A tangent, or a new series...

This month I was fortunate to attended for the third time the ECU (East Carolina University) Metals Symposium. The school has a fantastic Metal Design program, which I became acquainted with while working as program director for Pocosin Arts Folk School. Some of the instructors come to teach weekend workshops at Pocosin, which is how I became interested in working in metals and jewelry. The graduate students at ECU developed and coordinate the symposium which includes short workshops and lectures by some really inspiring artists who have found success in the field. It has been a great opportunity for me to sit in on this event. I leave with my head full of ideas, encouragement, and enthusiasm. I created a photo album of some of the things I saw in the workshops and and work featured in the ECU Gray Gallery exhibit Off the Wall = Structural Adornment.

A speaker this year was Alison Baxtor, jeweller and Head of Short Courses at West Dean College in Southeast England. As a guest speaker she introduced the symposium attendees to the really interesting history of the college and fantastic arts opportunities available there, then she dropped by Pocosin to offer a short impromptu creativity workshop. Alison incorporates fiber in her jewellery (that's how they spell it in the UK ;) and she led us in an exercise exploring expression with line using thread. Then I went home and made this:

Cotton puffs, cotton fabric strips and poly thread wrapped around copper wire.

I posted an image of it on Facebook and a friend suggested I do another series of chains made with found fibers. I think I will do another series, incorporating locally found objects. I keep finding bits of colorful plastic and all sorts of things which would be fun to put in jewelry. So I think this is Chain #1 of Series Two.

Chain Number 5

In September I attended a powder coating workshop taught by Kathryn Osgood. She is a friend of mine and her work is incredible! She accomplishes great things with enamel and is beginning to incorporate some powder coating in her work. Her workshops are always really informative and I was excited to learn about applying powder coat to aluminum. Initially I wanted to incorporate the technique in some components for chain #4. Instead, I was inspired and went home on Saturday evening of the workshop and cut out what I hoped would be enough pieces for chain #5. Here are some of the links curing in the toaster oven.

 

Not long after the workshop, I purchased some colors to try at home. I don't have a powder coating gun yet, so I experimented with sifting onto flat pieces (one side at a time) and then curing them on trivets in a toaster oven. (If I had a powder coating gun, I could coat the entire piece at once since it adheres with the help of an electric charge, and hang the pieces as above). At right is an image of the aluminum trivets I made sitting on top of and in the toaster oven. The pink flower components in chain number 5 (see below) were made at home, using the sifting technique. I decided to only coat one side of the flowers to let the bare aluminum show on the underside of the flower. I just finished a temporary clasp in green and pink. I would rather have the clasp be a matte black like the main components, but I think I need to wait until I have access to a powder coating gun in order to get the uniform finish. This was a fun chain to make.

 

My five aluminum chains. Halfway done!

 Thanks for reading!

Chain Number 4

Time to catch up on the progress of my goal to complete ten chains from aluminum sheet metal.
Recap: I started this project in March 2012 after taking a chain making workshop taught by jewelry artist, Amy Tavern. I needed a long term project to keep me focused, to motivate me, and to keep me active in my jewelry studio (as I find time while home with my toddler). The workshop inspired many ideas for chains and I wanted to explore them. I wanted to focus on using aluminum sheet, because I have a lot of scraps leftover from an Airstream camper renovation.

Chain 4

I ran into some challenges with this chain which have yet to be resolved.

I like the chain's segmented linear quality, and I like the way it moves, but I haven't figured out how to make it lay nicely around a neck. It needs something else but I'm not sure what that is.

I closed the loop and took it to the October Pocosin Arts Metals Guild meeting for some helpful feedback.

Someone suggested I make it a brooch, attaching some pins in several places so it can be arranged in a variety of ways by the wearer. I like that idea.

Someone else suggested I make several more of the same components and keep adding sections to the chain.
I also like that idea.

 I have a few things I want to try. I'm definitely not finished with chain number 4, but I went ahead and started chain number 5. I will come back to this one again.

Chain Number 3: Finally Finished!

What a busy summer.  Finally, today I finished chain number 3 of my challenge to make ten chains from scraps of aluminum sheet metal.  After the long pause it feels like this is going to take forever. Years, maybe. We have a toddler in the house and we are learning to count. 

Un. Do. Eee.

It all takes time. I was happy to sit and work at this again.

This design with the raindrops or tears and little blue flowers seems delicate, and cute. 

Cute little flowers and teardrops.

Hmm.  

 The clasp can be worn in the back or front.

Number 3: A Chain with Flowers

So, in late February, after taking Amy Tavern's workshop (Innovating the Chain) at Pocosin Arts Folk School's annual retreat, I was inspired.  I was inspired to make more chains, and to focus my energy and create some boundaries for myself in my jewelry making.  I challenged myself to make ten chains from aluminum sheet metal.  Why aluminum?  Because I have a lot of scraps left over from an Airstream Trailer renovation project.  And, it is shiny, light, and soft.

In my first post to this blog, I loosely listed my criteria.  I wanted to create some limitations for myself, to not think too much about jewelry making in the sense of creating earrings, pendants, broaches, bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc.  And I didn't want to think about making things to sell.  I wanted to make some chains made of shapes which connect somewhat self-consciously.  Each shape is made with the intention of connecting to another very similar shape.  They are all sawed by hand, so they vary, and I also vary them intentionally. 

I'm in the early stages of jewelry making, and I feel the need to learn more about what I like, before I go banging out a bunch of stuff I'm not so sure about.  I have a lot of ideas.  I'm trying to refine them, and grow my technical skills.  This ten chain project is a learning exercise for me.  The blog is to keep me on track and say things out loud.  I also work really independently and I feel a need to connect, so blogging seemed like a good idea.


Number 3: A Chain with Flowers
I made a wee bit of progress on my third chain.  In the photo at left you can see the shape of one of the links, just after I drew it, cut it out with my jeweler's saw, and filed the edges.  It still lays flat on my bench pin.  The next step is to form it, give it some dimension.

 Here you can see I formed one of the links.  I used a weighted rawhide mallet to hammer and form the aluminum to a round steel dapping punch.  This process also hardens the aluminum.

The rawhide doesn't mar the top surface.

The underside is shiny, burnished by the steel.

After the links are formed, they are connected and are secured with tube rivets, and this connection is bejeweled with little blue anodized aluminum flowers (which I sawed, filed, and domed).  To complete the chain, I'll probably make around 18 links.

 Thank you for reading!

Chain Number 2 - Finished!

Here is chain #2 of my ten chain challenge.  Aluminum sheet metal and tubing.

 

I wanted to make a chain connected with rivets.  Rivets are round, so I chose circles for the holes for tabs to pass through.  I then tried to draw/saw the external shape of the link in such a way that would nicely contain the two circular elements. 

To bring in some color, I tried some lime green anodized aluminum.  I used this in the clasp (also adding a bit of strength), and added little circles as highlights around some of the tube rivets.  The color held strong through the patina and the tumbling. 

The back of the chain. 





























I think my next chain will have some flowers...

Chain Number Two - Sidetrack

Chain number two is actually complete.   I'm a little behind in blogging.  Before I post the finished chain, I want to write about this direction I started in, then turned back and clarified my criteria.   

While working on this chain, I made a link different than the rest.  It involves two layers separated by two sections of tubing, and tube riveted together.  It's kind of like a link of a bicycle chain. After I connected this link to the rest, I considered making a centerpiece for the chain, making more of a symmetrical necklace (as seen in my sketch in the top photo).

But I just didn't feel good about where this was heading.  It was seeming a little too cyborg or something. I kind of liked the new link, and maybe it will be the start of another chain, but I wanted to take it out, set it aside for awhile.

For this ten chain project, I realized I'm most interested in chain-likeness.  Chains with varying links, similar in form and function, with no dominant center.  I think I partially made this decision to keep it simple, and not let too many ideas creep into one chain.  Tune in to the way the forms are repeating.  Pay attention to how slight differences in the links affect the way they connect and move.

The links of this chain are connected by a tab folded over then riveted with aluminum tubing.  The green circle is a piece of anodized aluminum.  I was curious how the anodized material would hold up with the patina and in the tumbler.