Fusing Sterling Silver and Copper is a process I began using the first few months of my metal work education. Most metal is joined together using solder (with heat) or cold connection (with rivets). Of course I now use both of those methods in many designs But fusing is still the most fun! This process joins the metal by creating enough heat to melt parts of the metal. … [Read more...]
Peek into my Design Process: Texturing
Texturing Metal is one of my favorite ways to create designs. I love the way texture adds to the basic metal. It gives it dimension and makes the designs more interesting. There are LOTS of ways to texture metal. Here's a peek into two of the ways I use most frequently. Corrugation. This means literally, to shape into folds or parallel and alternating ridges and … [Read more...]
Does the Color Orange Make You Happy?
Did you know that orange is the only color of the spectrum that is named after an object? There was no word for the color Orange until the fruit first arrived in Europe. Because of the cost associated with shipping from the tropics, orange became associated with aristocracy. Through Renaissance art, the color orange had great symbolic importance as the color of … [Read more...]
How do I create Pure Metal Earrings?
I love working with metal. Can you tell? Creating my collection of Copper and Sterling Silver PURE METAL earrings requires lots of elbow grease. First I texture the raw metal. This is usually done by hammering but can be done with a rolling mill as well. The metal must be softened (heated) before starting the texturing. Since the metal becomes distorted from the … [Read more...]
Tools of the Jewelry Trade: Disc Cutter
Do you have any idea how much fun it is to get a new tool? OK, I know this sounds like a 'guy' thing... but any metals jeweler will tell you that we get so much pleasure from being able to do something creative with our new 'toy' This new disc cutter cuts squares from metal. So what you say? Now I can create my own designs more quickly. Plus I now have endless ways to … [Read more...]
