For those who want to see the basic process for creating a piece of jewelry, here is a chronicle through the creation of a necklace pendant.

First a brass blank was selected to put my design on.  I had an idea about a “drop” of metal with a stone inset at the bottom of the drop.   I drew a stylized drop on paper and then cut a brass blank that would be larger than the drawing.  The blank was 2 x 6 cm.  I cleaned the blank of oxidation.

Filing, a little dapping with an 8 mm punch, and hand polishing with red rouge completes the creation of the basic pendant.  The stone is set into the hole that was pierced in the metal and the pendant is complete and ready to go to the shop.

The shop will be at a “fleamarket” next Saturday.  Locally we have a bike trail that is rather long.  The fleamarket will be at mile marker 31.5 at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery store (205 Cedar Lane Road, Greenville, SC).  Anyone in the area is invited to drop by and say hello.

In order to create my art, I first cut the stone that will go in the piece, then design around that.  Here are two stones cut in the lapidary in the past week.  The first is a piece of Lapis Lazuli about 2.5 inches long and it is very heavy.  Will probably use it in a horizontal position in a necklace.  Way too large for a ring.

The second is a free form cabochon made with “Pudding” jasper.  Feel free to change the adjective ‘dding’ to anything that you think describes the stone.

I will wait, but am currently working on a mixed metal pendant (gold and silver) with a highly included rutilated quartz *16 mm round faceted stone.  Another project is a ring to ask Debbie to marry me “again” next October on our anniversary. A friend is cutting this as I certainly can not do it in my shop.  Any way, that is the news so far for the day after Thanksgiving.

John

How do you do Vintage? The beauty in Vintage lies within the actual pieces’ ability to speak with you. Brooches are my favorite pieces to “Remix!” As I received these fascinating pieces Broochaliscious ideas took flight! Fabulous brooch finds placed together, offering total accessorization…just scrumpscious! Jewelry transformed with fantastic necklaces with the thinking “your neck is just too hungry to pass these up”! The brooches long lasting appeal doesn’t stop there…Broochaliscious designs from the Queen highlights Vintage-Inspired Handbags adorned with charming gloves, sparkling brooches, & handmade bib flower necklaces that can double as belts! One-of-a-kind pieces to reflect timeless style & design! Lovely accessory & keepsake!

So when the QuEeN wonders, “How do you do Vintage?” please reflect on the history, gift, and legacy behind such pieces as they reach our hands. The journey is what captivates me and sending these pieces on even further is the real gift! Beauty is truly within the eye of the beholder…so kindly BEHOLD THIS and share the love on your neck!

Charmed -ZiLLA’s QuEeN 
As always, The Queen reminds you…”Never leave home without your charm!”

www.ZillasQuEeN.Etsy.com

JR Aquamarine Pendant

Freeform cabochon aquamarine weighing 43 carats in a Sterling silver wire frame accented with glass beads.  The pendant is about 3 inches high

Also did some playing with copper wire, here is that resulting bracelet:

AK Woven Copper Bracelet

12 gauge dead soft round copper wire woven into this 8 inch  cuff bracelet.  After weaving the three wires the bracelet was flattened with hammer and anvil to make a single thickness presentation.

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving.

John

In another working idea, I took some 20 gauge square half hard copper wire and wound it on a 3 mm mandrel to make jump rings. These were cut from the mandrel with a jeweler’s saw, then put together to make the chain for this necklace. A dichroic glass pendant that accents the copper color in the chain hangs along the necklace.

Please excuse the quality of my photographs. I enjoyed making these pieces, and am continuing in my creation of custom work.

In addition to the necklace, I have been able to complete a commissioned piece for a geologist.  He wanted a bracelet (17 cm in length) made with Sterling Silver, that shows a cross bedded fluvial environment.  This is the background for the bracelet. The foreground is a river that is meandering.  The 10 gauge round wire shows the river, and also is the wave uncomformity in the cross-section.  In the slow inner portion of the meanders, rough diamonds were placed.  These were set with prongs and a ledge cut into the round wire.  Each of the rock strata were physically patterned, then patinated with Liver of Sulfur to create colors for different sections.  See thumbnail above.  Click on the thumbnails to see a full sized image.

Final item for this edition of my blog is a combination project.  While in Helen, GA, Debora and I went to a fee mine and bought several geodes.  I cut them into slices, them strung them from a crescent of brass to make a wind chime.  Also did a little polishing.  Here it is:

“Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” showcases 247 images chosen
from entries from over 55 artists representing North America, South
America, Europe, Australia, Central America, Africa and Eurasia.

The drive to adorn the human body is surely as old as human kind.
From pre-historic times this drive has led humans to use the
materials at hand, combined with the technologies and tools
available, to create objects to adorn the human body. The oldest
jewelry found to date goes back to at least 75,000 years ago in
Africa.

Early jewelry was made of bones, shells, sticks, and whatever other
materials the people could find and shape. Over time the ability to
mine and shape metal developed, and jewelry was made from bronze,
silver, gold, platinum and other metals. Gold has long been thought
of as a “precious” metal, and today it is joined by silver and
platinum as the three main materials modern jewelry is made from.

While much jewelry today is made from these three main metals, a
large body of jewelry world-wide is still made from a much wider
range of materials. This exhibition, “Beauty is in the Eye of the
Beholder”, focuses on jewelry made primarily of materials other than
gold, platinum and silver.

Jewelers today are still using found objects such as shell and bone;
they are using “green” materials – upcycled and recycled objects and
materials; they are using cutting edge plastics and newly developed
technology; and they are using older metals such as copper, brass
and bronze.

Some of the more unusual materials include vinyl LP’s, velvet, VCR
components, rattlesnake vertebrae, corian, canvas, paper, crab
claws, magnets, synthetic rubber electrical insulation tubing, and
aluminum grounding wire.

More traditional materials used include copper, bronze, brass,
glass, various types of wood, gemstones, pearls and seeds.

Techniques range from traditional metalsmithing, through a range of
beading techniques, textile techniques, photography techniques and
cutting edge industrial fabrication.

Participants range from professional jewelers with international
reputations to students just learning their craft.

Hosted on the Ganoksin website, the world’s largest internet site
devoted to jewelry- related topics, the exhibition is a snapshot of
what jewelers around the world are exploring, and an inspiration to
all. The exhibition was conceived Beth Wicker, an artist from South
Carolina, in the USA, and curated by Beth and Hanuman Aspler, founder
of the Ganoksin Project.

Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/beb

For more information about the Exhibition please contact: Beth Wicker
onlineexhibition@earthlink.net or Dr. E. Aspler (Hanuman)
service@ganoksin.com

Dr. E. Aspler (Hanuman)
Owner and founder