An Experiment

When I finally figured out how to get my butane torch to work on making sterling silver ball head pins, I went hog wild. My heart skips a beat when I see that silver melt into a little ball and start crawling up the wire. (I LOVE FIRE.) I already had a pile of my steel "barbed wire" rings (with which I had also gone hog wild), and had an idea. I've seen other metalsmiths do amazing things with double ended ball heapdins, wrapping them hither and yon onto their jewelry to make really stunning pieces, and I thought I would wrap such things onto my barbed wire rings to make all manner of jewelry components. I love the dark annealed steel with sterling silver. The earrings below were originally intended to be connectors in a necklace with a larger, similar component for the pendant, but there was just too much going on. They became earrings instead. The pendant was awaiting some pewter beads from Happy Mango Beads, which I got today in the mail. So hopefully the pendant will be strung and completed tomorrow.



I will probably do this again with copper (unless you all say "Um, WTF?"), once I get my propane torch going. It's still in the box in the bag. I'm a little chicken. I'm not going to say I'll fire it up this weekend because I said that last weekend and I think the weekend before that. I'm just going to wait for the propane to call my name.

Not What I Had Originally Planned

Well, this wasn't at all what I had started out to make. I was determined to use my bronze Summers Studio pendant, but it just didn't work out. So I will continue to hoard that one until I can devise the PERFECT setting. I was so looking forward to using that, I almost gave up halfway on this one. I hate having to start over with a design idea. And I wasn't thrilled with this disc of chrysocolla, it was just so plain. In the process of creating a bail for it I got carried away adding gewgaws to it (there was epoxy), and I like it a little more. (For more info, CLICK HERE).



I had started out with bronze-colored chain (I left my brass chain in the ammonia fumes for a LONG time, until it turned sable brown), so I decided to stick with that. Used some of my hand-forged beadcaps that I had also bronzed in the ammonia fumes, and then spent ALL day trying to figure out what else to do with it. Finally settled on these great wood wheels from Beads and Pieces (fabulous wood bead selection). And of course, being me, I had to add just one more thing. So I dangled some little turquoise glass roundels partway along the chain to keep it from being too naked. I did have some brass spirals on there too, but then there were just too many curlicues everywhere and I took them off.



Didn't have time for the new torch yesterday. Frankly, I'm a little nervous. Making fire with something that's delivered in a truck is a little daunting. My cigar lighter torch is much less threatening. Bic is harmless. You light them at concerts. Unfortunately the thing I just made (above) was not on my to do list, so I can't cross it off. So the list is the same length. Long. I guess I should add it on there and THEN cross it off. But my list would still be the same length. Damn.