Examples of personal projects.
New watercolors, sitting in a box, waiting to be used. Enter one of my favorite watercolor artists with a new series of online painting tutorials. My daughter and I sat down with our paints and followed along. The photos show what we did that day.
Carnelian is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. This pendant features a pear-shaped carnelian cabochon. The handmade setting was crafted from sterling silver sheet, bezel wire, and different gauges of beaded pattern wire. A patina was created using liver of sulfur, to give the piece an antique finish.
Black onyx is probably the most well-known, but onyx can occur in a wider variety of colors. This pendant features an oval-shaped black onyx cabochon. The handmade setting was crafted from sterling silver sheet, bezel wire, and twisted pattern wire. One of my favorite aspects of this piece is the bail. Rather than attaching a bail piece at the top, or extending the back to create a spot for a drilled hole, the bail part of this pendant is formed from the pattern wire that outlines the setting. In this case, the bail is much more a part of the design than some other examples.
This hammered pendant is made with sterling silver, hand-cut, shaped and textured. No stones were used, but rather the sparkle comes from the highly-polished, facet-like surfaces created by lightly tapping on the surface with the rounded head of a ball-peen hammer. This piece features a minimalist design, with a simple hoop for a bail that nearly disappears when viewing the necklace straight on.
Lapis lazuli has a long history as a gemstone. With its dark blue and glittering flecks of gold, it has been compared to the night sky. Ancient cultures believed the stone had magical powers, imparting wisdom and awareness. While you're likely to find examples of lapis lazuli worn by royalty, denim lapis is a popular stone for more casual styles of jewelry. These vintage-inspired earrings consist of denim lapis cabochons set in sterling silver, on sterling silver fishhook ear wires.
A couple of years ago (2019) I was looking for designs that wouldn't cost much to make, something that I could potentially sell, and I made a handful of stacking rings, (pun intended.) Square wire, round wire--no pattern wire, for some reason. It gave me an opportunity to practice my soldering and try out some texturing techniques. If were ever going to open a shop online, or try to sell locally, these would likely be a staple of my offerings.
One summer I decided to tackle a ring design project. My confidence was high and I was seeking out more challenging projects. I bought some wider, rectangular wire to make a band, and a prefabricated tube bezel for an 8mm gemstone. But how would I put it all together?
I was in my second metalsmithing class at the arts center and this was my class project. My teacher and I went back and forth about how to construct the ring. Long story, short--she was right. I tried two methods for mounting the bezel on the band and, well...both rings were bad. But the second method, the one my teacher promoted, was undeniably better.
Seeing how much I enjoyed making beaded jewelry, my wife enrolled me in a beginner metalsmithing class at the Lawrence Arts Center. Over the course of a few months I learned to work with silver to create custom jewelry pieces, of my own design. I came out of the class with two beautiful pieces: one that was my class project, the other a happy accident, trying to salvage some scrap wire.
The beaded necklace was the focal point of a matching set--necklace, bracelet and earrings. I made this necklace for my wife, to wear at the grand opening of a new building on campus. It was designed to be an elegant accessory to her little black dress.