This has taken soooooo long. Finally finished every part of the necklace. All i have left us to make my spring and then positioning it all. What do you guys think? Its my first necklace, pendant and handmade clasp.
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Nicely done! The way you’ve soldered the wires in place makes the pendant look like a large faceted stone, which is really fun. Your choice of chain style and the size of the links is balanced and works well in the overall design.
Keep up the good work!
Pam
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This is nice work. Be very careful when you polish it.
Make another. Revisit the process now while it is all fresh. It can’t hurt to give a customer a choice and you will have a personal triumph to wear.
Don
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Thats a great idea!
Thank you!
Very nicely done. Completely hand made, a labor of love… many man/woman hours of work, the satisfaction of creating something of beauty all by yourself and all from scratch… congrants!
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It looks great! It all looks like a lot of work to me, so congrats.
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PS: all of this is an exercise in gaining experience thru a self taught hands on learning experience. I made my first chain and pendant while in a high school jewerly class. I agree that it take a long long long time to make a hand made chain… the pendant I made was a piercing set with a star ruby that was of low quality… the results of the piercing were somewhat suboptimal, but I cleaned it up with a lot of filing. I also cut lines into it with a graver… all of it was worth the effort just to see what I could do as a novice. I’ve kept several pieces of simple jewelry I made in highschool… my work evolved as I gained experience…
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Im still working on my graver experience. Ive got a long eay to go there. Im dying to try out enameling too.
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to do enamel, a kiln is best… but you can try doing it with a torch also…just keep the heat low and even.
I did enamelling during a highschool jewelry making class. My technique evolved into mixed metal applique work… all fabricated… there were a few pieces that I ruined completely by overheating… lots of work for a melted piece of metal… chalk it up to experience… some stuff came out poorly done, but with more care and experience, things got better and better… the learning curve is slow at the start but accelerates as you find the right way to do things that is right for you… everyone has their own tricks to get things done… this forum is great because we all share our experiences.
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I bought a real nice Kiln to do an animal in and I also have a really really big expensive Kim that the plug needs to be repaired on because I wanted to do vases but I haven’t bought the enamel stuff yet
Hi,
perhsps get the Thompson enamel sampler.
then your first project can be to fire sample tiles of every color! on
there is a method for making the tiles…the colors result differently on different metals and base fluxes…
a little bit goes a long way
then you can design based on actual colors
julie
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That’s a fantastic idea Julie!
Jeff
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I had posted on anothr thread that I really think that you are very creative and very much an artist…
going from leather work to working in metals and stones is a big jump but it’s the creative impulse that you have that lets you do it without fear of the unknown.
I mentioned above that this community is wonderful in that everyone shares their own experiences and knowledge. Every bit of advice coming from a person who has experience is a treasure to hold on to. I wisI knew that I had known about this community when I was starting myself… Instead I relied on books and triall and error. Books still are extremely valuable…
So far as your kiln is concerned, I don’t know if it can be used for burn outs… if it can, without contamination, you could try casting at some time in the future.
My inspiration was the jewerly of Lalique and the art nouveau movement. I had the good fortune to see his works in a museum in Paris…His studio worked with what we would consider very primitive equipment…soldering was down with mouth blow pipes. The workmanship is eqxuitie. both precious, semi-precious stones were mixed with glass and enamel… I suspect that given your enthusiasm and creative drive, that you will end up making great pieces of art. I wish you the best. Show us pictures of your finished work. Keep a photo record of your creations and see for yourself how your skill and sophistication evolve. Best wishes, I look forward in the future to see your progression towards objet’s d’art!!! wonderful!
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I am still impressed by the collective knowledge and wisdom of our community. Anyone, whether beginner or professional has something to contribute, and something to learn. I only wish that I had known about your site when I was a beginner ages ago. I want to thank everyone for their sharing. Best wishes to all…
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Ive got all my stuff gor casting except for a few more things then im readyto roll. Ive been carving out wax pieces like crazy.
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Oh wow, id love to see that! Thanks for your kind compliments. Im one of those people that enjoys learning abd i love learning from those more experienced than me. This site is amazing for that.
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