My grandmother commissioned me to make this sterling silver twisted chain bracelet after she saw the one I made for myself a while back. The links join together in a very precise pattern, so it was very zen to make! There is no catch, the bracelet simply rolls onto your wrist. It is very comfortable, and feels lovely rolling up and down your arm.
Each link is individually soldered, so the piece gets hot very quickly and you can only solder a couple of links at a time. It lived on my workbench, being made in between other things, for many weeks! Lucky Granny is patient..
Years ago, I made a little round silver box with a garnet on the top of it to keep embroidery needles in as due to a special project I was making, I suddenly had many of them. The joys of being able to make your own silver things!!
In this box I also keep a tiny note (which used to have my needle stuck in it when I had only one needle). It was written to me in green pencil by my son many years ago when he was quite small – it just says, in his best handwriting, “i love you”.
As part of the goldmithing course I did in 2012 I attended a weekend casting workshop. We did some lost wax casting (more on that later), and also some cuttlefish casting. Yes, really using cuttlefish! Or more correctly, their little (or not so little) cuttlebones. I hasten to add no actual cuttlefish were harmed in the making of this jewellery – their life expectancy is around one to two years, they die soon after mating, and you can quite often find their cuttlebones washed up on the beach.
The procedure for cuttlefish casting is to cut the ends off the cuttlebone and cut it in half. Grind down the two surfaces until they are flush. Carve a funnel in one end of the two halves, and carve your design just below that. Bind the sides together to form a mould, smelt your silver and pour it in!
I cuttlefish-cast the bottoms of these two pieces, then set bezels with bails attached into the cast pieces to create pendants. One is set with malachite, the other with paua shell.
I had to hand these pieces in as part of my final presentation, and then they were sold from my online shop.
Pharaoh Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are members of the cephalopod family, like ocotpus, squid and nautilus. They emit a brown ink to help them evade predators. This ink, known as sepia, was once prized as a dye. Cuttlefish have green blood, due to haemocyanin, which carries oxygen and contains copper, unlike humans who have iron-containing haemoglobin filled red blood. Cuttlefish have beaks. Cuttlefish have chromatophoric cells, which enable them to change the colour of their skin instantaneously. Aren’t they wonderful! And coincidentally in keeping with my (unplanned) marine themed year!!! Thanks, little guys!!
The second thing I ever made was a pendant, using a banded agate cabochon. I learned (belately!) one of the very important lessons goldsmithing teaches you, which is not to cut corners; near enough is NOT good enough. I made the pendant well, and was pleased with the quality and the way it looked, but when I made the bail, I did not take enough time over it and so was never happy with it. Of course that one element of the piece which was substandard meant that the whole piece was not satisfactory!
I came very close to getting rid of the piece all together, but at the last minute, my husband helped me look at it through fresh eyes, and I realised that all that it needed to be a quality piece was a well-made bail! (Surprise, surprise…) I removed the old one, designed this new spiral one, and now the pendant is in my shop waiting for a new home!
The lastest project for my goldsmithing course was to cold forge a sterling silver spoon. Creating fine metal jewellery is called goldsmithing, and creating fine metal tablewear is called silversmithing… which creates some confusion!!!
Lots of hammering, some bending, doming, soldering and polishing later, and it was done.
I started out thinking I would make a metric teaspoon, then decided that was too difficult. I measured the volume of the bowl of the spoon out of interest, and guess what? It’s a metric teaspoon!!!
Ok, so this piece is not for sale – but I did create it! This seashell is the physical component of my latest goldsmithing course project brief. Lots of wire bending and soldering made this an interesting and challenging piece to create.
It started life as a sketch from my mind, and went through some incarnations on paper, as a freehand art drawing:
Gina had me create her signature in sterling silver and gold as the logo for G’s Market Cafe @ Florey, ACT, Australia.
Gina is going to mount it on a hardwood chef’s jacket pin.
G’s Market cafe has just opened in Florey, Canberra, and offers a great range of artisan and small producer vegan foods, coffees, herb blends, and cordials.
