All New....All Sterling!

by Patti Vanderbloemen

As I type this post on Wednesday evening, I realize it has been a bit more productive week than I had originally thought. I have not been venturing to my studio as much as I would like these days - still a bit under the weather.  But, when I finally make it down there, I realize that it's quality not quantity (at least..that's what I keep telling myself)!

First up is this nifty little ring I made.  I wanted to make at least one more bezel in a cone shape while it was still fresh in my memory from making the sterling silver cuff with a similar focal, back in December.

The ring features a faceted, 10mm Cubic Zirconia - great flash in that stone!  It's really a simple ring - but that focal truly makes it a statement ring...at least for me! I soldered on a little concho embellishment at a slight angle on the bottom of the ring.

I hate taking pictures when my own hands have to serve as the model! Macro shots of my skin just make me cringe! :)

The next two pieces were inspired by a technique that Carol Dekle-Foss wrote about on the Love My Art Jewelry Blog - you can read that post here.  Carol is an amazing artist with a repertoire that encompasses metalsmithing, ceramics and porcelain, metal clay - her sand blasted pendants are drool-worthy! (You can see more of Carol's beautiful designs here).  Anyway, her post, which includes a brief video, demonstrated reticulation silver techniques AND Reticulation Silver onto Copper. During the process of melting sterling silver scraps onto the copper, the silver fuses to the copper and produces the most amazing textures!

I started by cutting out two little ovals from copper sheet.  The end result was so tactile - I did not want to punch a hole in the tabs and ruin all that perfect texture.  So, I soldered tiny little jump rings to the back of the tabs, to serve as little bails.  

I recently acquired some amazing Sparkling Rocks lampwork beads from GlassBeadArt, and I think they complement those silver tabs quite well - understated sparkle!

  

Then, I took a scrap of silver about 2" square, plopped on some silver scrap, and went to melting.  After LOTS of polishing (this technique creates a lot of oxidation which has to be buffed away before you see the beauty of the texture), I saw a free form heart shape! So...without even using a sharpie to outline my shape (EGADS!), I went at it with my jeweler's saw.

I still cannot get over all this texture!

Last, but not least, I got out some of my recently purchase handmade stamps, and made a sterling silver cuff.

It's funny...I have made quite a few spinner-style anticlastic bangles.  The cuff is a constant repetition of forging the cuff into it's oval shape, start the forming of the concave curves and BOOM...no more cuff shape!  I have a new appreciation for this cuff, as it took more concentration on maintaining that classic cuff shape, while still achieving a concave curve.

I  only oxidized the interior to accentuate the stamping - I kept a mirror finish on the outside of the cuff and I really do like that contrast.

That's it - I am spent! :)  Looking at the compilation picture though, at least it is a complete set of jewelry!

I hope to continue visiting new techniques and incorporating them in my work.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful rest of the week!

xo

Patti