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).

Multi Stone Pendant Project

I figured this would be the best way to present this project, so I have posted pictures of the stones in my arsenal and then following with pics of the stones laid out in different ways.  All of the layouts here are within the clients budget, however some much less than others.  Should the client not see a layout they like, they can create their own, or we can go through this process until satisfaction is reached.  So here goes.

The stones are listed below with their names, level of transparency, and written description of color:

These two stones are both turquoise of a intense robin's egg blue (opaque).

These are the various red stones available: the two larger ovals on the left are orangy-red carnelian: translucent (not quite see-through).  The small ovals at the top are rubies, they are translucent and a bright pinky-red or violet red.  The three triangles on the right are garnets.  They are completely transparent and are a dark true red color.

Lets start with the opaque stone at the top in the middle of the picture.  That is sugalite, and a warm red-purple with some black specks (very typical of this stone) and again, opaque.  To the right of that are two blue-purple Iolite stones, which are transparent.  These are sometimes called water-saphires, because they look like watery saphires.  The reset of the stones are all amethyst, which is a transparent true purple color.  the marquis shaped one (large stone at bottom center) is rather dark, almost a transparent black- purple.

These are the oranges.  The stone on the bottom right is a spessartine garnet also known as spessartite garnet.  This type of garnet is a bit more rare and has a great warm orange-honey hue.  It is transparent, and this stone has a few visable fractures and inclusions (which is why it fits into the budget).  The other stones shown are all carnelian.  These are translucent- and the two large ovals are really milky.  The four small stones are a red-orange, whereas the two large ones are a true orange color.

Now for the layouts.  These are merely images of the stones placed together.  My aim was to mix different geometric shapes together.  These can be made as one piece, or a top piece with a smaller dangle coming off (a pendant for the pendant, if you will). 

My apologies for the pictures being so dark.  These are some ideas.  If you notice the bottom two are the same, just with a different orange stone in the center (carnelian on the left and garnet on the right).  In the picture which the client provided me of a pendant in the style she liked, there was a rope design around the center stone to augment it.  I was planning on doing that as well, either on the center stone or the orange stone, since the orange is a requirement to match the clients favorite pair of earrings:)  I do have a lot of other stones available in a wide range of colors, but was imagining these colors would suit the client best.

Mexican Fire Opal Pendant Project

So A few posts back, I posted some photos of this rough Mexican Fire Opal that a client was given. She is looking for a pendant to be made of this one, and has a few others to be made into earrings. I am going to focus on the pendant designs for this post. I think we will be using silver for the piece, but note, this could be done in any metal. Some of the basic ideas that the client is interested in considering for the piece are: water symbology, especially meanings of protection from water (like a talisman); specifically Maori tribal designs; Mexican/Native American/Southwest style silver; and textures. (And of course we can add to that list later.) The stone is a combination of the matrix (other generic rock) and the gemstone (in this case, the Mexican opal). The matrix accounts for the majority of this stone, with the gemstone moving diagonally across the center of one side of the stone (which I am considering to be the front). This design would showcase that. The silver detail on either side of the opal is of a pattern illustrating water, the flow of water. (Disclaimer: It is my own design, and not connected with any ancient symbology or anything.) The silver detail would also creep up the sides of the stone, and around the back to hold the stone in place securely. the ring around the outside of the pendant would be thick and wide, acting as a protective frame for the stone, so this pendant design would be able to handle a bit more than your average wear and tear.
This design focuses on texture. There will be a flat silver backing with little silver granules and wires soldered onto the surface to create the texture. we could even use copper instead of silver for a bit more contrast. Though there would be a lot of texture, it will stick up off the backing slightly (less than a 16th of an inch) and the stone itself will stick up of the back about half an inch. The other thing with this design is the back of the pendant will have a nice clean flat surface. Meaning: 1) it will be very comfortable against bare skin, and 2) there will be a surface which we can use to inscribe a prayer, poem, well wishes, or what have you.

This is based on a native American style of silver jewelry. This is designed to be very light weight and at the same time, protective of the stone. Basically the construction consists of the silver frame which is just ever so slightly larger than the stone. There will be a open seat under the stone for support, and hefty prongs at various points to keep the stone secure. So the gaps you see between the frame and the stone are just air making this design very lightweight. We can modify this design by having a solid back if desired.

After looking at some Maori Hook designs and reading a little bit about them, I came up with this sketch. The Maori are not just decorating things with their aesthetic. They use their designs to tell stories. With that idea in mind I came up with this one. Here the stone is rising out of the water and surrounded by it, which i drew with the intention of meaning overcoming water or mastering it. Of course feel free to apply your own interpretations. This would be made of silver, and it does look like it would be pretty big and pointy to wear. What I would do when making it, is to round the points out enough to make it comfortable against the skin. I would also have the silver be very thin in spots so that it doesn't wind up being too heavy to wear. (This can be done without jeopardizing the stability of the piece.)

This is a basic design idea for how to incorporate an actual Maori Hook design into the pendant. I came up with a generic one for the purpose of this sketch, but we could replace it with the hook of my clients choosing. The stone would dangle from the hook. What I would do is build a silver frame around the stone that hugs the sides of the stone to create a protective casing.

These are very rough sketches in sharpie. The top is just big meaty prongs securing the stone. the bottom left and bottom right are both taking an idea of geometric (blocky) shapes to go around the stone. Its a bit architectural, and 1950's modern in style. My thought was that these big smooth silver shapes would offer a nice contrast to the color, texture, and detail of the stone, emphasising it's natural beauty.

This is and idea of making a literal box around the stone. As with the previous designs, is would contrast the details of the stone. This one goes one step farther because it creates a strong, solid frame for protecting the stone. It also draws more attention to the silhouette of the stone. this is shown with two bails, but could be modified to be one instead.

So those are the ideas so far, I am style thinking this over and trying to tackle the Maori idea in a few other ways. I would love to hear your thoughts in the meantime.

I'm Setting up shop in Upland California

Hello everyone,
I will be setting up a space in shop in Upland, CA to sell my work. This is right in downtown, on 9th street, where the farmers market is held every Thursday. I am moving in on Saturday, and plan to be around every Thursday and Saturday (possibly doing demonstrations) so you can meet the artist. I will mostly be representing my jewelry and functional silver work, as well as my beaded inventory. So here's the address: 257 E. 9th Street Upland, CA 91786. Pics to come of the space on saturday!

pendant ideas for fire opal rough

Ok, so this client is particularly tall which means she can handle wearing larger pieces, and they do quite well for her. She like things that have a ethnic feel to is, especially native american, or mexican deisgns. She is also a doctor, and by default a scientist and wants to show case the stone as more of a pretty rock than a gemstone (which I totally agree, considering the piece we are designing around). Here are my first 2 sketches:

so the one on the left is basically a metal box for the stone. The stone has an almost-straight edge on one side, and this naturally jagged edge on the other sides. The negative space between the jagged edge of the stone and the straight line across from it will emphasize the silhouette of the stone. The box will also be a secure setting that will form a protective wall around it, so if it gets dropped, it should survive pretty well. There are 2 bails at the top to string onto a leather cord or chain, or strand of beads (I could supply any of these, doc).

The second design is a psuedo native american style pendant. this would basically be a teardrop frame that would go around the stone, holding it in place with metal tabs/prongs.

Have no fear, these are not the only ideas up my sleeve! Soon to follow... more sketches.