Making Jewelry Storybook--Lines Bracelet

 What was it?

The last posting of what I had on the bench, I asked you to guess what it was I was making. I finished it and finally took some photos of it. You see the teaser below? It's a bracelet, all right!

This is how I made it

First, I started with a bracelet blank; a strip of 16 gauge silver that is 6" long. I took pieces of wire and formed them into various shapes, and melted some scrap silver into balls. You can see most of this laid out on the charcoal block. If you're wondering what the white crud is that's all over the metal, it's a flux that prevents firescale. Sterling is notorious for taking up cupric oxide and it leaves a nasty purplish stain in the metal if you don't take steps to prevent it from forming.

All the wires are sanded so they'll sit flush on the bracelet blank. The wires are soldered on a few at a time, with cleaning baths in pickle in between solderings, and of course, more flux to prevent firescale before soldering again.

Here you can see the wires all soldered and the form pre-polished, before filing and forming the blank into the bracelet.

And now the purdy...

I love the movement of the lines on the bracelet, and how that movement changes, depending on which angle it's viewed. You can go to this link to see a few more pictures of the Flowing Lines bracelet from different angles:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88543681/flowing-lines-sterling-silver-cuff

Thanks for stopping by to read! You can find more stories on Making Jewelry Storybook posts. Learn how handmade jewelry goes from sheet and wire to be fabricated into volumetric and gorgeous jewelry.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

On the Bench!

Working on the concept

This is one of my current projects. Maybe you can guess what it is, but I'm not going to tell you until it's finished and I have it in a Storybook Jewelry posting. But I like the way the lines move on this piece. It's somewhat similar to the honking big amethyst pendant in another Storybook Jewelry posting. I think I'm going to have to do a whole series of this type of pattern development to get it out of my system. These have been some of my more enjoyable ones, so it might take awhile. I have a whole season of downtime (my favorite and most creative time!) coming up. 

If you have any ideas of what you think "lines" might look good in jewelry, why don't you give me some feedback. You never know when I might use those suggestions to make something. I depend on feedback from people to help me develop jewelry that gets noticed!

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Fold forming

One of the techniques I use in some of my work is called fold forming. It can have soft folds that make metal look like fabric, sharp folds that cause the metal to stretch into three-dimensional forms, or a combination of folding and forging to make fantastical forms. The picture below is an example of a soft fold.

The leaves are an excellent example of fold forming because they have a central spine.

Here's a leaf pendant made in an Art Nouveau style.

You can get great dimensional shape like these 3-D flowers and cups. These are more appropriate for sculpture, hollow ware and decorative elements.

This is a big leaf and a boat shape.



I like the fold forming techniques for their organic nature, but I lean more towards the score folding techniques because they're more easily adapted to jewelry.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Using handmade dies to make jewelry

Some of my work is made from dies that I cut. This allows me to get a 3-D form that's lightweight. Here are some dies I've cut, along with copper samples.

Matrix dies

How they look finished
Made in silver.

Here is a pendant made from a handmade die. It is the amphora shape in the top photo, middle die.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60439186/pretty-pink-opal-pendant-in-sterling

Split matrix die

Even a simple shape can produce a variety of results.

 Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

What kind of jewelry do I make?

When looking at various shades of white snow for a good deal of the year, I'm eager to use stones with lots of color and interesting patterns.

Okay, actually I'm a girl that likes shimmer, shine, glitzy, COLOR! and usually big jewelry.

http://metalsandgems.com/page52.html

Then again, sometimes I like to make things that are delicate and lacy, like filigree.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68068209/tiny-filigree-butterfly-earrings-in



Many of my pieces are simple, but bold in scale.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60612997/wide-sterling-silver-bracelet-cuff-in

And some are just, "How did she do that? How does that work exactly?"

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68302603/wavy-nesting-bangle-in-sterling-silver-4

Whatever I make is going to get noticed, so it's not for the faint of heart. You can check out more information at my website Metals and Gems and current pieces at Jazzn Jewelry Etsy shop.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak