Kind of Strange

As of five minutes ago, I’ve made the final payment for the JTI course at the Revere Academy.

Place to stay: Secured!
Plane tickets: Purchased!
Time off: Pending final approval

Now to suck it up and buy the required tools & books!

Come this fall I’ll be down in San Francisco for the Jewelry Technician Intensive at the Revere Academy.  I’ll be keeping a journal here of my experiences and projects as the class progresses.

I am both excited and a little freaked out.  The required tool list alone is intimidating!

First look at a new mask I’m working on. 

Plaster strip over brass mesh.  I still have a lot of work to do on this one, but not bad for an evening’s work.

Short, old poem, but one that I still relate to.

Seen the Sea

I have seen the Sea

Shining bright through thick and thin

Golden rays of sunlight

Burnished slick on silvered skin

 Proud, strong, confident

Surging ever without shame

So happily accepting

Its neverending game

I would like to follow

The example of the Sea

And work at what I love

For me, and only me

I recently took part in a post-apocalyptic tarot card project photoshoot.  You can see me in the bone mask as a set of twins here:

http://www.shotinthedarkphotography.com/art/Tarot/Cards/queenofpent.jpg

A few days before the photoshoot the artist in charge asked whether or not any of the participants had a ‘bone crown’.  I didn’t at the time, but the idea picked at my brain as something I could create. 

I somewhat obsessively buy very worn, aged leather belts whenever I find them at the thrift store.  There’s a certain aesthetic and tactile feel in well worn leather that you just can’t replicate with any ease. or regularity.  One of these would serve as the base… Within days I was commited to the idea and started poring through my random supply trunk to see what else could be used.

On top of that, I hand sawed, bent and shaped a large, brass coated door hinge I picked up at Home Depot.  I’ve been eyeing those for future projects for ages and was far too excited to finally have a reason to get one.  Once in the right shape and size, it was coated in stain, which took many days to dry.  Once dry, the surface was scuffed up with a brass brush and paper towels.  From there, the hinge was secured to the leather strap using some generic brass rivets, and a set of snaps added to the back in order to allow for size adjusting.

An opossum skull, tusks and pheasant feathers were bound to the crown using faux sinew and patience.  A set of three chains on each side were added.  Pearls and crystals were strung using sterling wire to hopefully add a small amount of regality and a bit of out-of-place elegance. 

The result: (click for larger)

While the aesthetic did not fit and the piece was not able to be used for this particular project, I will certainly get plenty of use out of it in the future.  The short weekend exercise was great and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

One day I will learn to take progress photos as I go along.  That day is not today!

Photos of the recently finished wisdom tooth ring posted previously.  It was created as a gift for a dental hygienist friend of mine from one of the four wisdom teeth I had removed several years ago.

I wanted to create something of a ‘rot’ effect on the sterling silver, without going too far with the concept.   I really need to try creating a light box for photos, but for now the natural sunlight and backdrop of my patio herbs will have to suffice.

I need to do some fine tuning and seal the bone in clear wax, but for most intents and purposes this little experiment is just about done.

The hoop at the top is a single piece of sterling wire, which protrudes out in a small nub on the right hand side of the piece.  This stabilizes the piece as a whole and prevents it from wiggling around.  I’m not 100% sold on the small pearl I added to the top, but I’m leaning towards keeping it on there as it balances things out a bit.

Not a lot to say about this one just yet, but here’s a couple of very early shots.

The bone was split down the middle with a jeweler’s saw with a very fine blade.  The curve in the cut is intentional, meant to look more organic and fluid than a simple fracture.  Two pearls have been strung through the center using very fine gauge silver wire and patiently hand bored holes. 

Sideview shot, showing the little swirls of silver wire capping either end.

Well pre-ordered at least.  It becomes available on May 22nd.

Coppr Clay at New Mexico Clay

I can’t wait to play around with this new material and see how it reacts.  The firing instructions are a bit different than Bronz clay, but approximately the same shrinkage rates (20%). Now to see how workable it is.  Very excited, to say the least!

Some basic information is provided in the PDF from NMclay.

Just a very quick post to share the joy that is older texts available for free on Google Book Search.

The Goldsmith’s Handbook 

This is just one example.  Give it a go, sometimes you can find some great stuff up there.  While the knowledge on some topics is dated, others such as metalsmithing have remained relatively constant for hundreds or thousands of years (go go gadget leatherworkers!) and still provide valid, valuable information.

Some fun topics to get you started:

subject: “Mythology”

subject: “Leather”

subject: “Crafts & Hobbies”

subject: “Art”

subject: “Science”