NEW, FOR ARTISTS OF THE RUSTBELT, SUMMER MARKET!

I have been busy, busy today making some new items for the Artists of the Rustbelt, Summer Market!  It is held at the B & O in Youngstown, OH on Saturday noon to 7 pm and Sunday noon to 5 pm  (June 9, 10)!  If you are from the area, I hope you will attend!  Great people, great art, great food, music, and B & O's own brews!  Stop by and say, "Hello."  I have some new items to offer this season:  wire wrapped crystal points, spoon rings and bracelets, wire wrapped rings, and more!  Here are some photos of today's work!  Thanks for visiting my blog!  Blessings, Anita.

More Silverware and Gemstone Bracelets!

I am doing an event tomorrow, "Creativity for a Cause", at Casal Aveda Institute in Youngstown, OH.  It's from 12 - 4 p.m. - if you are from the area, stop by!  I wanted to make some more of the silverware bracelets, so now have five total.  Two are in my previous post, and these are the three I just completed.  I want to see if there is an interest in this  type of  art jewelry.  Each bracelet has a different gemstone.  The ones pictured here are with Pink Aventurine, Blue Goldstone, and Turquoise.  I think they have a Victorian or antique appeal.  If my clients like them, I'd like to find a variety of silverware pieces, perhaps even odd lots of sterling silver forks and spoons.  They can also be made into rings. 

It is a process to make the bracelets, from cutting and drilling, to annealing and forming/bending, and adding embellishments.  The hardest part for me is the process of bending them.  Since these are silver plated pieces, the metal is not as forgiving as sterling silver may be.  I hope you enjoyed the post.  I'd love to hear from you!  Blessings, Anita

A New Ring for an Old Friend

And that is not to say that she is old, but that we have been friends now for about 30 years!  My friend, Jeanne, got me on my way to creating jewelry about eight years ago!   I have gone from beading to chainmaille, wire wrapping, and now metalsmithing.  As you read in my previous posts, I learned to sweat solder a band ring and Jeanne liked it so much, she asked me to create one for her.  It is made with nickle silver and a copper overlay.  I made a soft curve in the copper and added texture with the diamond head of my interchangeable head texturing hammer (a great little tool!).  The metals were sweat soldered together with cleaning, filing and sanding as needed between steps.  The only problem I ran into was in the sizing...I need to get that process down!  But it was easily remedied by leaving the back of the band open.  I am very proud of the end result!  My next project is a pendant I am working on using copper and sterling silver filled materials.  More later.  In the meantime, here is a picture of Jeanne's ring!

Artfire Metalsmith's Guild

It's a new year and I am starting the year with some new challenges.  One of those is belonging to the Artfire Metalsmith's Guild.  I will be linking some of my blog posts with the guild, including featuring other member artists.  There is such great talent out there!   I will start out giving you a link to our guild master, Canadian Rockies Art, featuring her Peruvian Blue Opal ring! 
Canadian Rockies Art

Nathalie's workmanship is beautiful and I especially love that she uses a lot of copper in her creations.  

While you're at it, take some time and to check out the guild site and see the works of all its talented members.    Artfire Metalsmiths Guild

Blessings!  Anita