Rural Fire Brigades Association

Bush Fire Silhouette (art by Wendy Sinclair)

I recently picked up a copy of Ian Mannix’s ‘Great Australian Bushfire Stories’, and I found myself unable to put it down until I had read it cover to cover. The real and moving stories of everyday people’s experiences with bushfire that are contained within it affected me more deeply than any book I’ve read for a long time. In particular, it was a bizzare experience to read about the 2003 Canberra bushfires. I lived in one of the suburbs on the outskirts of Canberra at the time, and vividly remember the blackened skies and billowing smoke, and the preparations I was directed to make to my home in case the fire swung around and headed our way. I was lucky, unlike so many others, but it brought home to me what a dangerous and unpredictable country we live in, and how circumstances can change in an instant, uncontrollable flames spreading (literally) like wildfire, threatening (and taking) lives and property mindlessly. Reading Ian’s book brought a new dimension to the madness and terror that being caught up in a bushfire must be filled with.

We are extremely lucky that we have a valiant and heroic team of volunteers, who risk their own lives to protect those of others. Here in Queensland, our rural fire brigades are made up of more than 1,400 volunteer brigades, and more than 34,000 volunteers (both firefighters and support members). The Rural Fire Brigade Association of Queensland also support the 2,600 rural fire wardens who are an integral and highly valued part of the rural fire fighting movement – many of them volunteer firefighters as well.

These volunteers protect their local and wider communities: not only by fighting bushfires, but also attending house fires, assisting with flood preparation and clean up; providing support in cyclone preparation and clean up; and helping the community through hazard reduction burning, and delivering the ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’ message. Brigades work closely with other agencies such as local councils, SES, Department of Main Roads and Forestry and this close working relationship helps local brigades meet local community needs.

This month, while contemplating which worthy cause I could support, I was fortuitously inspired by my friend from the lovely MadeIt shops ‘i made this for you‘ and ‘..and then some‘, who has had her own experiences with bushfire, and I’m glad to say The Silver Forge will be donating 10% of all sales to the Rural Fire Brigade Association of Queensland. Please help support this worthy cause, either directly or by purchasing something from The Silver Forge shop, won’t you!

Chrysocolla Oval Cabochon

The divine chrysocolla gemstone cabochon shown here is 30mm long.

Like malachite, chrysocolla has a high copper content, which is what gives it that fabulous blue/green colouring. The name comes from the Greek chrysos, (gold), and kolla, (glue).

It is believed to have a calming influence, and also to attract love. It is supposed to help heal burns, fever, and detoxify the liver.

I used this cabochon to create this custom piece:

Rhyolite

Rhyolite – Closeup (photo credit Outback Mining)

Rhyolite is a volcanic rock, and is known as the volcanic equivalent of granite. It is sometimes known as Rainforest Jasper. Its occurrence is quite widespread throughout the world.

Flow-banded Rhyolite (photo credit Angela Walker)

Pre-historic quarries of rhyolite have been discovered in the location of east Pennsylvania, USA. Rhyolite was given its name by the German traveller and geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen after his explorations in the Rocky Mountains in the 1860s.

Rhyolite – Slab (photo credit GemrockAuctions)

Rhyolite is supposed to spark creativity in individuals who are ready to move forward and make things happen in their life. It apparently helps to break through the mental barriers.

Rhyolite – Polished Stone (photo credit GreenEarthStones)

This stone is used for meditation, progression in life, focusing on the present moment and resolving issues not yet complete.

Rhyolite – Sphere (photo credit Crystalarium)

I had the lovely piece of rhyolite in cab form shown at the top of this post,which I made into a pendant. If you’d like a pendant of your own, just contact me and let me know!

Endeavour Foundation

( African Daisy – photo credit to c. creativity)

The Endeavour Foundation is one of Queensland’s oldest charities, founded in 1951. It is one of the largest non-government disability service providers in Australia. They support more than 3,400 people with a disability, from 230 locations in Queensland and New South Wales.

This year, the Endeavour Foundation are holding a Melbourne Cup Luncheon on 5th November, and I was recently contacted by them to see if I could assist with a donation for this fundraising effort.

In a serendipitous twist, I had just that day been at the park with my younger son, and had made friends with a woman who was out walking with her disability support worker and a friend. My new friend and I chatted for ages about the knitting she was doing, her love of ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’, and what else she’d been up to. I could see that the support worker was a very encouraging and understanding of the two women she was caring for, and she was able to translate for us when I had a couple of moments difficulty understanding what my new friend was saying.

It is good to know that in our wide and varied community, those who face the challenges in their daily lives that living with a disability presents are able to be supported and nurtured; advocated for and given opportunities to learn and grow and have their varying needs met. I have donated a raffle prize to assist the with Endeavour’s fundraising effort, and I look forward to seeing what the prize winner chooses from The Silver Forge shop!

smithing – handcrafting a sterling silver and gemstone ring

I love seeing other people’s processes, so I thought it was time I shared the process that goes into creating one of my gemstone rings with you!

First, I cut a strip of .6mm sterling silver sheet to form the bezel for the gemstone.

I file one end of the strip flat.

I heat the strip to the point that the metal ‘relaxes’ and the molecules line up so that the metal is malleable. This is known as annealing.

After it cools, I immerse the strip into a slightly heated 1/10 sulphuric acid/water mixture. This mixture is known as pickle, and cleans any oxidisation, dirt, or flux from the metal.

After a good rinse and dry, I bend the strip to conform to the shape of the stone.

I cut the strip to the correct length.

I file the other end of the strip flat, so that there is a seamless join where the two ends meet.

I solder the strip together to form the bezel.

After another bath in the pickle, I hammer the bezel on a mandrel to form the correct shape, and flatten the join.

I check that the gemstone fits well inside the bezel.

I emery the bottom of the bezel flat.

From a sheet of 1.0mm sterling silver, I cut a plate to form the base of the bezel.

I make sure the bezel and plate fit smoothly together.

I coat the silver with flux (borax), and place paillons of solder inside the bezel.

I solder the bezel to the plate.

After it cools, the soldered parts go through the pickle procedure again.

Once the bezel setting is clean and dry, I cut the excess material from the base.

I file most of the excess metal from the bezel setting.

I anneal a strip of metal around 1.0mm-1.2mm thick to form the ring shank.

I bend the ring shank to the correct size and shape.

I cut the excess metal from the shank.

I file the top of the shank to fit snugly against the bezel plate.

I solder the shank to the bezel plate, and pickle again.

I stamp 925 and my maker’s mark into the shank.

I file the remaining excess material flush with the bezel base.

I mark the bezel.

I file the bezel down to fit the stone.

I emery the top of the bezel.

I emery the entire ring with coarse emery.

I emery the entire ring with fine emery.

I place the gemstone inside the setting.

I place the ring in my engraver’s block.

Using my setting hammer and a punch, I set the stone.

A final cleanup and a polish with tripoli and then rouge using my flex drive (which I haven’t shown you here), and the ring is ready to go to a new home!

Mysterious Organic Mosaic and Metal Sculptures

Outside the Chermside Westfield Shopping Centre, there is the most fabulous art installation. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.

Each piece is a combination of beautifully sculpted metal and wonderfully colourful mosaic tiles.

These are so obviously life forms of the most unusual and exquisite type!

I see flowering gumnuts and banksia, scribbly bark and ladybeetle, all blended into these magnificent artworks.

The mystery for me is “Who?” “Who dunnit?” for nowhere could I find a plaque informing me who created these delights. I’ve searched high and low online. I even emailed the centre management team to ask – with no reply. If anyone knows, I’d be delighted to hear!!

Meanwhile, they are just there to be enjoyed. I love them, and love that they are next to a megaplex shopping centre in a tiny park with other magical creations for kids to clamber on and interact with. Whoever created these, a big bravo!!!!

Tool of the Month – Jeweller’s Files

This month, I thought I’d show you my jeweller’s files. As with most smithing equipment, there are a vast array of files, and I have just a few.

The largest file I have is a good old half round file, and the smaller files are barette, half round, pillar, round, three square & square needle files.

Files are mostly used to shape and remove excess metal, so you can imagine there’s a lot of that going on! The larger files move more metal, of course, and the smaller needle files are more delicate and precise.

After you’ve filed a piece, there will be file marks left in the metal. That’s where emery paper comes in. With each stage, you remove the marks that the last stage left, so the file marks are taken away with a coarser emery paper first.

Emery, not to be confused with sandpaper, is mostly corundum, which is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide with traces of iron, titanium and chromium.

I use two grades of emery: a coarser 400 grade, and a finer 1200 grade. I use it wrapped around a metal stick, or a needle file, or just by itself in a small sheet, depending on what I’m emerying! Sometimes a piece looks great just left at this stage – it can provide a lovely matte surface. Most often, though, I brass brush after the emery stage to leave a great satin finish, as you can see on these butterflies. I really love the softer shine this gives the silver.

There are more steps after this used to create a polished finish, but that’s for another day!

Pantone – 2014 Spring Colours

Spring has sprung.. and with it, the release of the latest Pantone colour trends! Some of you will recall my longstanding love of the whole idea of Pantone colour from my previous blog posts here and here. The ambitious and slightly crazy idea that you could catalogue and name the entire universe’s colours is pretty cool!

You’ll see I’ve taken some small liberties with colour matching my gemstone collection here (poor Freesia, I totally love the smell of you, but don’t have a gemstone to completely match that colour – nor for you, Sand!), but on the whole I think I’ve got Spring 2014 pretty well covered. If any of these lovelies appeal to you, and you’d like a custom ring or pendant, let me know and I can create you something beautiful!

By the way, I think I need one of these:

‘The Rubitone’ (credit ~ and kudos ~ to Ignacio Pilotto)

Surely this cube belongs in Geek paradise!

in.cube8r

I was recently invited to share my wares at the in.cube8r gallery in Brisbane. A quirky little shop chock full of divine handmade items, with a great ethic – for a small weekly fee, they provide each artist with a space, which is theirs to do with as they wish.

I’ve placed some of my pieces there in my own little cube, which I’ll be refreshing from time to time! I’m sharing the space with some amazing artists, well worth a look.

Vicki, the owner of in.cube8r in Fortitude Valley, blogged this artist profile about me the other day. You can see the blog post here on the in.cube8r site.

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artist profile :: the silver forge {the valley}

posted on august 27, 2013 by vicki @ the valley

tell us about your background

i am a silversmith. originally from canberra, i’ve lived in brisbane for around seven years. i have been smithing since 2005, and last year completed intensive vocational certification at a local dedicated goldsmith’s school. my shop, the silver forge, opened in may 2012.

tell us about what you create

i handcraft bespoke, one of a kind and limited edition pieces of silver jewellery.

what made you start making your pieces?

i’ve loved silver since i was young, and just fell into creating with it – it’s been my obsession ever since i began! it feels like what i am meant to be doing.

what is your inspiration/influences?

i am often influenced by a particular stone or theme, and nature in all her glory provides so much endless inspiration! i’m currently finding some of the architecture and sculpture around brisbane very inspiring, too.

what materials do you use?

all my jewellery is created from quality sterling silver. i like to use gemstones and glass as accents to my pieces, so you’ll find a range of things from drusy agate, to czech glass, to seaglass, as well as other semi-precious stones. the more unusual, the better, i think!

tell us about your creative process?

i like to create everything by hand, using traditional methods and tools. there’s nothing quite like making a delicate piece of jewellery using metal, flame, and some big steel implements!

why did you choose in.cube8r?

in.cube8r is so unique – the idea that i could have a cube which is mine to use as i wish, was very appealing. having the lovely vicki on site to take care of the sales end of things means that i can set up my display, then head home to create some more!

where else can we find you?

you can find the silver forge at:
www.facebook.com/thesilverforge
www.thesilverforge.com
www.thesilverforge.etsy.com
www.madeit.com.au/thesilverforge
tweeting on twitter @thesilverforge