A Thing (or a Ring) a Week
Kathryn McTavish of Nadreli Designs, VERSUS, Chelsea Birch of Unknown Current Jewellery line name: in a challenge of epic proportions: making one piece of jewellery, per week.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Nadreli - Piece #8
I call these earrings "Curled Pearl." They are crafted with sterling silver and argentium (the posts are argentium). The offset black pearls are natural.
Nadreli - Piece #7
Nadreli - Piece #6
Nadreli - Piece #5
Monday, August 16, 2010
Week 7 - Celtic Wedding Bands
Argentium Sterling Silver wedding bands, engraved with a "doodly" celtic design. Brushed finish.
Another commission, a quick pair of custom wedding bands.. I was told to think of Spanish Class doodles when engraving the celtic twists, which totally works against my newfound need for perfection, but they turned out pretty nice in the end.
Another commission, a quick pair of custom wedding bands.. I was told to think of Spanish Class doodles when engraving the celtic twists, which totally works against my newfound need for perfection, but they turned out pretty nice in the end.
Week 6 - Moonstone Ring
Sterling Silver, 14k gold, and a very striated but still very beautiful moonstone.
Soooo behind. I'm lousy with commissions right now and all of them have been very hard.
This was a commission for a lady who had lost a ring that had a lot of sentimental value to it, and this is the closest copy we could come to. Her original had a tibetan glass stone in the center, and was a little bit bigger, but such is life.
The studio isn't really set up for larger scale silver work with lots of soldering, and this ring is both. I ended up having to make my own homespun flux for it, because my spray flux I had was burning out too fast and the soldering wasn't working too well. It's been a LONG time since I've soldered a bezel onto a shank. I'm going to guess at 5 years. It's not like riding a bicycle it turns out. It's also been the same 5 years since I've actually set a cabochon, but that went okay.
Soooo behind. I'm lousy with commissions right now and all of them have been very hard.
This was a commission for a lady who had lost a ring that had a lot of sentimental value to it, and this is the closest copy we could come to. Her original had a tibetan glass stone in the center, and was a little bit bigger, but such is life.
The studio isn't really set up for larger scale silver work with lots of soldering, and this ring is both. I ended up having to make my own homespun flux for it, because my spray flux I had was burning out too fast and the soldering wasn't working too well. It's been a LONG time since I've soldered a bezel onto a shank. I'm going to guess at 5 years. It's not like riding a bicycle it turns out. It's also been the same 5 years since I've actually set a cabochon, but that went okay.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Week 5 - Eternal pendant
Tarnish resistant satin finished sterling silver and ultramarine chalcedony pendant on a sterling snake chain. (2.6cm long x 1.3cm wide)
I really like the 3-dimensionality of this pendant, it reminds me of a mobius loop, and the colour of the stones make me think of the expansive ocean.. two things with no end.
I bought these 1.7mm machine cut and calibrated chalcedony at JCK over a year ago, and have had a nearly complete design block on what to use them in. They're a beautiful colour, and the facets capture and contain light in a really interesting way the picture doesn't show.. they nearly seem to glow an electric blue, but chalcedony is only a 6 or 7 on the moh's scale, and therefore too soft to use in anything that isn't going to be fairly protected.
I constructed this pendant by hand, and it's one of a kind, I didn't take a mold, as I didn't think it would turn out quite this pretty. This was also my first time constructing prongs for pavé in the actual metal, as I've only ever carved them in wax until now. It went well. I was worried about setting something as soft as chalcedony, but it went great, and I'm very happy with the finished piece.
I really like the 3-dimensionality of this pendant, it reminds me of a mobius loop, and the colour of the stones make me think of the expansive ocean.. two things with no end.
I bought these 1.7mm machine cut and calibrated chalcedony at JCK over a year ago, and have had a nearly complete design block on what to use them in. They're a beautiful colour, and the facets capture and contain light in a really interesting way the picture doesn't show.. they nearly seem to glow an electric blue, but chalcedony is only a 6 or 7 on the moh's scale, and therefore too soft to use in anything that isn't going to be fairly protected.
I constructed this pendant by hand, and it's one of a kind, I didn't take a mold, as I didn't think it would turn out quite this pretty. This was also my first time constructing prongs for pavé in the actual metal, as I've only ever carved them in wax until now. It went well. I was worried about setting something as soft as chalcedony, but it went great, and I'm very happy with the finished piece.
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