"Marriage of Metals" technique & tutorial

Carol Dekle-Foss

I learned this cool technique a couple months ago in my intermediate metalsmith class. I just LOVE it! I have always been attracted to geometric patterns and also mixing different metals. This technique was perfect for me to explore in my jewelry designs. These earrings are my latest creation, and for my first Boot Camp post, I'm going to show the readers of LMAJ how I made them. Tools & Materials on the bottom of the page.

Step one

Create the shapes you want on a computer software program such as Photoshop and print on regular paper.

Step two

Select your sheet metals, making sure they are all the same gauge. For the earrings I used sterling silver, copper and brass.

Step three

With a triangle, sharpie and a ruler, mark your shapes on the metal using the printout as a guide. Make sure your lines are a bit larger due to loss when cutting out and sanding. You will only need the basic geometric shapes for now.

Step four

 Cut out the sheet metal. I prefer a metal shear for the most accurate cuts. Here is my throatless shear from harbor freight. It's great for cutting accurate lines, and saves me tons of time in the studio.

Step five

Place sandpaper on a flat surface and run metal edges over it lightly to remove burs and even out the metals edges. 

Step six

Place metal pieces on flat surface and line up making sure every piece touches with no gaps for best results. Also for earrings, position pieces to form a mirror image.

Next, flux and then with the flux brush pick up solder pieces and place where joins meet. In the pic below you can see the solder pieces positioned. I cut them in thin rectangle shapes to try and prevent solder from flowing all over the metal, and hopefully to only go in the cracks of the joins. Keep in mind, solder flows wherever the heck it wants too anyway.

Step seven

Solder the pieces with a fairly large flame. Copper and brass have a higher melting temperature so you want to focus your flame on those pieces and avoid the sterling silver so you don't melt it. I use the Smith torch purchased from Cyberweld. This is where my teacher referred me to purchase mine in case you are in the market for one. NOTE: Soldering is a technique you have to practice to master. It takes time and patience, so don't be too hard on yourself if you are having difficulty. I know I struggled for a long time. If you want to learn I recommend taking a metalsmith class, or find a mentor to teach you the basics. If you have specific questions feel free to contact me and I will try to help! Also if you haven't discovered Nancy Hamilton you are in for a treat! She is so much fun to learn from. Here is a youtube video from her on soldering basics.

Here is the front of the pieces after pickling. You can see the solder flowed through in some areas. The back is a hot mess, as you can see in the below pics.

Step eight

Place paper shape onto metal and mark with sharpie. Then cut out with jewelers saw.

Step nine

 Sand edges with a belt sander or a bastard file.
Here is my sander from Harbor Freight. Again, a major time saver, and you can't beat the price. I hate filing and will avoid it at all costs.

Next, place the piece on top of the other and line up. Mark with sharpie and then saw out with jewelers saw.

Final finishing techniques

Ok, here are the two pieces. One is the front, and one the back. Yucky solder flow right? The next steps are all finishing techniques. So for my next post, which is scheduled for this Wednesday, I will show how I got the pieces to look like the above earrings! Plus some awesome techniques to speed up your finishing.

Here are some other designs utilizing the above technique.

My first pair of earrings finished in class.

For this necklace I used a lentil bead from Heather Powers of Humblebeads. I fell in love when I first saw it! 

 She was inspired by the Vincent Van Gogh Sunflower painting below. 

I used the "marriage of metals" technique and combined brass and bronze to form the vase. I then soldered it to a solid copper backing.

I love this technique and feel the design options are endless. So what do you think? Is it something that you might want to try? I would love to hear your thoughts!

TOOLS & MATERIALS
Torch                                                            
pickle pot
solder, medium
flux
different sheet metals
geometric shapes on paper
sandpaper, various grits
permanent sharpie, fine tip
jewelers saw
Photoshop or similiar program
paper
Sheet metals
triangle
metal ruler
sander or bastard file
metal shear
flat soldering surface
safety goggles
dust mask

Where Does The Time Go?

It seems like just last week I was making tons of beads to fill trays for the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, WI.

Here is a quick shot of some of the table where I had my work (shared a corner booth with Nikki of Thornburg Bead Studio). 

I just loved all of the colors on our tables!!!

And Brenda Schweder (Now That's A Jig) had a huge display on the 2nd floor displaying collaborative works from many artists. Loved this one a lot!

I got there early in the morning, and the sun was shining bright through the windows so I didn't get a really great shot of Staci Smith's award winning designs. But they were stunning!!!

After a week of travel to see family after the show, and home to have summer camps starting, I am trying to find the time to make more of these flower inspired mandala beads with multiple colors as they were a huge hit at the show!

And I have some custom work to get underway and had to make sure to recycle some chocolate clay to make sure I have enough ready to go and workable... Break down, spritz, smoosh back together when it is wet enough - messy but fun work!

And here are some of the porcelain see pod collector vases. 

Lots went home with people at Bead & Button and I am curious to see if anyone has them hanging yet (or maybe using them for a different project). 

The shapes really remind me of tornado funnel clouds as I am trying to figure out a way to categorize them so I can get them up onto my website.

I love that time flies by when you are indeed having fun and have your health...

But I really look forward to some time to actually sit and focus for a few hours at a time instead of a broken up hour here and there. I love the energy of coming back from a show with so many ideas and potential collaborations!

Oh, the possibilities...

I'm off and running! Hope you all are in good health and getting some creative time in!

And maybe an Etsy shop update in a couple of weeks once these are glazed...

Have a Ball....Ball Hitch, That Is. By Karen McGovern

If you follow my posts or blog, you know that when it comes to jewelry design I am all about using unusual elements to create unusual designs.  Well, the same can be said for my tools as well.  Basically, if there is a weird (usually code for INEXPENSIVE) way to do something, I will try it.  I usually mix my own patinas--the ammonia/salt mix is my favorite for coloring copper to look like ancient turquoise--and I use the pavers along my driveway for texture plates.  I don't have expensive tools outside of my FlexShaft (or as I call it, MY PRECOIUS) and I am not especially conscientious about how I treat my tools.  That is a bad thing most of the time.  My hammers are nicked and dirty, anything steel rusts (my studio is in my un-air conditioned garage and I live in South Florida, so you do the math...), and my files, screw-drivers, picks...well everything else....is in a lovely pile.  Several piles actually.  Occasionally I hit all the rusty stuff with some WD-40, which is a MIRACLE PRODUCT, but for the most part I am a terrible tool keeper.  Which is why I am realistic enough and know myself well enough to not buy super expensive tools.  Do I want them?  HELLS YES!  I lust after all the shiny, beautiful tools I see out there.  Pristine steel dapping tools in all sizes...SO SHINY!  Hammers for every purpose you can think of and some that never occurred to you...sigh...Fretz hammers are the gold standard for jewelers, and for every super-cool full size hammer, there is a mini version to go along with it.  A MINI VERSION!  BUT, with many hammers costing over $50 EACH...well, that is outside my budget to say the least.

 

Mini Fretz hammers from Otto Frei

 

Which brings me to the guts of this post.  I don't have expensive tools save for the basics. In my opinion, if you have a few really good, basic tools you can conquer the world of jewelry design.  For me that consists of my Fordham FlexShaft, a good set of pliers and cutters, two or three good hammers and a decent set of bezel setting tools.  All of these things are readily available all over the web (riogrande.com covers EVERYTHING) and I suggest you shop around, ask questions in forums, and find a good set of tools that will cover the basics of what you want to accomplish.  From there, BE CREATIVE!!!

 

I have recently become smitten with anticlastic designs.  Concave bracelets, cuffs and rings. Because I am impatient, don't have a lot of cash to spend on extras, and willing to try just about anything, I decided to teach myself this technique using whatever I had in my tool kit already.  If you are familiar with anticlastic jewelry, there are some MIND-BLOWING techniques and tools available to bend metal into amazing shapes and forms.  Stakes, hammers, vises, SO MANY THINGS!  I hit the Google Machine and found some great articles and videos that show step-by-step how to create anticlastic forms.  Most called for expensive tools and such.  Then, my sister called me.

 

Partial screen-grab of the tons of tools available at Rio for anticlastic work.

My sister, Lynn McGovern, is a wonderful glass bead artist and metal worker.  She also has been bitten by the anticlastic bug and offered me an idea that I think is GENIOUS.  Karen, she said, use a ball hitch to make your anticlastic bangles and cuffs.  A BALL HITCH.

 

Creating anticlastic jewelry is all about the concave curve.  The neck of a good size ball hitch is PERFECT FOR THIS.  The hitch is heavy steel, cheap as dirt and works like a charm!  I got mine at Walmart for $6.00.  You can set it up a couple ways...if you have a heavy surface to work on you can attach the hitch by drilling a hole in the top of your table and simply setting the hitch in. This is what I have done. I find that working vertical is sometimes better than horizontal, but that is because I stand quite a bit while working as opposed to sitting.  If you are seated, then you should figure out a way to set the hitch horizontally, as it is intended for regular use.  Clamp or drill/set it at the screw/bolt attachment to a really rock-solid surface (like a tree stump or heavy block of wood). The hitches are really heavy, solid steel, so free-handing, while doable, is very awkward and you DO NOT want to drop this thing on your foot (speaking from experience here, folks).

 

Once set, the hitch will be perfect for basic anticlastic work on bangles and cuffs.  I won't go into step-by-step stuff here simply because I am totally pressed for time and I should be feeding baby parrots RIGHT NOW.  I will throw a tutorial together for next time.  In the meantime, GOOGLE IT.  Below are a couple designs I have made using the ball hitch.  Many more to come!

 

Anticlastic cuff and bangle made using a steel ball hitch

So, what unusual tools do you use to create jewelry???  SHARE!!!

It's time for a giveaway!!!!

Happy Birthday to my daughter Theresa born three days before I turned 30.

The winner of the earrings is....

Shaiha! Congratulations! Thanks for all for all of the great comments. I loved hearing what everyone was up to!

Quite simply, I have been overwhelmed with the end of the school year and two shows in two weekends. You would think I have all kinds of things to write about, but my brain is fried. Today, I am heading off on a four hour ride to attend my niece's high school graduation and will be spending time with my sister and her family. As soon as this is posted, I am running off to pack! Good thing I am used to flying by the seat of my pants.... I've come to think of it as a lifestyle.

Busy, busy, busy, so..... the only thing left to do was to give something away!!!

These are hand-cut copper enameled earrings. They can be yours by simply answering a question to be entered in the drawing that will take place online Sunday evening (when I get home) two days from today. Let's hope I remember!

Question:

What's going on in your life right now?

Simple, right? Well, if you share this on your FB "like" pages or your blogs, please leave extra comments saying that you did along with the link.  You will be entered an additional time for both or either of those for a total of three entries.  For those of you who don't have those, feel free to come up with another way to share this post and let us know what that was.

Please leave comments here as those left on FB will not be counted...... sorry.

 

I would also like to give a big thank-you to Carol Dekle-Foss for creating our new banner. She did a wonderful job! What a gifted woman!

Enjoy your weekend,

MaryAnn

Surrounding Myself

by Staci L. Smith

I was scanning in old pictures for Throw Back Thursdays on Facebook (a fun little tradition where you put up old photos- a fun, and sometimes funny way to get to know your online friends better).  Anyhow, I came upon this one of me and my good friend Micah in my room- I think we were seniors.  

Micah and I in my room- high school- with all my art

Yes, he was a goofball, I adored him for that.  But what caught my eye, was my room.  I had my high school art all over my walls.  I surrounded myself with my art.  I had almost forgotten about that, and about the art that I was so proud of!

Growing up, my mom was all about decorating.  Though I loved hanging up my artwork and posters as a teen / young adult, once I owned my own home, it was quite boring.  I went right into mommy mode and never really gave decorating a thought.  I was / am certainly not a decorator at heart.

However, this last year, since I painted my studio floor, I have suddenly had the strong desire to put art everywhere.  

my handpainted studio floor, a year later, holding up well

The first place I decorated was my studio.  I hung art on the walls that I had purchased or traded for, or that was gifts from other artists.  

 folk art moon painting by me

 sugar skull calendar from my best friend

art by Ward Van Haute, Batikwalla, Sioux Wright, Genea Crivello-Knable, me a couple of etsy artists that are totally escaping me right now

I loved walking into my studio.  It made me feel inspired every time I walked in.

So I collected more great stuff, and just had nowhere to put it, or never felt like re-arranging to make it work.  Once I made the decision though, it rolled right along and now I can't seem to stop.

First I did my living room wall, and bought an accent rug.  

Art by Elise Mahan, Civilian Art, Jude Harzer, Sioux Wright, Collin Smith, Linda Hanes, me, and some other artists as well

That heart is by my 7 year old son, Collin, the others are by Elise Mahan on etsy, LOVE her prints.

Then I added art to my hallway, some by me, some by my kids.  I loved that they all had pieces of art in the art show this year.  So I framed them!

 The three on the far right bottom are the kids art from the show

 Aiden Smith Watercolor age 12

Collin Smith- Winter Tree- Age 7

Julia Smith- Pop Art- Age 9

Then, a gallery closed that I had my jewelry in, and I now had my display cabinet at home.  So I was thrilled to have a place to showcase the polymer art of Mary-Lynne Moffat.  A local artist whose work really speaks to me.

 Monsters by Mary-Lynne Moffat

 Gourd from art show, recycled wine bottle topper by my brother- Rich Klinger

 Mermaid by Mary-Lynne with shells and box by me

Votive holders by my kids

I put art everywhere I could.  Over the TV, at the end of the hallway.....

 painting by me

 sign was a surprise gift from a sweet friend!!!

Triple Hare tile by Jenny Davies-Reazor

The result:  I am inspired.  Everyday.  I love being surrounded by beautiful things.  I love the variety, I love that people I admire and love made a lot of it.  Being surrounded by art just plain makes me happy.  

Do you find that what you surround yourself with inspires you?