Finally, some new jewelry in my etsy shop!

I've neglected my etsy shop for far too long. I've been busy this summer learning to solder and making many new items. They've been sitting on my shelf while I've admired them, but now it's time to let them go out into the world! So, I've taken photos and listed 11 new items this weekend and will list several more through the coming week. Be sure to check out my new listings in my etsy shop.

I'm taking another weekly metalsmithing class this fall at Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle. I find it's all less overwhelming this class. Maybe I'm catching on! Of course it helps that I have a terrific teacher for this class, Susanne Lechler Osborn. She's so willing to share everything she knows and explains it so well. One of the nice perks of taking classes at Pratt is that I can go there every Friday for open studio time and work on whatever I need to do. I've done a lot of soldering during those Friday sessions!

I've also been rearranging the home office and a guest bedroom space to make one of the rooms exclusively for my jewelry workshop! I have a new jeweler's bench all set up in a sunny, 3 window corner of the room. I am surprised at how much space my jewelry equipment takes up! I have a computer/business area, a photo area, my jewelers bench, supplies, books and supply catalogs.... I still need some things for the room to make it really comfortable for me, such as new lighting and an additional chair. Here is a photo of my favorite corner. Yes, yes, it's already a mess. I'm making some riveted pendant and earring sets that need to be done tomorrow! I'd better get back to work :)

Wishing you a fun, creative week!

Why rivet when you can solder? I CAN solder!

Today was day 2 of 4 in my soldering class at Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle. What a fun day! We learned a few new techniques including sweat joints, soldering wire to sheet and soldering posts to earrings. Our teacher for this class is Roger Horner and he's an excellent teacher and craftsman. He primarily works with hollow ware. He's patient, knowledgeable and informative; I feel fortunate to be learning from him.

Before today's class, I made the components (links and spirals) for the pictured bracelet. Today, I soldered the sterling wire spirals to the sterling links during class. The bracelet has 8 links and 5 of 8 solders worked on my first try. The remaining 3 had to be soldered twice, but all worked fine on the second go round, so I feel really good about them. I also soldered spiral links shut for a necklace similar to one I've posted in the past, but now there will be no chance of the links sliding off their connecting rings.

As I expected, soldering will add another level of professionalism to my jewelry. Rivets, which I have done a lot of in the past, are nice for items that have an industrial quality to them, but soldering will allow me to add more delicate things and better finishing touches to my work.

I've spent the past week shopping for/hunting down items to prepare a soldering station at home. Boric acid, borax, TSP, Sparex, flux, various types of solder, torch tips, titanium picks... the list goes on... I'm almost ready! I'll be moving my workspace from the office to a spare bedroom (which will no longer be a bedroom) later next month. I need the room prior to that for visiting guests, but after that time, we will have 'only' one guest bedroom and a fold out couch in the bonus room when we have company. I'm getting so eager to move in! Right now I have my flex shaft set up in the garage and I'm planning a temporary soldering set up there as well. Oh, how I miss our MN basement and the wonderful workshop Rich had built (for himself) there. I could really use it now. Our WA home doesn't have a basement :( Who knew I would ever need or want a workshop of my own?

Building confidence

I spent a wonderful morning today attending a soldering class at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. You may recall my first experience with soldering in June was a very frustrating one for me. So, I signed up for this 4 day class (every Wed. in August) devoted just to building soldering skills.

The relaxed pace and skilled teacher were just what I needed to boost my confidence and hopes that I will someday be able to master soldering and expand my metalsmithing line. Today we learned all about various types of solder and fluxes. I found it really helps me to understand the whole chemical process of what happens to the metal when it's heated as well as what happens to the solder and how it flows. The process makes so much more sense to me now and as a result, I'm having an easier time with the skills involved.

The treble clef bracelet pictured above is a custom order prototype experiment at the request of one of my etsy customers (I love repeat customers!). I formed the bracelet a few days ago out of a single piece of copper wire. I brought it along to class today to try my hand at soldering the places where the wire overlaps. It worked!!!!! Big sigh of relief!!! I'll be making it in sterling sometime in the next month. I spent the afternoon hammering, sanding and polishing it with my new Foredom Flex Shaft. I'm pleased with the end result and I think I'll be wearing it occasionally - because I want to "test drive" the design before I make it in sterling silver and because I really like the bracelet itself. I think I'm attracted to it for two reasons; one I love music and two, the treble clef has a spiral in it and you know how much I love spirals in my jewelry! I think I'll probably use a heavier gauge wire when I make it in sterling silver (I used 12 gauge here), just to give it a little more heft stability.

The ring pictured is one I made at my June class and my only 4 successful solders during that stressful 4 day class. I had originally polished it to a high shine and have been wearing it daily for 2 months now. It was getting all kinds of scratches in it, so today when I was polishing the treble clef bracelet, I decided to try giving this ring a satin finish and then oxidizied it lightly. I can always polish it again later if I decide I want it shiny again. So far, I like the satin look and I hope it will eliminate the problem of the ring appearing scratched. It's is subjected to all kinds of scratchy things on a daily basis because I wear it constantly - even while I make other jewelry.

What should it be? Tell me, please!

Another interesting day in metalsmithing class today. I'll start with the picture on the left. I wanted more practice cutting small curves, so I cut this design out of copper. I tried to solder it onto the sterling back, but was not successful. Ugh. So, I chose to rivet it onto the base instead. I did however, get a lot of practice with pickle, cleaning, sanding, polishing and buffing today! So tell me, what should the item in the photo be when it's finished? A broach? A pendant? Should it be worn vertically or horizontally? Angled? And, what does it remind you of? The original photo was a free flowing, curvy, spirally design. Now when held vertically, it reminds me vaguely of the old Dave Mathews CD cover logo from "Stand Up" (2005). The one with a woman dancing, arms outstretched. When I hold it horizontally, it reminds me of a bird with a curved beak and wings flapping. One of the rivets looks like an eye. I think there's a little seahorse vibe to it also. I'd love to know what it reminds you of and if I should hang it as a pendant or attach a pin to the back for a broach. Either will require a solder - yikes!

I won't say much about my soldering today; only that I tried and failed many times. I signed up for a class in August devoted just to soldering. I need that class.

In all, this week's class was fun, challenging and tiring but I tried new things and learned a lot. I'm looking forward to having out of town guests staying with me this next week and taking a little break from making jewelry. After 4 days of seemingly non-stop jewelry challenges, I could use the break.

Looking Forward

The past 2 weeks, I've been busy making special orders from customers in MN. It's been fun, but I've been making things I already know how to do. Not really stretching myself or experimenting very much. It almost feels like I've taken a step backward by making things that aren't challenging me. Mind you, I'm not complaining, I do appreciate the orders. I still need to make several things for summer and fall delivery to the shops I'll be selling my work at in MN, but I have some flexibility in what I'll have available to offer them when that time comes.

While I enjoy re-creating past success items and tweaking/improving them a bit, I also like to explore new techniques and keep growing with my jewelry designs. There are so many jewelry techniques I'd like to learn; soldering, piercing, rings, bezels, etc... The list goes on and on. I feel like such a novice when I think about how much I don't know yet.

At one of my classes this year, I was told by a classmate to take a look at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. I did just that and I'm so excited! I have signed up for 56 hours of jewelry/metalsmithing classes this summer! Today, I picked up 2 books that they recommended, "The Complete Metalsmith" by Tim McCreight and "Jewelry Making Techniques Book" by Elizabeth Olver. I've been perusing them all evening and drooling over things I want to learn. My classes don't start until mid June, but I'm already sketching things I want to try. Pratt has full jewelry and metalsmithing studios available to rent on an hourly/daily basis, so after my classes, I'll be able to go back and use some of their equipment that I don't have at home. Fire, here I come! Controlled fire, of course :) I feel like Tim Allen, grunting Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh oh...... at the possibilty of new toys!

For May, (I try to take at least one class every month) I'm going to take a couple of advanced riveting classes from 2 of my favorite instructors, Tracy Stanley and Janice Berkebile from Wired Arts . One class will be making riveted rings and the other covers making riveted amulets. I could probably do both right now, just looking at the photos of what we'll be making, but Tracy and Janice always give such fun classes and helpful tips that it's well worth it to take their classes.

I'm looking forward to a summer of creative learning and growth. Always evolving. Jewelry making is becoming a full time job for me and I couldn't be happier!