until the client tries on the band to make sure the fit is good.  Wide bands tend to hug fingers a little differently, and for me, I will get a larger size if the band is wide so I can wear it comfortably.  Also the band is a little wider than it needs to be.  I plan on trimming it after soldering the banana in place.  You might be wondering where is the banana?  All I see is the peel!  Well, I did not forget.  The peel will probably be adjusted a little more, especially after the client tries on the band.  Once the band is good, then the peel can be perfected, then the banana will be made to fit snug to ensure a good solder joint.

Banana ring Part 2

       So I did a mock up in silver and copper to play with making the banana form.  It turned out pretty well.  Bare in mind that I did not nor will be polishing file or even sand the silver so it is very rough.

     Shown here are several different views of the mock up.  There are some things to be said up front.... The copper part is too thick, and the point of the peel is sloppy.  My goal with this was to make sure the spiculum shape was big enough and long enough to give the peel the right shape.  I'm pretty happy with it and furthermore, the process gave me the information I needed to proceed with the gold.  The gold one will definately take a little longer since it's much harder than silver.  That means a few more hours of hammering versus the silver.

Banana Ring Project

So I met a nice lady at the Lemon Festival in Downtown Upland and am now working on a project for her. She loves bananas, especially if they are partially peeled. She want a banana on a ring, to go with her other banana oriented jewelry. I drew up some design over the past weeks (which is always the easy part) and meet with her to approve the design.

(beginning sketches)

(final sketch)

After racking my brain as to how to make it and going through my options I determined it would be better to raise it from sheet rather than cast it. For those of you who don't know "raising" is smithing terminology describing the process of stretching sheet metal into 3D forms by use of hammer.  The specific form to be made is called a spiculum (not sure of my spelling on that one) refering to the conical shape with a seam running the length.  (As shown below.)

 

So my plan is a squat fatter version of this. I'm going to do a mock-up first in silver to get the proportions right before diving into the gold. Will report back when I'm done.

As the water falls...

So I have some in progress photos of Dr. Sue's fire opal and water pendant.  I did a second round of sketches because the first set wasn't quite on the mark.  I landed a design that had both the tribal hand-made style that appeals to the doc, but toned down to a more every-day wearable piece with feminine elegence.  Then I plunged into making the pendant.

So the sketches show these lines going across a shape.  The lines are a symbolic way to illustrate water and the shape would be the shape of the pendant.  I thought a tear-drop shape would be best not only for the literal symbolism but because it best fits the shape of the stone. The teardrop will be "puffed" in a press so that it has a dome to it.  (there are actually 2 puffed teardrops-a front and a back.  the stone is really thick and have the shapes puffed will allow it to hold and protect more of the stone.) The lines are pieces of silver and/or copper wire that will be soldered to the surface.  I say copper, because I think it goes so well with the opal, and brings out the colors in the stone, and I love the idea of copper and silver combined in general.

So you can see the two puffy pieces holding the stone (one in front and one underneath).  Note that the inside is hollow.  The problem with bigger pieces like this is usually the comfort is lacking because of things like weight.  Opal is actually pretty light so combined with the hollow construction it will look heavy but should be rather enjoyable to wear.  More updates to follow.

Lee's pendant: finished project

So heres the finished piece.  Againg the stones are torquoise (at the top),amethyst (in the middle), and carnelian (at the bottom).  All hand fabricated in sterling silver.

Lee's pendant final run

Shown here is the basic bezels soldered on flat sheet.  I have done a rudimentary cut around the outside to give the pendant it's shape and you can see the beginning of the bail happening at the top.  From here on out its just a matter of refining the silhouette, sanding, polishing, and setting the stones.  (Right now the stones are resting on top of their respective settings for the visual effect)  Oh- and the ring around the bottom setting will be hammered to add nice little texture detail around that stone, to give the piece a more hand-crafted look.  (Albeit, it's entirely hand crafted all ready.)  Lee, if you're reading this, know that the pendant will be well under budget.  Stay tuned for the finished piece (tonight or tomorrow).