Monday, April 25, 2011

Volcano Arts Part II

As promised, here's a look at the second piece of jewelry I created during my class at Volcano Arts.


Some of the details --

The bottom circle was sawed --freeform again! -- because I wanted the edge ruffled instead of being perfectly smooth.  I sawed it out of the same piece of etched brass as the dome on my first pendant.

The middle circle was made using a disc cutter.  Using a riveting hammer, I made a starburst pattern, then domed it in a dapping block.  Finally, I ruffled the edges with pliers.  It is nickel silver, an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel.

Christine, my instructor and the owner of Volcano Arts, created the center piece by melting copper scraps, which turned into a ball. I forged it flat-ish, letting it retain its rustic look.


The rivet holding all 3 pieces together is one I created from 14 ga sterling silver wire.  I cut the bail from copper sheet and it is connected to the pendant with another handmade sterling silver rivet.

A peek at the back of the pendant, where you can see that I did a much better job of setting the rivet.


The last thing I did was patinate, with a quick dip in liver of sulfur, followed by a very light polishing with 800 grit polishing paper.

My last project was a ring and I'll share that with you soon!


4 comments:

DVArtist said...

Wow Vicki this turned out just beautiful. I love the entire look of it.
Nicole/Beadwright

shari said...

I love it! It's so organic and looks like it grew from a tree or something... it's beautiful, and you did an amazing job on it!! So pretty.... {sigh}

Brandi Hussey said...

I love the ruffled edge so so much. And the little melted copper ball in the middle!

Brenda. said...

I love it!! The ruffled edges and the starburst designs are just beautiful. Looks like you're already becoming a pro! :)