SILVERSMITHING CLASS - PROJECT TWO!

Project two at the Appalachian Rock Shop with Jo Naleppa - yes, it's another pendant!!  My goal was to get a good grip on bezel setting stones, but I decided to go in a different direction this time and am setting this beautiful stone with prongs from 16 ga. wire.  The back plate and bail are created with sterling silver.  This probably looks pretty simple, but for those of you who don't make jewelry, there is a lot of time that goes into the simplest creation.  I was in class for three hours and in that time, I outlined my back plate and bail, cut them out with a jeweler's saw, rounded the edges with filing tools and then sanded them with three different grits/sanding papers.  I hammered the edges to add a little interest and will probably have to go over the edges again before I am done.  The pieces were pickled and cleaned.  At that point, I formed the wires, gave them a little sanding where they were to be soldered, and fluxed everything.  We also added some "mud" on the parts of the wire that we didn't not want to get soldered (accidentally).  After soldering the wires, they had to be placed in water and pickle.  Then back to the drawing board so the soldered wires could be soldered onto the plate.  More flux, more mud, then pinned to the soldering brick so it wouldn't move during soldering.  After a successful join of metals, back into the water and pickle for cleaning.  The next step should be attaching the bail...next week  The bail will be carefully bent in half and placed on the back plate - more flux - place the solder, and we should be close to setting the stone.... but I think there will be more polishing before that.  So, that is the process.  More next week!
I tell you this because when artisans have to price their work, it is not just the materials, but the time and energy that goes into creating a piece that is pleasing to the eye and of good workmanship.  The best part (for me) of creating, is finding that special person who falls in love with something you made  That brings me great joy and keeps me going!  Thanks for reading my post!  Please leave a comment!  I appreciate knowing when someone has read my posts and if you have something to add, I would love for you to share!

Week Nine/Ten at the Appalachian Rock Shop

I can't believe we have come to the end of our ten-week silversmithing class.  It has been a wonderful adventure.  Our instructor, Jolan Naleppa, was always very thorough in instructing us not only in procedure,  but also in safety working with the various tools on hand at the shop.  The shop owner, Leslie Metarko, and her staff was always very helpful and eager to assist with our needs.  The Appalachian Rock Shop has so much to offer - from fossils and rocks to beautifully hand-crafted jewelry.  If you are from the Youngstown/Pittsburgh area, it's a must-see!  And if, like me, you want to pursue the art of making jewelry, I highly recommend their classes.

At our final  two classes, we continued our work on our bezel set ring.  We soldered the silver pieces together, filed, polished, buffed, cleaned, and finally, set our stones in the bezel.  We carefully hammered the bezel using the bezel pusher and ball portion of the hammer, bringing the bezel snug to the stone.  I used a burnishing tool to smooth the bezel further.  The last step was to give it a final polish.  This is the final result.

My thanks also to Phyllis Riegle, Riegle Design, who created the beautiful stone I used in this ring. Phyllis was also a member of our class, along with many other wonderful and accomplished women who are always continuing to learn and grow in their art of creating jewelry. Because class members are all at different levels in silversmithing, it was great fun to see what they were working on!

I plan on taking the March class, so be on the lookout for more silversmithing posts then. I hope to try out some of these new skills over the winter and will keep you posted. Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving holiday! Blessings, Anita

METALSMITHING - WEEK 8 WITH JO AT THE APPALACHIAN ROCK SHOP

We are getting down to the wire now with one project left and two weeks to complete it!   I was excited to have completed the layered metal ring this week!  We hammered it into a C-shape on the ring mandrel, using a leather mallet.  Then, using the pliers, we then the ends together and held the ring up to the light looking for gaps.  For a good solder, we needed the ends to be flush.  Some additional filing was completed and  the piece was made ready for soldering.  The ring was fluxed and pinned to the fire brick seam side up.  The solder was a success, the piece cleaned, sanded and polished!  And this is the final result.  For my first ring, I think it came out pretty well!   I actually had someone ask me to make them one just like it!  What a great compliment!  I know I still have so much to learn to refine the skills I am learning, but it's going to be a wonderful adventure!  Here is a picture of the ring!

Our next and last project - a bezel set ring - I picked out my stone, an oval agate (cut and polished by one of the other students here).  I am in love with this beautiful stone and the lovely earthtones creating a beautiful piece of art!  Our instructor, Jo, went over the fundamentals of choosing bezel wire, sizing it around the stone, marking and cutting.  Following her lead, this was accomplished and the  bezel was readied for soldering.  There was a small amount of overlap, so some filing was done to make sure the bezel would sit flush to the back plate for the next soldering step.  This was all we had time for today - but we accomplished a lot in our three hours!  Here are photos of the stone and bezel and the back plate we will be using in the next step!  We are working with sterling silver and I decided to keep it pretty simple for my first project!  More next week.  Thanks for looking.   Feel free to leave a comment! 

Week Six/Seven - Metalsmithing

I lost a week of class due to illness, but was back yesterday to continue working on my layered copper and silver ring.  I was able to make up some of the lost time yesterday and got quite a bit accomplished.  Previously, I had cut out the design in the copper layer of my band ring and had done some of the filing and smoothing at home.  Yesterday I continued that process.   The ring was wider than I wanted, so I sawed both pieces to the desired width and continued filing and sanding the edges.  The pieces were placed in the pickle and scrubbed with soap and water with a brush.  After a coating of flux, the solder was placed on the back of the copper  piece and the first step of the sweat soldering was completed.  Back to the pickle and cleaning.  The pieces were fluxed and fit together on the fire brick.  We put some antiflux on the T-pins so the piece could be pinned/secured to the firebrick.  The antiflux was to prevent the pins from being soldered to the ring during the firing  process.  The solder flowed and the piece was quenched in water and put  back into the pickle for cleaning.  After cleaning, we were back to the filing and sanding process.  Each end of the ring needed to be filed straight for a flush fit in the next step.  I sanded the piece with various grits to clean off the scratches and excess solder.  Flux was added to the piece and it was fired to anneal the band for the next step!  Week seven will hopefully complete the ring!  I can't wait.  Hope it fits!  Our last project will be a bezel set ring!

Week Five - Metal/Silver Smithing Classes

Following one week off from classes, the group met for Week Five!  I can't believe we are half way through already!  It was a morning split between our first project, the layered pendant, and project two, a layered ring.  Having already done most of the sanding, we went on to adding some patina to highlight the dents and lines.  I did not want a mirror finish on either side, so that eliminated having to take the pendant to the polisher.  I personally prefer a more satiny finish, especially on this yin and yang pendant.  Our instructor, Jo, gave me a  bottle of brown/black blackening agent and a paint brush and told me to paint it where I wanted it to darken the pendant.  Having only used liver of sulfur, this patina was a new experience....and I probably add "just a little" too much  But never fear, we were able to clean it up with a brass type Brillo pad...excuse my lack of proper terminology!  But this is the final result.  I plan to add a double leather cord to it and wear it to my next class. 

On to the next project -  a layered ring with design and metals of choice.  I decided to go with the same metal contrasts I used in the pendant - copper and silver.  Having traced out my  design, I set about preparing my piece for sawing.  Now, sawing is still not my strong suit, but I am less intimidated by it and overall, I don't think I did too badly.  I  will let you be the judge.  I completed the sawing and did a little clean up.  This is the result.  I will probably have to do some more filing and will probably lessen the width of the bands.  That's it till Thursday (this week).  I lost a week due to illness, but I am hopefully on the road to recovery.  Questions and/or comments are welcome!  Thanks for stopping by.  Blessings.  Anita

Metalsmithing - Week 4

As you know from my previous posts, I am taking my metalsmithing class at the Appalachian Rock Shop in Harmony, PA.  Well, before I go any further, you must check out their new web site!  It's beautiful!  There is something for everyone:  the mineral and fossil collector, casual and/or metalphysical rock enthusiast, jewelry collector, artist, children and educators! Click on the shop's name above and have a visit!
Back  to my classes.  Today we continued working on the bail for my pendant.  I decided to add some texture to the bail so I took a ballpeen hammer and added some ball-like indentations.  Of course, this hardened the metal, so, once again, we had to go through the annealing process. We then continued the process of shaping the bail so that it would fit snugly onto the pendant - pinch, squeeze, hammer - it's a process! After fluxing the entire piece, front and back, it was secured to the firing block. In this step, we used medium solder and small pieces were placed around and within the bail and it was fired, quenched and placed in the pickle for cleaning. Now for the hard stuff - the sanding begins. I went to the bench pin and began this process. Whoops - a little error here - not realizing, I turned the piece over to do some sanding on the back side without protecting what I did on the front - nothing major, but in doing this, the front got scratched from the bench pin that I was using to stablize the metal while I worked. Before turning it, I should have protected what was already done by covering it with masking tape! That was today's biggest lesson for me!! By this time, three hours had gone by and it was time to shut down for some festivities! The shop celebrated three birthdays today and we had pot luck - cheese, crackers, chicken croissants, jambalya, ambrosia fruit salad, cake, cheese cake, cookies, artichoke dip - these gals KNOW HOW TO PARTY! It was great fun.

Thanks for stopping by to see the posts. No class for two weeks, so I'll post more then. This piece is still in the sanding/polishing process, so hopefully, the next photo you see will be one of a completed pendant!!

SILVERSMITHING CLASSES

I've not posted for a while, but have been busy this summer creating and doing some local art shows. While at an ArtieGras show in Sharon, PA, at Quaker Steak and Lube, I met a lovely gentleman and his daughter who told me about the Appalachian Rock Shop & Jewelry Emporium in Harmony, PA and the various classess they offer. My friend, Jeanne, and I took a ride out there to check it out! What a wonderful shop with beautiful rock specimens, beads, findings, beading tools, and hand crafted jewelry! Owner, Leslie, was very helpful in getting me set up in the fall silversmithing class with instructor, Jolan Naleppa. My first class was two weeks ago. Jolan gave us an overview of the upcoming classes and what we would be learning. She demonstrated the various tools in the shop and how they are used. Printed hand-outs were distributed, one with the fundamentals of soldering and the other about the projects we would be doing.

Yesterday was the first hands-on class. The project - a soldered pendant using two pieces of metal that would be sweat soldered. We had to pick out a design that would be cut into one piece of metal with a jeweler's saw. After sawing out the design, we learned to clean up the edges of the metal with various filing tools. The piece was then cleaned in pickle (an acid bath) and prepared for sweat soldering, covering the entire piece with flux and then strategically placing solder on the back of the pieces. Jolan assisted with melting the solder. The pieces were put back into the pickle for cleaning. These are the pictures I took this a.m. showing the nickel silver and copper I chose for the pendant, the design cuts, and the melted solder. Next - we have to reheat the solder to fuse the metals together, add a bail or pin closure, and learn the process of cleaning and polishing.

More next week. There are eight more classes to go and two or three more projects.