InnerShelter

Sunday, 26 June 2011

26 June 2011

It has been a while! I haven't been keeping up with these entries. I had forgotten about it to be honest!

Today I decided to change slightly the way I do my jewellery. I should in fact work on two (three) pieces I have started, to submit for two exhibitions. One is nearly finished, the other in the same series I had to start over with, and the last is well underway.

But sometimes we just get the urge to do something new, right? I especially do when something is not working out, I then move on to another thing, and after a bit I have renewed energy to face the problematic piece.

So what I have been doing today is...

No... not playing with a monocle. Well, sort of ;)

I have been working on a "master" setting of sorts. I normally produce more enamels than I can ever set, for several reasons: because I prefer enamelling, because I am better at it, because I am lazy about making settings, because I am out of this or that kind of silver, etc.

Working with rich low brass

So I have decided to make a few settings of the shapes I most commonly use, and then have a mold and casts made out of it (silver and possibly bronze as well). This does limit a bit the shape and size of the coppers I make, but after going through my sketch books, I did see certain shapes recurring often, with very slight differences in shape or size. I also thought, that when you buy a painting, you don't necessarily ask for a frame to be done from scratch to suit that particular painting! that can be done sometimes, but for more special pieces.

So, I narrowed down to a number of shapes, and I got started with my first setting. With cast settings, I hope to speed up my production!

Not a round one in fact! Round settings are easy enough to make that I don't think I will make a mold of one.
Shaping both elements into a circle makes it easier to fit them to each other in order to solder them together.
I will then split it again and work the shape I want.
The little piece to the left, though, that was a trickier soldering operation:

First soldering rings to the sheet, then:

Soldering the entire thing to half round wire.

At which point I took a break to eat something and write this down :) back to the workbench!

Edit:

Taking shape. This is all for today though.

Sunday, 10 April 2011

10 April 2011

Today I decided to try another way to build a setting, a variation on something I did before for Givrer. I still had enough silver for this light setting so I went ahead. I built it for the piece I finished yesterday, I haven't decided what I will be calling it yet!

With a pair of matching earrings :)

It is a rapeseed field in one of the last misty days before Spring.

Enamel over copper, silver foil sterling silver, glass beads and grey moonstone beads.

I love how the light reflects through the yellow and green enamels on to the silver foil. It is a great contrast with the grey around it, and I think it translates rather well the brightness of the yellow flowers in a grey day.
I used some of my treasured and now sadly unavailable uranium yellow. I failed to stock up in time and so now I have so very little left. So sad!

I love to play with the macro objective ;)

I found these glass beads some time ago. It is sometimes difficult to find exactly what I want. My working process is result-oriented, so I usually have a very clear idea of what I want, and it is sometimes difficult to find exactly the right materials in the exact shade I want!

With this in mind I have been thinking lately of picking up lampworking. I got a book... Then I could make my own beads. I don't know if I understood correctly, but I think I could use my enamels over the glass, wouldn't it be nice to be able to make matching beads? I don't think they have the same COE but I have seen this mentioned in my book and in different places. Perhaps in thin layers? or with a good annealing? (luckly I already have kilns!) it has to be tried :D I shall invest in a few tools and materials soon.

Saturday, 9 April 2011

9 April 2011

Today I have been working on several enamel bases that I had already started working some time ago, and a couple that were just blank with the base layer. I am mostly using a variation of this technique I wrote about here. I have been using this technique almost exclusively for the last few years, for whatever reason.

I am working on several pieces of my Mist series, a couple in a beginning-of-spring spin-off of the Mist series, and another pair of the Àlbers Argentats series. I like to work on several pieces at once to streamline the process (enamelling and firing while other pieces are cooling down etc).

Loki keeps me company

I spent a few hours washing and making a couple of colour/opal palettes as well. This is often the case when trying things out... I could try out stuff on the pieces directly, but I prefer to have more control ;) perhaps because my time is so limited.

All in all it was a productive day. Unlike working at the jewellery bench, when I work at the enamelling desk I usually feel more accomplished. I hope some day to have the same level of control when making settings.
And this is why I am years behind in making settings for my enamels...

Here are the pieces I have been working on today (I have the finished Àlbers Argentats I in there for reference). They are not finished yet:

Oh, and the "moon tree" (working title) piece I had forgotten to mention... which is nowhere near finished.

And these two, the copper shaping and base layer were done some time ago, but the painting enamelling I started and finished today! Now they have to wait for settings ;) I even need to get more silver, so it will take a while.

The transition of winter to spring. These were "inspired" by views of the Flemish landscape. A field of rapeseed that was an almost painful splash of yellow and green in an otherwise grey and misty landscape, and the new leaves sprouting from an oak sapling. The beads in the middle I got some time ago for these pieces. I prefer to buy the beads beforehand to be able to match the enamel as much as possible.

Sunday, 13 March 2011

Disaster relief

Through the month of March I will donate 80 % of all the proceeds of my pattern sales to the Japanese Red Cross disaster relief for Japan.

You can find all my patterns in my Ravelry shop.

Sunday, 20 February 2011

Somnium

Somnium is a shallow triangular shawl with dramatic points and fringe tassels, made in a luxurious yarn that drapes beautifully and knits up fast (only every 4th row is purled).

A little tasseled pouch close to the center top can be worn as a hood if draped around the head.

Exact gauge is not important for this project. Thicker yarns are recommended. Sample knitted with three skeins of Lang Yarns Silk Dream in colourway 696.0080.

Approximate measurements: 160 x 70 cm (63” x 27”).