Making Jewelry Storybook--Pearl Tiara

I've been making tiaras lately, for no particular reason other than it seemed like a fun thing to do. It's a nice brain break. So here's the first tiara, made with South Sea shell pearls and sterling silver.

Make the base

The base wire is twisted and attachments are added at each end for a keeper chain. It also lets a veil be attached and can be used as anchor points with hair pins.

Add the pearl posts

Soldering the pearl posts on

Drill the pearls

Drilling the shell pearls. Steady hands needed!

Finished tiara

Shell pearls on graduated posts, everything polished to a high shine

This is what I call a half-crown tiara. It looks fabulous on someone's head! I'm waiting for one of my daughters to come visit so I can take a photo of it on a head. I tried photographing it on my head, but between trying to keep it balanced on my head (got a little problem with my hair falling out right now), holding the camera and trying to locate the shutter button, the result was that I looked like the village idiot.

This tiara might still be available for sale in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/156710409/wedding-tiara-of-sterling-silver-and?ref=listing-shop-header-0
Plus (bonus!) you get to see more pictures of it.

If you liked reading about how this piece was made, you can see other pieces being made in my other blog postings of Making Jewelry Storybook.

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

How to Get Started Making Jewelry

I have a lot of people ask me how they can start making jewelry. They love jewelry and they have a creative side, and they'd love to combine the two.

It's not as hard as it used to be

Fortunately, it's not as hard as it used to be when I began. There's a wealth of material out there now, in both books and DVDs. If you go to Amazon.com, all you have to do is a search for "how-to" and then a technique you think you might like to learn. There are some exceptional ones out there for every skill level.

The best way

You're not going to be able to jump right into making soldered jewelry without training of some sort, like a college class or some beginner workshops. There are a lot of different facets required for this type of work, and you have to learn to use a lot of equipment safely. It just helps to have a live body nearby to guide you, so you can observe in real time and ask the questions you need answered.

When formal education isn't an option

If you don't have the time, the money or live close enough for this to be an option, there are other things you can do. There is beading, wire work, resins and polymer clay. You can even find free online videos for many of these things. Also consider getting magazine subscriptions. Some places offer online subscriptions for the same price as print. These are nice because you can print out just the projects you like, and you don't have to be storing a whole magazine. You can even pick up a whole year's worth of back issues on one CD!

There is another alternative called "bridge jewelry" that is generally made with metal clay (Precious Metal Clay and Metal Art Clay). This is where you start crossing over the line into fabricating metal jewelry and can be accomplished with a minimum amount of tools. Even though it's kiln fired and you have no kiln, you can  have it fired at a local pottery. For less than $100 buy a small trinket type of kiln that can be fired with a plumber's portable propane bottle or with a butane torch that is used in restaurants, usually for making creme brulee.

Is any of it free?

Several places I point people to is ArtJewelryMag.com and JewelryArtistMagazine.com. Both have free online video and printed projects, ranging from beginner to intermediate in a variety of mediums. If you type in "jewelry tutorials" in Google, you'll have more tutorials, many free, than you'll have time to explore. Just start with one that you really like, and make sure it's from a reputable source. Two I recommend are Rio Grande http://www.youtube.com/user/RioGrande1944 and Ganoksin http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/videos I've seen some things on video from amateurs that are just dangerous, so use careful judgement when trying to learn from free video postings.

And that means...

Don't expect perfect results the very first time. You'll get better with each progressive project though, and with experience you learn how to turn your goofs into serendipitous exploration. Yeah, I know that's a big and pretentious word, but any of my students know that when I yell out, "Serendipity!" in a workshop, it means it's a learning experience. Just read that as, "I did a goof and I'm going to act like it's the greatest design focal point anyone has ever seen." And actually, when you look at it that way, you'll get away from your preconceived ideas and start making things that are truly original and fabulous. Yes, you'll make mistakes, just as we all have, and you'll learn from it. I'm still learning from my mistakes, and I've been doing this for a loooooong time. I don't want to say how long because that will give you an idea of my age!

Occasionally, you'll run across a kindly soul who will mentor you, either in making jewelry, design or learning business skills. They've been down your road at one time, and if they're willing to impart knowledge, listen to them. They're worth their weight in gold!

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Making Jewelry Storybook--A commissioned redesign

I do custom work, and this is the story of one commission.

A customer wanted to use some jewelry she inherited from her parents and grandparents. She wanted a pendant using parts of their gold and diamonds. She wanted to use as many of the diamonds as she could. She brought a lot of jewelry with her at our sit down. We chose the following pieces.

The old jewelry

A pair of gold wedding bands.

 A wedding set consisting of various sized diamonds.

Designing with the customer

We began the process of designing after determining from her other jewelry and discussing what she liked and why. She liked simple but flowing shapes, and she settled on the design at the top right.

Changing old to new

I began by rolling the heavier of the two wedding bands through a mill, and then changed the shape through forging.

I soldered the form together and cut off the top piece.

Putting in the heirloom diamonds

Here you see it set with 5 of the largest diamonds, none of which were very large, ranging in size from 1 pointers to a 3 pointer. To give you an idea, there are 100 points in a carat stone. I made a generous hidden bail on the back from one of the rings in the diamond wedding set, because she wanted to wear it with a variety of chains she already had, including an omega.

She's a very petite lady and I had to be careful not to make the pendant too large, and I didn't want to gild the lily, so I didn't use all the diamonds. Her other wedding band and the extra diamonds were returned to her. Maybe she'll want me to make her a pair of earrings in the future.

Again, not professional photos, just shots on the bench as I went along making the piece.

If you've enjoyed the step-by-step story of how a piece of jewelry is made, look for similar stories in the "Making Jewelry Storybook" sections.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Making Jewelry Storybook--Honking Big Amethyst Pendant

I thought people might be interested in the steps taken for making studio jewelry. I'm not trying to do a tutorial, but rather to show how a piece begins its life through a storybook style of how it comes to be. So here's the first story:

No fancy photos here, just shot off my bench as I'm working. This one began with a stone that I picked up from a gem show. You can see some of the other amethysts at this particular show, including the one featured below at this link: http://jazznjewelry.blogspot.com/2011/05/stone-shopping-at-gem-shows.html

The honking big amethyst

So here's the stone. It's a big honking amethyst that's over 20 carats, beautiful saturated royal purple color with flashes of violet. Its cut is nice, but because of its size, it has to be set carefully so the point doesn't make contact with someone's skin. You can see a substantial bezel that I've made sitting right behind the amethyst.

Here you see the bezel with a shoulder bearing soldered in. The bearing will support the amethyst.

Adding the details

Now you see the setting made with some scroll work and it has been cut out of the background sheet and pre-polished.

And here's the finished pendant with a generous hidden bail.

It has since gone to a gallery in Laramie, WY. The owner's wife was more than helpful in helping him choose what to put in, and this was the first piece she glommed onto.

If you've enjoyed the step-by-step story of how a piece of jewelry is made, look for similar stories in the "Making Jewelry Storybook" sections.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Making Jewelry Storybook~Tufa cast jewelry

Tufa casting is cast directly into a rock called tufa. It is carved, then cast with molten metal. Below, you'll see the steps taken for the piece above. This was also featured in a trade magazine called Lapidary Journal, and a general publication called Big Sky Magazine/Art. It is now at The Jeweler Gallery in Laramie, WY.

The raw stone

First, the tufa is cut into blocks.

Then the design is carved into the rock with a variety of instruments. In one block is the design, and the other block is the backer.

The carving tools

The tufa is actually pretty soft before it's stabilized, so I'm able to use knives, wax carving tools, dental instruments and clay carvers.

Pouring the molten metal

Then the model is sooted up, so it will release easily. The two blocks are bound together and molten metal is poured into the model.

Breaking out the casting

Here's how the casting looks after it comes out of the mold. Doesn't look like much, does it? All of the vents and pouring gate has to be cut off, then the remaining casting is filed and sanded into its final shape.

Here's the working design. It has olive jade, peridots and pink mother-of-pearl.

Here's another tufa piece that was modeled after the shadows on a snowdrift. It is now at The Jeweler Gallery in Laramie, WY

You can see more views of the one below at

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84739672/curvy-tufa-pendant-with-checkerboard

You can see more views of the piece below at

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84858048/tufa-cast-pendant-in-sterling-silver 

If you've enjoyed the step-by-step story of how a piece of jewelry is made, look for similar stories in the "Making Jewelry Storybook" sections.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak