Showing posts with label ooak jewelry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ooak jewelry. Show all posts

Saturday, 3 November 2012

At the bench: "BOXED" ring

After a long time... here is my new piece. I made it for the November challenge of the EtsyMetal team I'm a member. I'll try to participate in challenges as much as I can, it's a great way to refresh the designs and make new things.
The November theme was: Design with a letter.

I tried to "translate" the meaning of a word into a 3d object using the letters of the word. I created a box with sides made of the letters b-o-x-e-d  with a little copper flame trapped inside it. The ring shank is  square, to follow the style of the "boxed" idea.



On the bench:
~ I decided what  font I would use (I wanted something bold and steady) and then I made some draft paper models to check the proportions and size of the box.
~ During fabrication, it was a tricky task to file the silver precisely along the lines where the sides of the box would fold, so that they all would be at straight angles with each other. An accidental change of direction of 1 millimeter can affect the alignment drastically.
~ After soldering the box and making the shank, I connected them with a thick silver wire. As a final step I started to remove the extra silver from the box's base, happy with the way it turned out, but suddenly the whole box fell off. The reason is that the solder between the wire and the box hadn't run properly, so the bond was weak.  I must have used less temperature than needed and I had to solder them again.







a. I made very "basic" paper models to get an idea of the shape and size.  
b+c. Securing the sides of the box for soldering.  
d. The solder between the wire and the box was weak and as a result 
it broke later while I was removing the extra silver from the box's base.


I love how it turned out, and another one will soon be available in my etsy shop.
After making many light, curvy pieces, it was a nice change to make a bold, geometric object.

★ Opinions, questions and comments are welcome ★

Saturday, 12 May 2012

Blue Chalcedony Drusy Riveted Ring

This is one of my most recent pieces that I really enjoyed making, and it was one of my first attempts to use rivets. I learned the procedure many years ago, but I never used this technique for my pieces until know. I made it for a challenge of the Aspiring Metalsmiths etsy team that I participate in. The stone is a chalcedony drusy that my sister brought me from a trip to Turkey. The sparkling surface of this stone reminds me of frozen waters and icebergs, so I'll call it the «Icy Lake Ring». Now my sister swims in this lake, because I gave it to her as a present! I have one more beautiful chalcedony stone, and I'm in the process of making a new Icy Lake Ring. I'll post the finished ring on the following days...






And here are some more views of this ring