Hi All,
I’m back at my studio in my happy place making stuff. There is a
commission I’m attacking which has me stumped, although the third
time might prove the charm.
A friend of mine requested a large pendant make from a piece of his
pottery. The design is fairly simple, as the piece is a triangular
piece glazed pottery chard front and back. The material is porcelain,
and is quite delicate. The curvature is a gentle arc, but setting it
into a bezel is challenging.
The bezel I’m using is quite thin and wide, and although I’ve
managed to bend the base into an arc and match the curvature of the
pottery to lie flat quite well, the bezel has been nearly coaxed into
a matching curve. I’m using fine silver, 28 gauge 1/4 inch wide, and
I think this is my problem.
My idea is to use a wider sterling strip, bend it perpindicular to
match the pottery chape, solder it together, and file the bottom to
create the arc using jett set. The top will be small slits which I
will fold over like small rounded tabs, as to maintain the design of
curved drips of the glaze which are echoed on the top of the pendant.
The back of the piece is pierced out in random curved design making
the overall design of the piece work well as a whole. But, this bezel
is proving to be a nasty problem solver.
Looks simple, but is not.
Any suggestions? I can post a few photos if that will help.
Karen Christians
Cleverwerx