YOJ Week 3 - Cluster ring

I'm a little late, because I'm still catching up with a large commission. Still, I had time to make this ring which matches the Woven cuff. I'm planning to give it as a bday gift to the owner of this very cuff... The ring was made with goldfilled wire, kyanite, amethyst, pink tourmaline and magenta opaque ruby.

YOJ Week 2 - Filigree pendant

Something new, something old. This is a new style that I'm trying out which is similar to the work done in the Rectangular centerpiece, but with multiple swirls. The result looks like filigree, but like all of my work, there is no soldering, only wire wrapping.

I made a very similar pendant last year for my trunk show, but that one is gone. I figured I'd make another one and I would like to let this style develop a bit more -- I think the resulting piece is pretty flat but interesting.

Practicing with Craft Wire & other questions

I got the following email asking:
"I have been looking at your tutorials and just wondered, where you say to use a certain gauge and soft wire, half hard wire etc. are you talking about sterling silver (if i’m doing silver) or just craft wire of the same gauge? Can you buy craft wire in different hardnesses? This is totally unfamiliar grounds to me and if I could practice using cheap wire then that would be preferable. Your work is gorgeous and looks really fantastic, I would love to have a go at the challenge."

Here's the answer to the "Pracicing with Wire" question:

Wire comes in different gauges (thickness) and tempers (hardness).
About gauges: the higher the number gauge, the thinner it is. I use the values between 16ga and 28ga. The thin 28 ga is almost like a thick fiber, it's very pliable.

About tempers: The wire can be pretty hard and springy, or very soft and pliable. The totally hard wire is almost impossible to make jewelry with, because you can't barely bend it at all. So a lot of people use "half-hard" for jewelry. I like using the more pliable soft (also called "dead-soft"), because it's easier to coil and form complex shapes. As you manipulate the wire, it becomes springier and harder, almost like half-hard. So that's why I like to start with the softer wire. Here is a page on tempers: Wire Temper by Soft Flex Company

All this refers to silver and gold filled wire. As for craft wire, it comes in different gauges too, but normally not in different hardnesses with few exceptions. If you practice with cheaper wire, it will feel a teeny bit softer or just different than sterling silver. I do recommend practicing with craft wire if you have never done anything, it will make you feel less guilty and frustrated if you make mistakes (and you will probably make them for sure).

I have a box which I call the "cemetery", which has tons of ugly things that I practiced with craft wire. It reminds me that it takes a long time to learn. Practice any design THREE TIMES before expecting good results!

Year of Jewelry 2007 - Week 1 - Lemon Tea

Happy New Year! This year I decided to join the Year of Jewelry project once again. The group has established a new format starts the year with the calendar year and is divided into four quarters instead of seasons. For full information on the 2007 YOJ, click here.

My word for the year is "LIGHT". Light as in easygoing, but also as in full of light, which I hope this year will be. For this YOJ, I decided to not establish too many goals, just go with the flow. Probably most weeks my entries will be commissions, but that's ok -- you'll get to see what I'm working on at the time. For my first entry, I'm posting this Lemon Tea Bangle, which is part of a couple of commissions for some special clients -- I have to produce a total of 13 of these babies.

The lemon quartz stones are a little bit more impressive than the ones used in the original Lemon Tea Bangle, and also more random looking. At the center of the bangle, the tiniest tea set, flanked by two flat teapot charms.