"Cutlass"

Working on a new pendant for a documentary/promo video.. here is the piece so far:


Metals used are silver, copper and nu-gold. Should be finished up by 4/18.

Blog bLog bloG

Whew! Just finished applying for a grant for materials to create a fourteen piece jewelry set depicting the major veins within my body. Come May, we'll see if UVM looks kindly upon my artistic endeavors.

In the meantime I have been intrigued by the jewelers that Lady Gaga wears. My new favorite is Pamela Love: http://www.pamelalovenyc.com/#. Love has strong, edgy pieces that are to be worn only by the person who has a strong sense of self. I particularly enjoy her multiple finger rings. I enjoy jewelry that doesn't merely rest upon the body, but interacts. These rings constrict our fingers, making us always aware of what we are wearing. This jewelry is not worn passively.

Annnnnd We're Back

So, there has been a quiet spell here in the studio these past weeks but that is all about to change. This Saturday, back we go! Or, back I go... I'll be in the studio for a few hours polishing up some work and planning some new projects.

In other news, my camera broke. : ( Jon and I went on a -17 degree adventure at midnight that ended in disappointment -- the snow was not fit for snowmen and my camera froze... so basically we'll have to wait for Jon's camera or until the day when mine finally thaws.

We will keep you updated!

Secret Project Revealed

So, I couldn't post further on the elephants I carved out of wax because they were my brother's Christmas gift! Well now that he and my family have already fallen out of their chairs after I showed them the final product I can show them to you! These elephants were turned into cuff links and were made using the lost-wax method of casting. The pictures in the "Studio Saturdays" post were of the mold-making process. After the mold was baked out for many hours, Jon and I fired up the torch and got ready to cast. This is the only picture I have of the process... (the mold is in the upper right-hand corner with the crucible in front of it, already emptied of silver from the outward force of the centrifuge)

but Jon will post pictures of the cast pieces after they were removed from the mold so you can see what it looked like.

So imagine: a ton of sawing, filing, sanding, polishing etc later....

Aren't they cute!?! So, then I took a silicone paste and made a quick-hardening mold of the elephants.

This way, I can melt wax into the cavity and repeat the lost-wax casting process without all of the tough carving... next up? Earrings for my sister-in-law! We'll keep you posted!

A bit of Work

Hey everyone,

So I thought I should put up some pictures of my own stuff to show you guys what I can do! I tried to put up examples of different kinds of pieces, using different materials and methods.

The copper leaves in this pendant are roll-printed and folded in the center with a nu gold wire soldered down the center.
These earrings are silver two separate circles that I shaped randomly to look like pebbles and then hammered a texture into them. The bottom pieces are covered in a patina to make them dark.
This piece is my largest to date. I made this solid silver tiara using cuttlebone casting techniques and tube settings. Each piece is separate and individually cast or formed. I soldered each piece to each other then soldered the center piece into the tiara frame. Finally I soldered in the tube settings here and there.

The Truth about Saturdays

Jon thinks that this blog is all about him but we know who had troubles mixing the plaster yesterday, now don't we! The tiny elephants are my creation but the tusks had to be sacrificed unfortunately, and let's just pray that the trunks come out ok! Tomorrow, or the next day, Jon and I will bake out our mold for many hours and get it good and ready to have red-hot silver shot into it... we'll see what happens and keep you up to date with pics!

Also, let it be known that I am not only a master metal smith but my disco dance moves are sick nasty...

Jon drools

Katia rools

that is all...

Studio Saturdays

I'm sorry you had to read Katia's post, I know no one actually visits this blog to hear what she has to say. For those who don't know I'm a metalsmith. I've worked in metal sculpture, dabbled in blacksmithing and for the past 7 or so months have been focusing on fine metals. Fine metals includes anything from jewelry to small sculptural pieces. For me the biggest difference coming from a background in blacksmithing is the switch to non-ferrous metals, metals without iron. Instead of working with the metal while its hot, you work with it while its cold.

Katia and I find ourselves at the end of the semester working on our final projects for our advanced metals class at UVM with Laurie Peters. Today we listened to some Luda, took some pictures, danced to the bee gees, had coffee and pastries and invested our wax molds in preparation for casting!

Now to inundate you with photos:

Katia cleaning the wax molds.

Tiny Elephants!

Making the investment mix.

And here are a few pictures of my most recent work:

Concept Pendant: Silver, Copper, Nu Gold and Blue Topaz

Twisted: Cast Silver Ring