Don't forget to have some fun...

Look at this awesome face shield I scored! I am so proud of it, Thanks, Tara!!!

Taking advantage of all available resources is key. My close friend and co-worker gave me this precious gem for my birthday recently and I am thankful for it:

The Complete Metalsmith is reliable, and trusty. I enjoy looking through it as much as I enjoy using it to look up important information. Its a weird feeling to enjoy hard work but once you've found your career path, you can expect enjoyable earnings. 

Presentation

I have found that the further I get in my career, the more presentation becomes a factor in my work. I posted this three finger ring prior to this, however I did not submit a final picture because a progress picture is much different then a final picture. Although this photograph comes from my Galaxy S5, the presentation is still taken into consideration. I did also make the "middie" band on my index finger, it is made small to fit on that part of your finger.

If you care about your work, you should care about the presentation. Make sure it is clear, thoughtful and obviously it must display your work effectively! 

Being a student...

As a student, you realize there is actually no such thing as spare time. I have been wanting to make a piece with my name on it (silly, I know) since I started in jewelry. As cliche as it can be, I love bold gold jewelry with words in calligraphy. I imitated this style in 18 gauge brass by making a three finger ring with my name, Briana!

Although it is my job to break away from the ordinary, it is empowering to be able to effortlessly recreate a classic design seen almost everywhere, and by hand!!! 

This ring has 6 solder spots as you can see in the third image above. I found that with this three finger ring, I had to take it to the ring stretcher because when sharing three fingers at a time, the sizes actually have to be bigger than your usual sizes to allow for some movement; don't worry, it won't fall off! 

A lot of people question my regular use of brass. I love brass because it is inexpensive and it is my favorite yellow metal color, if not even more yellow in color than filled gold sometimes. Yes, it does turn your finger green, however that goes away after a few wears, and to me it is worth it.

Last Pair!

The fourth pair to complete the earring challenge were hollow forms. Working in my comfort zone, I chose to work with 18 gauge sheet brass. The hooks for the earrings I made out of 20 gauge filled gold wire.

My favorite finish is high polish, I like to use a cloth buffing wheel with Zam compound (Zam can be found on www.riogrande.com) The only problem with these earrings is that with hollow forms, the solder seam should never be visible, or for any forms for that matter. My professor suggested painting the inside for an interesting design aspect but there are many options to be explored. They were a little bit heavy because I chose 18 gauge sheet instead of something like 22 gauge however I enjoy the weight although some people like lighter jewelry. 

Hopefully I can find time to reproduce this design and to solve the problem of the solder seam that is visible! Wish me luck!

Strictly Circular

Yes, I am still posting about the earring challenge! I participated in it this September; the third pair fabricated were circular earrings where the only rule was that we had to use only circles, discs, holes, etc. I still chose to work with 18 gauge sterling silver which allows for great shine, texture, and most importantly for earrings; it is light weight.

For the viewers who are not familiar with metal work, I always try to include an action shot of before or after of soldering. I hammered most of the circle wires for texture before soldering everything all together. I added jump rings and more circles for movement. I chose to hand form earring hooks also in 18 gauge sterling silver. 

I really enjoyed doing the earring challenge because all of the different rules and guide lines allowed for me to push my design skills and explore areas of design I wouldn't normally push myself to explore. 

Earring Challenge

The first pair of earrings for the earring challenge, as you can see below in the previous post, were focused on found objects in which I chose sea shells. This second pair shown here were focused on line. I chose to work with sterling silver 18 gauge wire, I soldered two mirror imaged structures to form one pair of earrings. 

Earring hooks are the same as the earrings, hand made in 18 gauge sterling. I chose thicker sterling for the structure, although it was risky to use a thick gauge for earrings, 20 gauge is a more common size. I have no problem getting 18 gauge into my piercings so they're okay for me but perhaps if I were to reproduce this pair, I would make the hooks out of 20 or 22 gauge sterling. These were fun and simple and the hardest part was soldering. 

Greetings!

Fall semester is in full gear! Took a moment to share some old and new items that have not yet made an appearance. Starting with four weeks of an earring challenge between classmates, we covered design aspects everywhere from line, to strictly using circles, to setting found objects and the last pair were hollow forms. 

For the found object pair I used a traditional cross prong setting to set seashells on the top and bottom of the earrings, the middle design, I cut out of brass:

In the future I would like to explore this design, perhaps break away from this habitual 2-D earring design and to find a unique way to add more dimension. The found object aspect of this challenge was exciting because, like most artists, I often have sentimental found objects all over the place. To give these seashells a purpose is fun for me and to have fun while designing is the ultimate goal (for me, at least).