Roll Reversal

In a previous post (June 26, 2009) I shared a picture of a ring that was way too large and way too feminine to be a man's ring.  So, I cut it in half, filed it, soldered on some earring posts and turned it into a pair of earrings.  Yesterday I did just the opposite.

In 2009, PMC Connection had their first retreat at the Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg, TN.  (Oh what a great time that was.)  Anyway, I took a class from Linda Kline in which we learned many, many techniques to make a large variety of earrings.  

One of the things we learned was the making of photo polymer plates (without the use of a UV light...... we went outside and did a happy dance with our plates extended toward the sun.  Can't do that in PA!) The earrings were made in a flat strip with a little tab at the end.  After firing the pieces, we bent them around a ring mandrel to create a hoop and used a pair of pliers to bend the tab up.  Then we learned how to solder posts onto the tab.  Just this one pair of earrings incorporated multiple techniques.  We made a lot of earrings those two days ..... sort of a mini-course in working with metal clay.

I never wore those earrings.  They were beautiful but I don't wear hoops very often and this pair was exceptionally heavy.  

Lately I've been trying to go through pieces and re purpose them or save them to send into Rio Grande to be recycled (for some money...... the price of metal clay took a big jump! )

My first thought was to recycle them but I loved the look of them too much to take that route.  Since I love rings, that seemed like the most sensible approach.  It was actually very easy too.  Took the cutters and cut off the tab, filed the little ridge that was left (how can anyone find filing relaxing) and hammered the ring to size on the ring mandrel.  Since it is a split band, it can be adjusted to fit .

Fine silver is soft and rings need to be made thicker for longer wear ability.  I usually make my rings six cards thick and the bands are usually at least a quarter inch in width.  This ring has width but since it started it's life as an earring it is not as thick as normal.  (Although it was made thicker since a PPP plate was used to create it's design.)

I'll have to wear it for awhile to test it's strength and how well the split in the band works.  

As I've often said..... my jewelry talks to me.  This one told me it didn't want to be an earring anymore. 

   

Make an Impression!

In May of 2011 I went to the PMC Connection's Retreat at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg  TN.  At that time I took the Level 4 Certification class from Mary Ann Devos.  The focus of the class was promoting yourself as an artist and as a teacher.

Now anyone who has ever met Mary Ann remembers her.  That is not an accident.  She stated in class that when we go into a gallery, we want them to remember us.  She advised us to be unique, to stand out, to make an impression.  She does this through what she is wearing; a glove, a feather in her hair, an unusual hat or a unique article of clothing.

I think it is a great idea (but again, that is not in my nature and something I would have to consciously work at........ basically I guess I'm boring.  I'm an only child and I''m supposed to want to be the center of attention. What happened?  Must have been my brother "the Boat!"  But that's a whole different story.)

Anyway, this post is about my friend Carol Scheftic.  (http://convergentseries.wordpress.com/)  I met Carol when I was seeking out a metal clay guild.  We've taken several classes together and gone to a couple of conferences together  (which is where we are now) and have become good friends.    Carol makes an impression. (I'm not sure this was her intention.) She wears a "fishing vest."  The vest serves the purpose of being able to carry many of her metal clay pieces since there are so many pockets in it. It's not only useful, but I really think it also makes people remember her.  It makes her stand out.

Another thing that made her memorable at the current conference was her necklace made from bracelets of charms collected at past conferences.  She strung together three such bracelets and of course is working on her fourth.

The charm exchange at the conference is something I always look forward to.  It's fun to have a visual memory of the people you meet.   My previous posts were about the charm that I was making.  In future posts, I'll share some of the charms I received.  

Yayyyyyyyy!

Pmc Connection is holding another retreat at Arrowmont next May. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy..... can't wait! I'm going.

I am not a monster!

Another movie quote, (I just love movies!) But it should say that I am not a painter.

Here are a few examples from my painting class. The individual face parts are in oil. (It is really hard to paint face parts without the face around them.) The girl's portrait is done in watercolor. (What a change that was!) All in all, my painting ability is equivalent to a high school ability. (Actually they are pretty much the way I did paint faces in high school.)

Somewhere down the road I'll share some other portraits I've done over the years. (Some I like and some are pretty scary.) But, faces are fascinating and I use to love teaching caricatures to my students.

At Arrowmont I took a class on making faces in clay from Vera Lightstone. (A really neat little lady.) We used red clay and made them large, but they can translate into metal clay. I have a piece I've always wanted to add a face to. (Now I know what I can do this afternoon!!)

Anyway, just thought I'd share what I've been doing lately.

Balling silver

Linda Kline had a really neat method of combining two metal clay pieces to make them move. This was one of the techniques that she showed us during the Earring Extravaganza at Arrowmont this past April and I finally got around to giving it a try.

The two pieces are joined by attaching them together with a curved piece of wire that is balled up on both ends. The ball joint not only serves a function but also becomes an aesthetic piece of the design.

Now Linda probably told us some pointers on how to ball up wire. I'm almost positive she did, but as I've mentioned before the mind some how forgets those little items. So, once again I had a "learning experience" as I like to keep reminding myself. (Gosh, nothing ever seems to go easy!)

Here is what I learned. Fine silver wire balls up much easier than sterling silver. (Don't know about Argentium.) Fine silver wire will not ball up if the wire is not held perpendicular to the flame of the torch. And, the hottest part of the flame is just in front of the blue part.

I also learned that my perception of the angle I was holding the wire was off and that it helps to set the torch on the base when doing the balling. That way it is easier to see the angle, it is easier to see that the end of the wire is indeed in the flame and it sure saves a lot of time.

Wide cuff bracelet

   Originally I was scheduled to take a polymer clay class on my last day at Arrowmont, but due to a family illness the class was canceled.  So, I had to make another choice for Friday and chose the Big Cuff Bracelet by Sharon Gillespie.  Since I already knew some basics about polymer, I was glad I was able to take the bracelet class instead.

    This is the bracelet that we made in class.  We cut out our rectangles and formed them on a metal bracelet mandrel.  The center piece was laid across the top of the mandrel and the side pieces were laid across the side of the mandrel (it was laying on it's side.)  I chose the orange CZ's to go with my ring.  

   We used the embeddable bezels from Metal Clay Findings.  I had used them once before and they curved the piece I used them in, but that didn't happen here.  (Maybe it was because the piece was already curved.)  My judgment on the use of the embeddable bezels is still out.  I was not able to curve the bezel over my largest stone and had to glue it in instead which is against my better judgement but so far so good.

I'm here

    Well, I'm almost there; only 138 miles from Gatlinburg and the PMC Retreat at Arrowmont.

Don't know if I'll have internet access or not, but if I do, I'll post the days events.  

     I've always wanted to go to Arrowmont and now I get to do metal clay there.  Life doesn't get much better.   

    Tonight there is a texture swap.  I made some last night in the hotel.  It was fun finding things to make textures with; a shoe, a chain, a paper clip, and a fish skeleton (a toy one.)  Think I'll have a texture swap party at the studio when I get back.  There is also a speaker tonight who will be talking about marketing.

   Tomorrow I'm signed up for a three day class called An Earring Extravaganza.  There will be lots of new and old techniques covered in those three days.  Thursday the class is on figure sculpting.  We'll be working in ceramic clay for that class.  On Friday my class was supposed to be in polymer clay, but due to a family illness that class was canceled.  Instead I'll be making a wide cuff bracelet.  I brought my camera, and I know that the pictures won't be the best, but I'll be sure to share.

   Wish you were here!