Buttons and Dots

I finished a few pieces today, photographed them, and played kitchen with my daughter. I love days when I'm somewhat productive topped off with a big slice of playtime with the girl!

Yeah, it's really a diamond. A .21ct cognac diamond...or in plain ol' terms, a brown diamond...to be exact. I've had this stone for 8 years, patiently waiting for my muse to sing her sweet song. At last, she did and this bit of cognac dazzle found a home!

More stacking yummies. As with the stone above, these cognac diamonds are set in 22k gold. The stuff is like magic putty. It is so forgiving and moves under the burnisher with ease.

Another view of the stacking trio. Working with gemstones is like a new romance. I can't wait to get to the bench again. I find myself daydreaming about diamonds and lumps of sterling. I fantasize about stud earrings and bracelets! Love struck I am and I want no cure!

The Reveal or.... What Not To Do When Making Bezels

The finished product. I fumbled, stumbled, and fouled during the fabrication of this piece. On a scale from 1-100, I'm giving this a 64. When making the bezels, I stretched a few so they were a bit too large and a few were a bit too tall for their buttons. The result: poorly fitting bezels with too much metal to move onto the button. These are all things I know... I could have remade and file these down, but I was racing towards the finish line. Silly, silly woman.

I considered leaving the whole piece in brushed silver. However, the bright silver bezels (read: bumpy, uneven, warped) distracted from the symphony of the buttons. To match the, lets say, "rustic" look, I gave the necklace a nice antiqued patina. Whatcha think?

I think using thin gauge fine silver bezel wire creates a rustic, handcrafted look. When using 26 gauge sterling silver, the bezels retain their clean cylindrical shape. I just may use sterling bezel wire on another neckpiece like this to compare the two looks.

I lost one cluster of 18k loops while setting the buttons. I really didn't notice until I found the cluster in my drawer. I'll save that cluster for the next piece.

My willing model! However, she had on a fushia top, so we pull it off just for a moment to take the photograph.

Perhaps I'm too critical of this piece...we all do that, right? If we didn't, we would never grow as people and artists. Creating this piece was a great lesson, but also got the old creative juices following. I have more ideas, 2 similiar pieces in production, and thousands of buttons waiting for a good home.

One last thing.... this neckpiece needs a name. Any suggestion?

Work in Progress

Welcome to my latest project....a button cluster neckpiece that will look gorgeous on a winter bride. All the buttons are all vintage or antique white mother of pearl with various hues of peach, ivory, cream, and mink.

This is how I work out designs. I like to map all the components (in this case, buttons) onto some sketch paper and label each button's location.

Next step, many, many, many fine silver bezels! Did I mention bezels?

I love to solder....really, I do. If I did not, this piece would still be a mere sketch.

After soldering, I just had to take a picture of the piece on my chest (my plus sized chest, that is...on an average woman, this necklace will look bigger and more grand...my fleshiness dwarfs its actual size). Also, the finished piece will actually sit a tad bit higher.

Ah! Daylight photos!

I wish I had documented the process of tapering this 12 gauge sterling silver wire, but alas, I was too deeply engaged in the process to think of the camera.

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The home stretch! To give this piece a bit of richness, I added some 18k gold loops and balls in three spots. After adjusting the neckwire's curvature, I'll bring up the finish and set the buttons. Check back mid week for the "reveal"!

The Two Quenches

I am amused at the technical differences between my "collections". The earrings below are from the Vintage Collection and, if you have followed this blog, you know that I incorporate vintage buttons and explore hand-pierced filigree. For me, the collection is frustrating....lots of time involved designing and sawing out these intricate patterns, lots of broken buttons from the riveting process, and lots of broken saw blades. As much as I detest the work I devote to this collection, I am repeatedly rewarded with the end product. I see my grandmother and her mother in these pieces. This collection is my homage to embroidery and sewing and I believe that my gram would be proud that I honor this tradition with my collection.

Earrings with vintage buttons

Pendant with sterling and 18k gold dots

The other collection, Dot, is an all out fun fest. The pendant above is the latest addition to Dot. The work involved is remedial...meaning a bit of soldering, a bit of hammering, minimal filing, no fancy patterns, no repetitious sawing and piercing. I form the dots by melting scrap sterling or gold, add a little boric acid while the metal is molten, quench the dots, and hammer flat. The process is a bit crude, but that's the appeal. This collection gives my brain, eyes, and hands the break it needs from my other challenging collection.

In the end, I am both collections (and I didn't even get to dissect my Armor collection!). I'm the consummate metalsmith who fusses over the tiniest blemish; I'm also the experimental artist eager to try create timeless designs. I hope you find a bit of both in my work as well!

New Work!

There were additional new items to blog about, however the liver of sulfur was naughty and caused all sorts of flaking and blotching on several pieces....~sigh~. So, those items HAD to be refinished (so very frustrating!) and were not ready for this photo shoot!

New Listings

I'll be adding these pieces to my shop in the next few days. I have several vintage button pendants (besides the one above) that will join their kin as well!