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Thursday, March 06, 2008

Fossils,Pebbles and More Jewelry

For once in such a long time, I am actually finishing my creative challenge piece before a new one has been posted which is sad since I'm the one that posts the challenges. This week's challenge was to create something inspired by the word pebbles. I was actually inspired by GalleryJuana's blog post about her new camera. She had posted a picture she had taken at the beach, and there were all these beautiful pebbles laying on the sand. Since I was inspired by a blog post, I thought I would provide a little insight into my making of this challenge piece. (That was pitiful English, wasn't it?!) Not really a tutorial. Just a peek into my process of sorts.

First. The idea. This was a tough one. I knew I kept thinking about pebbles along the shore from which I had been originally inspired, and I looked at the pebbles I use in my product shots. I finally came up with an idea combining mixed metals... Again. I started working on it. I was lucky enough to find I all ready had a disc cut, and the pebbles were easy to make. It's a good thing pebbles aren't uniform. I got almost all the pieces soldered when I lost the flipping disc. Yes, that's right. Lost it. I have no clue where it went. I spent an hour looking for it. It just flew out of my hand and into another realm. I know I will find it in another couple of weeks then have no idea what to do with it. So, I was onto another idea because I figured the disappearance of the first piece meant that it wasn't supposed to be made.


When I was making the pebbles, I made one to look like a snail shell. This got me thinking about how you find fossils in pebbles so I flew with this idea. You can see a pic of the band and the snail shell before anything has been done. It's a very simple idea. I really didn't want to do too much of anything else that would draw the attention way from the centerpiece- the snail shell. It's all sterling silver. I got out of repeating myself which is one of the points behind the challenge. Now, I was onto soldering which is usually where I screw up next. Not this time. I was extra careful so as not to ruin another piece especially with the cost of silver nowadays. Here's the piece after soldering and before pickling.

I really like the delicateness of the whole piece and the simplicity even at this stage. That's always a good thing. Off to the pickle. I would show a pic of that, but it's kind of messy with a whole bunch of ceramic molds and starter plants around it. Not much to see anyway. Just an old crockpot with some liquid in it. After some time in the pickle, the ring comes out looking like this.....

Only a couple of more steps until completion. Stuff like sanding, buffing, polishing, and some more polishing. Until it finally looks like this...

Turned out pretty good, didn't it? It's funny to look back to see how it started and how it finishes. Almost like a whole different piece. It can be found in my shop, and if it's not the right size, other sizes will be available upon request.

5 comments:

Hey Harriet said...

Gorgeous! I loved reading about your inspiration & the process involved.

High Desert Diva said...

Loved this whole post...
the challenge
the blog inspiration
the ideas
the lost disc
the new idea
step by step
and the finished piece
bravo!

Craftymoose Crafts said...

I enjoyed reading about your process in making this cute ring!

I can't imagine what goes into some of your more elaborate pieces!

TexasTesla said...

How neat! I love inspired pieces, and that is so cute. I keep thinking about doing metal work myself, and you are really making me think I *could* do it - lost discs, soldering mishaps, and all. :-)

picciolo said...

that little snail is so cute, looks great on the ring too!
: )