Satisfying Sparkles

I have been wanting to get back to enameling and glass work for a while, so I finally bit the bullet and purchased a new kiln. Actually, I purchased it about 6 months ago, but I only finally got the time to set it up and test fire it this week. It is a real beauty!

The kiln has a bead door, which was a must-have for my lampworking projects. Yes, you can lampwork beads without a kiln, but you run a risk of them cracking and shattering from heat-shock if they cool too quickly and a fiber insulating blanket is only moderately effective. If you’ve never heard of lampworking, it’s the process of shaping and manipulating glass in an open flame (usually a torch). I love making whimsical and colorful projects with my lampworked creations.

I took some enameling classes a few years ago with Margaret Langdell. Her work is beautiful and inspiring and she’s a great teacher. Ever since, I’ve been hoping to work more enamel into my pieces, and the kiln will enable me to do it.

I also plan to do a bit of PMC experimentation. While I don’t believe that PMC is the right choice for a lot of jewelry because the finished pieces are porus and soft and easily damaged, I appreciate that many things can be done more easily in PMC than by straight fabrication or wax casting. So I think a mixed-media approach, incorporating PMC with other fabricated pieces, might be an exciting way to embellish art jewelry.

So now you all of the fun ways I’ll be experimenting and spending my fall (well, just as soon as I get through the piles of custom work and repairs that I have to finish…)

A customer came to me with 3 tanzanite stones, all of different sizes, that he wanted to make into a ring for himself. We discussed a variety of designs, all with a masculine feel, to use the beautiful, although non-standard-sized stones. He decided he liked an alignment with the three stones in a line, and the largest one in centered on the finger.

Using CAD, I created a pattern that could be used to cut out pieces on a sheet of sterling silver to form into the ring. To ensure that the largest stone would be centered, the sides of the ring are aligned with one side slightly wider than the other:

The pieces were cut and filed into a the pattern’s shape by my assistant Jen, who did a very nice job of making sure they fit together perfectly with no gaps. I then soldered everything together and hand-made bezels, which I formed into crowns using a variety of filing techniques. The heads were soldered on to the ring’s top platform, and a ring liner was added to the interior of the ring for a smooth fit.

And so, the finished piece:

I did finish the nautical pendant a while ago, but haven’t had much time to post results. So let’s fix that now!

Here it is, with the horn fossilized horn coral centerpiece in place, set from the back. This setting style was a bit tricky, since the inside frame to fit the stone needed to be cut carefully to fit the one-of-a-kind coral cabochon. But it was the best way to have the other gold elements overlap the stone and the result is quite pretty.

I also chose a variety of shades for the orange sapphires, to highlight the subtle differences in the range of “orangeness” that can be seen in sapphires. The graduation of color also nicely plays against the bright red-orange of the coral and the yellow of the gold.

The piece came out very well, if I do say so myself. And so does the customer

Perhaps some of my more frequent blog readers will remember the designs I posted some time ago for a nautically-themed pendant. As it turns out, the design has gone through many, many revisions as the customer’s vision of what she wanted for this piece has changed and evolved. Here is a little glimpse of some of the designs that I’ve created during the process.

The customer’s original request was to create a pendant that would feature a coral cabochon accented with a few yellow-orange sapphires. I added a few of the customer’s favorite sea shells, a starfish and scallop, to the design. To balance out the design, I created a seaweed accent to sweep across the bottom of the pendant.

The customer liked the basic idea of this design, but decided that she wanted the pendant to be much larger than the initial concept piece. I suggested that we use something besides coral, because it is nearly impossible and cost-impractical to find a pink coral cab that would be the inch-and-a-half to two inches that she wanted. So I found a piece of groovy fossilized horn coral to use instead. This one-of-a-kind stone would provide plenty of color and interest as well as meet the size requirements for the piece. Overall, the pendant would be much larger, so more sea shell elements were created for new design options.

After reviewing the revised designs that featured the horn coral, the customer requested additional changes. She liked the original design that featured a scallop shell on the bail through which the chain would be threaded. Because the new pendant would be heavier, I suggested that putting a bail on each side of the pendant would better balance the weight of the piece for more even hanging. So we agreed that two scallops would act as the pendant’s bails. We removed most of the other shell components and shrunk the starfish to make room for a sailboat, which the customer decided would be the perfect accent for the piece, since she loves sailboats. And she wanted more sapphires added. We also discussed that since the pendant would be special, it needed a special chain made for it, and some of the added sapphires would be incorporated into the chain.

The result is this new design, which I think is really spectacular. I thought that the boat needed some waves to linearly connect it to the pendant, and I also added some “sand” bumps around the bottom of the piece. To allow for many of the design elements overlap the top of the pendant, it is designed to be set from the back. I hope the customer likes this new design as much as I do. I can hardly wait to get it milled and to work on finishing it.

I always like making jewelry that has special meaning or a story behind it. A recently-finished pair of aquamarine stacking rings is one such project.

A customer contacted me with a request for ring that was similar to one that she had admired. She liked the modern look of a square wire shank with a pear-shaped bezel-set stone at the ring’s top. We discussed stones and found that the bright blue color of aquamarine would be suitable, as long as the stone was small and the ring sturdy enough to wear every day.

So we discussed a few design options, with a small faceted pear-shaped aquamarine as the design focus, and as we started tossing some ideas around, the customer got excited about the idea of stacking rings, with one stone each as a representation of her two sons. I thought that if we rotated the stones a little on the ring, the aquamarines could nestle together, as if in an embrace of family togetherness.

Now Mom can wear her “Two Sons” rings every day and think of her boys when she glances at her finger.

(So cute; as we were finishing up our design sessions, my customer told me that one of her little boys is already excited about the prospect of passing on one of the rings to his future wife. I like a kid that thinks ahead!)

Every year, I donate a piece of jewelery to the Leo Almeida Memorial North Shore Striped Bass Tournament. It’s a fishing tournament with proceeds that benefit several North Shore (Massachusetts) food pantries. If there are any fishermen or fisherwomen that will be in the area in September, please consider joining this tournament. And even if you aren’t local, donations and raffle tickets may be purchased at www.northshorestriper.com. Please help support this great cause and help provide food for those in need.

One of the prizes from this year’s raffle drawing will be a one-of-a-kind FabMartha bracelet. Every year I try to do something with a fish theme for the tournament. This year’s “fishy” jewelry is a sterling silver handmade chain bracelet, with three fishy links included in the design.

Good luck to all of the fisherfolk out there and good luck in this year’s raffle!