Cold Connections

No, I'm not talking about dating in the Far North.  I'm talking about using rivets to connect metals.  It was one of the primary things I learned during my last class at Volcano Arts (almost a year ago now!)

When I returned from that class, I did a series of blog posts here, here, here and here.  And I also created some pieces last summer using the skills I learned and posted them here.  Now that my General Earring Inventory is close to where I like it to be (~200 pairs ready for either wholesale or consignment), I decided to tackle some new projects using rivets. 

The first few things I made turned out ok, but not awesome.  I think I was trying too hard to come up with interesting designs and not planning enough.  One of the most important things I learned in that class was to plan your piece from start to finish.  Otherwise, you can get yourself stuck in a corner, with no way out.  Not good.

This oak leaf pendant is well executed, but it doesn't excite me.  It's too flat ... or something! 

My dissatisfaction with this helped me make the decision to go back to a familiar design that DOES excite me.  Basically, I'm moving forward with "variations on a theme", an approach that has served me well with almost all of my jewelry making for the past 16 years.  With each piece I make, I learn something new and my technique improves.  Yes, the pieces are similar, but there's nothing wrong with that.  It lets me hone my skills, without the added pressure of coming up with new designs.

Better, right?

Even better yet!

(well, except for the stupid ding just to the left of the top rivet... grrr)

I'll be at it for the next few days, making more of these 3 dimensional pendants with copper, brass, pearls, gemstones and who knows what else!

Volcano Arts Wrap-Up

I hope you enjoyed my posts about the items I created during my class at Volcano Arts.  Thanks for all of your comments.  I'm anxious to get started using the skills I learned there, but there's a big hurdle.  I don't yet have all of the tools I need, nor do I have a suitable space.  Rick has some things he's supposedly gathering for me.  The rest, I need to order from Rio Grande.

One of the main things I need is a bench of some sort.  My current workspace is a desk and that will not do at all.  Christine has several benches set up around her classroom/studio to accommodate a bunch of students. This is the table-top bench that I was assigned to.  Christine had it "loaded" with all of the basic tools one needs to work with metal.  More specific and single-purpose tools were available to us as well.  All in all, her studio is a dream.

This bench is available for purchase through Rio Grande.  I plan to buy one from them and I'm trying to figure out what surface I can actually set this on!  My studio needs a serious makeover.

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!