Paste Solder Fix

Below I have described my first attempt at rejuvenating dried up hard solder paste. I now use a tip I read on Facebook instead. You can read it here:

https://www.facebook.com/BenchTips/posts/636381476405407:0

Here is the original post:

I mostly use paste solder, as I find it behaves nicely and goes exactly where you want it. I have hard solder, medium and easy, and they all work just as well as strip solder and flux.

My hard solder was playing up - it had dried up quite a bit inside (I think I just had it too close to a flame a couple of times), and was very difficult to squeeze out. So I scraped it all out (it was almost the consistency of metal clay) on to a plate, and added a few drops of lavender oil. I mixed it in well with a spatula, adding more oil until the consistency was soft again. I washed out the tip of the syringe really well (there was some wastage, but not nearly as bad as if I had had to throw it all away) - then replaced the tip, and filled the syringe with the now soft solder.

It worked! Rejuvenated solder! Perfect pipeage has been restored!

Just thought I'd share that. I don't know why I decided to use lavender oil - possibly because it is used with metal clay so I knew it would be OK to heat it up with no problems. And it's something I always have in the house :-)

Rejuvenating Silver Solder with Lavender Oil

Flower and Pearl Pottery Shard Earrings

I made these yesterday, there's not quite enough light for photographs yet, I'll have to redo the photos later...

Blue and White Pottery Shard Mismatched Earrings
Silver, Flowers and Pearls

Fox Set

So I finished my fox commission of matching brooch and necklace, and now I'm free to do other stuff. I'm back to pottery shards (from the Thames, not the ones I made myself) and made a pair of flower and pearl earrings which I shall list tomorrow. I think I just needed a break from them for a while, now I'm enthusiastic about them again.

My enamelling experiments will continue, as there is so much to learn... Wet packing, enamelling on engraved and etched surfaces, etc....

Here are the foxes:

Blythe Jewellery Enamels - Colour Tests

My new nice enamels arrived, and I spent the day doing colour tests. I think I chose good ones! They seem to be a bit smoother than the Schauer enamels I bought last time, and I definitely love the colours.

Here are my colour tests:

I'm completely torn. I love enamel and colour, and I also love the rustic, neutral colours and textures of the ceramic pieces I made. I will continue to work on both until one takes over I guess. Or maybe I'll find a way to combine them? Only time will tell...

My Own Hand Made Pottery Shards

A couple of weeks ago I went to the ceramics department at my college to try making my own pottery shards. I would eventually like to make my own ceramic components for jewellery, but different in style of course to  Thames pottery shards.

Here are some of the pieces:

Home made pottery shards - click for a much larger image

I have no idea how I got these results - I was supposed to take notes about the oxides and glazes and stuff - but  I didn't! Big mistake!
My favourites are the top left and the one underneath it.

This week I was taught how to stain clay, so blue and white pottery shards will be coming soon....

Fox Necklace Revisited

I put my enamels aside today, because someone asked me to make one of my copper fox necklaces, so that's what I was working on. I haven't done etching for a long time, but it got me thinking that I should etch some pieces to enamel on...

Here's my freshly made fox then... I still have to work on a matching brooch.

And here are a few enamels I made last night, trying out some different colour combinations.

My favourite one is the top one, but I stoned it back a bit too vigorously and exposed some of the white layer by mistake :-(

Blue and Green Enamel tests

Today I was doing some more sgraffito tests, trying to learn how to control the colours a little. Here are the results - I may have to conclude that there is not enough contrast between the colours I chose to work with (the green and blue) but my collection of enamels is limited at the moment, and I was trying to make something I might like to wear.

The technique: painting a layer of either black or white liquid enamel onto the copper, firing, painting the opposite liquid colour (ie white on black, black on white) and then sifting a third colour over the top.
Scratching out a design, firing, sifting a fourth colour over the top, firing, stoning down to smooth, then firing again to bring back the shine.

 I think the colours worked out better when the black layer was the first, with white on top. You can see that they are the brighter ones (the top two, and the bottom two on the right)

Click for a larger image

Enamel Sgraffito Testing

It's amazing how time consuming enamelling actually is. There are so many steps involved, and multiple firings... Cleaning up between steps, adjusting the kiln temperature... Anyway, I decided to practice some more sgraffito techniques, and here are my results.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of the fusing times and temperatures.
Although everything I do is still quite random - I feel as though I'm slightly more in control :-)

I decided on two tone pieces, and had a clear idea in my mind what I was trying to achieve. The results, of course, are not even close... But it was still fun.

I'd like to do more, but I'm exhausted! Tomorrow...

Enamel Colour Testing #3

I'm on my third day of colour tests, and am beginning to feel slightly fed up. Although I know it's practical to make colour samples and technical notes - I just want to play!

So - I allowed myself a little time off, and here are the results.

This piece was made by painting wet process black enamel over a previously fired light blue. I then scratched the design into the black after it had dried on top of the kiln.
After firing the black, I sifted some transparent green over one side, and some transparent blue over the other.

The second one:

Here I painted wet process white enamel over the copper. When it had dried, I sifted some light blue over the top and scratched a design through both layers. After firing, I sifted a darker blue over the whole lot and fired again. Then I stoned back through the darker blue, so that it remained in the recesses, and fired it again to bring it back to shine. I think I saw that technique in the Linda Darty Enameling book - currently my bible.

Here is a closer look at the effect - click for a much larger image.

Enamel Colour Testing #2

Seven more colours tested today - I'm not quite sure why I chose these particular colours, they aren't the most inspiring ones I have ever seen.... But anyway, they all worked well.

I fired the Grey Blue from yesterday again at a much lower temperature this time and the result is much better - but even now it's not entirely even. Maybe it's just an odd batch.

Again - there are two layers (two firings) to each piece, with the colour sifted directly onto the copper.

This is a bit time consuming, but hopefully it will pay off when I need to choose colours for jewellery pieces.
Only one more opaque colour to go, then - the transparent ones.

Enamel Colour Testing #1

So my kiln is up and running, and I own a sifter and a few enamel colours, a glass brush and carborundum stone. Nothing can stop me now :-)

I spent many hours today doing colour tests - with intentions of making a smooth evenly fired piece of each colour. Most of the time it went well, although I did have to do two coats on nearly all the pieces. The best behaved colours were the light blues. The only colour I had a problem with was the blue grey - I think I need to fire it at a lower temperature.

 Tomorrow I'll do the rest of the opaques, then it's on to the transparent colours!

I'm trying to be methodical and organized about this (not like me at all!) so that I'll have good reference pieces for the future, but it is tempting to just have a play... I'm sure I'll be doing lots of that as well though.

These pieces are all copper, with the enamel fired directly onto the metal.

Uninspired... But there is hope...

It's one of those weeks, I'm not feeling particularly inspired to make anything, just busy doing research into enamelling...

A pair of my earrings (from a better week) are now featured on Kelly Callahan's lovely blog,  please check it out, she has chosen some very nice items in '2011 Handmade Gifts for Her'. While you're there, be sure to look at '2011 Handmade Gifts for Him' as well!

The earrings she has featured are these ones:

Good news - I have actually operated my kiln for the first time, it works - and I am less afraid of it now. I'm so keen to get going with my enamelling that I have had to overcome my fear of kilns! I don't have all the enamelling equipment yet, as there was no point in getting any before I could use the kiln, but hopefully I'll sort that out this week, and have a weekend of experiments!

I even fired some copper clay owls in the kiln, and they seem to have come out fine. Beats torch firing!

These are really very tiny - they will fit on the tip of your little finger!

Surface and Substance at the CAA

Last week at the enamelling course Joan Mackarell mentioned a contemporary enamelling exhibition that was being held in the Contemporary Applied Arts gallery. I went there today, just in time too as it ends tomorrow...

It was an interesting exhibition, although I have mixed feelings about the wear-ability of many of the pieces. Well, let's say they were art jewellery, pushing the boundaries and all that. Some pieces were particularly beautiful, some were in my humble opinion just boundary pushing :-)

There were lots of matte surfaces, rough surfaces, things embedded in surfaces... I joined a group of students who were having a guided tour by the girl who works there, and she mentioned that people are a bit suspicious of matte surfaces in enamel, they don't think of them as practical or wearable, although they will still buy a brooch if it's huge but has a shiny finish. Interesting.

The gallery itself was really lovely - the exhibition was on the top level, and there were ceramics, textiles, glass and jewellery in the basement. I saw some lovely pieces of ceramics by Paul Scott, Jane Adam walked in with her Christmas jewellery collection, and I spent far too long browsing the books and magazines...

There was one book in particular which I really wanted, way too expensive though:

Inside it I discovered the work of Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet which is pretty amazing. They do art brooches in mixed media, well worth a look!

I know I should probably have been at home making jewellery, but I guess that's what I'll be doing over the weekend...

Links:

Surface and Substance at the CAA

Paul Scott Ceramics

Jane Adam - anodized aluminium jewellery

Ornament as Art on Amazon.com

Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet 

Pricing One's Work, Ceramics and Dazzle 2011

Brooch by Gill Galloway-Whitehead
Click for a larger image

This morning we had a lesson on how to price our work. It's really difficult, even though there is a formula... It seems as though I'll have to learn how to use spreadsheets (it's easy I'm told).

The formula includes working out the running costs of your business, dividing it by one's working hours. Then deciding on an hourly rate. You add your running costs, your hourly rate (times the number or hours it took to make the piece), materials, plus a percentage of profit. That works out as your wholesale price. To get your retail price, you multiply it by two...

After all that mind boggling stuff, I attended my first session at the ceramics workshop. I want to make my own pottery shards, and started work on some textured pieces. I'm still only getting to know the clay and what can be done with it, but it was great fun. I used my metal clay tools, for quite fine textures. Next week I get to use porcelain! Pictures will follow!

Lastly, I went to visit my friend who's working at the Dazzle exhibition in the National Theatre. Dazzle is... a jewellery exhibition, and all the work is for sale of course. Many of my favourite designers had work there, including Daphne Krinos, Marianne Anderson, Ruth Tomlinson and Grace Girvan, but this time I have a new favourite as well - Gill Galloway-Whitehead.

Links:
Dazzle London 2011
Daphne Krinos
Marianne Anderson
Ruth Tomlinson
Grace Girvan
Gill Galloway-Whitehead

The Enamelling Course...

This sample has layering, sgraffito
and rubber stamping

... was amazing. I really enjoyed every minute, and although I produced a pitiful amount of work, I learnt loads.

Joan Mackarell is very knowledgeable and an excellent teacher. She demonstrated many different techniques, then let us get on with experimenting.

There may have been more, but she definitely taught:

Sifting techniques (layering, stencilling, sgraffito, rubber stamping, painting with a holding medium)
also - inclusions (wire, copper shapes, glass beads)
Wet packing
Cloisonné
Painting Enamel
Wet Process Enamels
Transfers (decals)
Matting with matting salts

A shame it was only two days, I could have done with a few more. I asked Joan to teach me some engraving, as I would like to do some basse taille enamelling, so she showed me some basic techniques, and now I need to practice...

My very first attempt at engraving:

Straight lines on the right, then I did some
curved lines on the left

Not everything worked:  I spent quite a long time engraving this sample piece, so I could try enamelling it. I have no idea what caused the bubbles!!!
Sadly there wasn't enough time for me to stone it down and try again...

Engraved copper with flux (clear enamel) and something
has gone horribly wrong!

I doubt you will be impressed be the following, but it's my very first enamelled dome, and I'm very proud of it :-)

Copper dome enamelled with clear enamel (flux)

And my word of the day is... Vermiform - meaning 'in the shape of a worm'.
As seen on the website Button World...

More Enamelling!

Tomorrow I'm off to another enamelling course - this time with Joan Mackarell .
I think her work is beautiful, and I'm really looking forward to learning a new approach. It's only a two day course, but I'm sure it will be good!

Pictures will follow!

In the meantime, here is a brooch she made, and I think it's amazing!

Duck Brooch by Joan Mackarell

Copper Fox Ring

I had a very busy day today, alternating between my bench where I make the pottery shard jewellery, and my living room, where I make metal clay stuff. As usual I managed to spread out into the kitchen as well...

Here is a new design - a copper clay fox. I wasn't quite sure what he would be when I was making him, but now I think he would be nice as a ring.

I don't usually make rings, because of the sizing issues. I sell most of my work to the US, and it would be a shame if I sent a ring half way across the world and it didn't fit the recipient correctly. I may have to rethink this, as I have loads of ideas for rings...

Sleeping Fox - copper

Sleeping Fox Ring - copper 

Blue and White Pottery Shard Wing Necklace

After the warm copper and pinks of yesterday, I'm back to the cooler silver, blue and white today. First offering - a pendant with a pottery shard that features a wing. It's simple and pretty, and I love wings!

New - A Tutorial! Bails for Pendants

I have decided to add tutorials to my blog - but only things that I have worked out myself. I won't be doing tutorials on how to wire wrap or make jump rings (unless I discover a brand new way of making them) because there are thousands of those already.

But - there will be things I discover as I work, and those will be on my tutorials page - linked from the tabs above.

My first one is bails - I couldn't find a good template for a simple bail shape that I could cut out of sheet metal, so I had to 'invent' one...

Please have a look and let me know if it's clear - it's my very first one:

Tutorial : Bails for Pendants

A Copper Pig Brooch

Just for a change from earrings, I made a brooch today - a copper pig with three different shades of pink pottery shards. 

There is not much natural light here this time of year, so the photo was taken in a light tent, which is OK but daylight is better... You get the idea though...