More Playing A "Round"

My goal for today was to learn how to wrap a 6 mm CZ neatly and quickly, and to find new ways to arrange the bail wires. Overall, I am pleased with my progress. As you can see, I wrapped 3 CZ's today, and this time the backs look as neat as the fronts. Each one has a different arrangement of bail wires (though the same arrangement of basket wires, because the gems are all the same size and shape). It only took me about 35 minutes to wrap the last one, and considering that I got interrupted several times, that wasn't too bad. I have my first show of the spring/summer season next weekend, and I would like to have a bunch of these ready to go (though I will not have chains for them, unfortunately). Tomorrow I think I would like to try wrapping a marquis or a trilion shape. I owe a trillion to the kind lady who gave me the gemstone collection. Fortunately Robbie's book covers both those shapes as well, which is important because the number of wraps between each set of prongs determines the possible shapes you can make with the wrap. I may have to do some guessing because many of these stones are odd sizes. It'll be a good challenge.

I Got A "Round" To It

Yesterday I realized I had a large number of 6 mm CZ's and synthetic gemstones from when I was making things with snap sets. This was wonderful because I had been hesitant to practice too much with the real gemstones--those will be expensive to replace if gratifying to wrap. Today I wanted to teach myself how to wrap a round stone. I found a design for a 6 mm round in Robbie's book and photocopied it to stick in my jewelry bag. When I sat down to work with it, I was pleased at how simple the wrap was--two wraps, a prong on each side, two wraps on each side of that, two more prongs, and one wrap on each side of the final prongs. I was also happy with how easy it was to shape the basket--all I had to do was mold it around my round-nosed pliers, and wa-la! Perfect shape. Unfortunately, one of my final wraps didn't hold and the last prong deformed, so the whole thing ended up being out of whack (though you can't tell that from the front, only from the back). I'm still not sure what I should have done differently. I probably should have left the final wrap wire longer, though I'm not sure how to do that without making the neck side of the wrap too long. Sigh. And for once I didn't know what to do with the decorating wires that are left after making the bail, so I just twisted them, cut them short, and curled them up (that was Plan B). I'm quite dissatisfied with this one. I decided to give it to my daughter and let her wear-test it. She's hard on jewelry, and if it is tough enough to survive her rough treatment, it is tough enough, period. Since all the cosmetic errors are on the back, she is happy to wear it. I can see I will have to buy fine chains in bulk to keep my customers/gift recipients happy. Not a cheap endeavor even at wholesale prices, with silver at the price it is now. But this is the kind of thing that screams for a fine chain, not a ribbon or leather cord. Any favorite sources for 16" and 18" fine chains in sterling? Nothing at all bulky, of course, something delicate to complement the wrap and faceted stone. I am going to try this same wrap again tomorrow. I am going to make the prongs a little shorter and the wraps a little tighter, and I will leave the end wrap a bit longer so it will grip the wire bundle better (I hope). And I will find something less lame to do with the decorating wires. I still have three simulated sapphires left, plus about thirty or forty other "stones" in this size and shape! Viva la practice!

Try, Try Again.....

I am not a patient person, as I may have mentioned. In fact, I am obsessed, and if something about my obsession requires me to wait, it is very trying for me (maybe it's the ADHD). So today, when I finally received a large shipment of wire, part of which was the new wire I needed to do faceted stone setting, I felt a great sense of relief. I got my wire in time to play with it much of the weekend. After doing the usual housekeeping tasks of making sure everything was correctly labeled and taking some wire off the spools to add to my jewelry work bag (I take my wire on the road a lot), I had to pick a stone to wrap. As I may have mentioned, I lucked into a nice collection of faceted stones that a friend of mine collected and decided she didn't need. I chose a dark blue spinel oval, about 8X9 mm or so (rather an odd shape, between round and oval). I should have started with something simpler, but I never do. When I first started with lampworking, sans lessons, but with a book, I decided to make my first bead with dichro and a fancy shape. Sigh. Trying to learn to run before you can walk is not wise, but for some reason I always do it. To make a looooooooooooong story short, I messed up the first wrap because I hurried it too much and didn't curve the shoulders (near the bail) right. The proportions of the wrap may also not have been right--I think Robbie told me that the basket is not supposed to show on the front of the stone, so the basket may still be too big (as it was on the big aquamarine I wrapped for my first faceted stone wrap). I hated to see it go in the scrap pile, but it's not entirely surprising given that it is probably the smallest thing I've ever wrapped. The second time, I took a deep breath and wrapped more slowly and more neatly. I was MUCH more careful to do the shoulders neatly, and I did the steps in a slightly different order that made more sense to me. The tail wires were a problem because I cut the first one too short, so I had to modify the design in the book. Therefore it doesn't hang perfectly straight. I now understand why that design is laid out like it is--to balance the weight of the wire--so although this was not a perfect wrap, it was a good learning experience. I feel that the wrap is quite wearable despite its imperfections. I was going to do another wrap tonight, too, but I have decided to 'let it sit' for now and reflect on the process and results to glean any other insights that might help me do better next time.

Imagine My Surprise

I have been sitting here stewing, wanting to start playing with faceted stones and wire a la Obsessions in Wire, which I recently bought. Unfortunately, I don't have 21 ga half round wire, 22 ga square wire, or 24 ga square wire, and I'm waiting on payment from someone who is buying my torch and glass stuff in order to buy the wire I need to do these designs. Waiting sucks. But today I realized that one of the faceted stones I have is so big, I might be able to use 21 gauge square wire and 18 gauge half round on it. The left side of my brain said, 'No friggin' way!" but the right side said, "What have you got to lose?" Well, I tried it even though I didn't fully understand the directions. Imagine my surprise when I was able to complete the wrap! It's not the neatest or most elegant, but it does hold the stone securely, and I will be proud to wear it. The best part is, now I understand how this style of wrap goes together, and I'll be able to do a much neater job next time. I think I also understand it well enough now to adjust the wrap to different sizes and shapes of stones. Or at least I'm on the way to understanding it like that. It was quite scary to try this for the first time, especially since I didn't feel I understood the directions very well--but it worked. SO my word to you is, take on that project and let your muse try to keep up with you!

My Third Rainbow Wrap

I've come to the conclusion that my version of the rainbow wrap will continue to be simpler than the original Natty style. In fact, they don't resemble each other all that much. That's fine by me though--the idea, of course, is to have one's own spin on any particular design. Frankly, I don't have the attention span for a Natty-style wrap, much less the technical skill to do it at this point. What I'm hoping is that as I continue to do these wraps, I will improve my skills and develop my own style to a greater degree. I'm finding I like to add curves and swirls to the wrap, many of them consisting of bare 16 gauge wire. That's the big improvement I see on this piece compared to my first. I also like the mixed gemstones (though in reality the red one is "cherry quartz" (aka fancy glass) and the brown one is "goldstone" (aka glass with copper crystal inclusions). The ocean jasper, though, is real. I would be very interested in people's perspectives on my progress in this style, so feel free to leave a comment if you will.

Crystal Crossing

I enjoy Hill Tribe Silver, so I collect pieces as I am able. Recently I broke into my stash with the idea of designing something a little different. I had two stamped beads with crossed holes. A design leapt into my mind's eye based on, of all things, my watchband, which features Swarovski crystals worked on Softflex in a right angle weave technique. The crossed holes in the beads seemed like the perfect focal point for a pattern like that, and in my collection I found some sterling cornerless cubes that I felt went nicely with them. Here is the design I came up with, worked with peridot crystals and then with Montana blue. Guess which one I'm keeping?

Thanks for the help!

Well, with the two responses I got here plus the ones on the WWJ list and on CWJ forum, I think I got some great comments. It helps so much to be part of a community where people help each other out. I think what I will do is keep the piece for awhile and look at it again after I have gained more skills as Remy suggested. That decision "feels right" to me. Some pointed out that it is a bit unbalanced and that the wire on the left looks bare. I agree. But I like designs that leave you feeling a little uneasy and that make you wonder. I like diagonal lines, which is what this piece makes when it hangs on a chain. Maybe I'll feel different about it later. This is one of many lovely things about wire, and jewelry making in general--there's no pressure to finish something NOW. One of my challenges as an artist who was always taught to think with the left side of her brain is to shut the left brain voice up and learn to receive what the creative right side is telling me. The right brain does not do things on a timetable. The right brain does not answer a question when it is asked, a lot of times. Instead, the answer comes in a dream or simply when I look at a piece and KNOW what needs to be done. I don't know yet what needs to be done with this piece, if anything--but there is nothing to be lost by setting it aside and looking at it again later. Although I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of me wants to "finish the job" because that's what I've always been trained to do--"finish what you start", "don't take out stuff to start something new until you finish what you are working on", and all that. That's definitely a left-brained way of thinking. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not the right mentality for me to use in my artistic pursuits. The left-brain thing works really well in my job and in a lot of other areas, but for this I need to listen to my artistic soul.

To Decorate? Or Not?

I'd like some opinions here. I am working on my second rainbow wrap, or at least that is what it started out as. I liked the armature a lot, though, so I started doing some lashing on it among the ocean jasper beads I was adding. I am now at the point with it where I can either start adding heavy gauge wire and doing more lashing around the beads, or not. Part of me thinks I should go ahead and decorate it, but part of me likes this just as it is and wants to leave it. Does it look finished? Incomplete? Bare? Balanced? Or what? What do you think? To decorate, or not?

Too Pooped to Party

Wow, I'm tired. Today was zooey at school (I'm a sixth grade teacher). The students have tomorrow off, and it was warm and sunny here today, one of the first days like that. I felt like rolling out the duct tape. My students are pretty well trained, but even the best-behaved are subject to spring fever. Then I went to help my husband who was coordinating the Seder meal at our church (the passover meal). That was quite an undertaking. To make a long story short, it's 9:38 my time and I haven't done more than string a few beads today. I'm trying to decide if I'm awake enough to start my third wire crochet necklace (which will be in shades of green glass on copper). I've already got about half the beads strung for that.

Success at Last!

Tonight I finally finished my first Rainbow Wrap. I'm not totally satisfied, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Normally I don't name my pieces, but I have named this one Ocean's Heart because it has Ocean Jasper in it and because it is roughly heart shaped (like a human heart, not like a valentine). It is made on a 16 gauge copper armature and wrapped with 24 gauge wire. I finished it in Bible study and the people there really liked it. I feel like a kid who just got what they wanted for Christmas. Oh, I know the wrapping is sloppy and I've covered too much of the stones, but now I'm beginning to feel like I can really do this and maybe someday after practicing a lot get good at it.

Here is the original pearl necklace I made with my wire crochet design. It's a bit primative in several respects. For one thing, there's a lot of it. I'm guessing that, uncoiled, it is 20 or 25 feet long. Not that that's a bad thing, of course. I also refined the design in the second iteration by folding the original strand in half, then in half again. In this first one, I simply made loops in various lengths, all big enough to go over my head, then tied together in the back (and at the ends) with a loop of copper wire. This is all right as long as you don't want to make a necklace that is smaller (not big enough to go over your head). This one also looks substantially sloppier because the strands are all different lengths. Since I'm a big fan of the organic look, that doesn't present a problem for me.

Tonight I think I'll work on my rainbow wrap. It's taking forever to get that beast done, mainly because I'm making it up as I go along. I love freeform work, but this is taxing because it's totally unfamiliar and I'm not really sure what I'm doing (although parts of it look quite nice). I'm pretty sure I'll cut it up for the beads in the end, but who knows, maybe it will end up being wearable. It's fairly large, too, which I'm beginning to think may have been a mistake. It's copper with ocean jasper beads, some of which are quite sizeable. When I take photos of that, I'll try to use better lighting.

More Converts!

I have been attending the scrapbooking group at my church, which sounds like a perfectly normal thing to do, except that I'm not a scrapbooker. I just like to sit and talk while making jewelry, so I joined the group for good conversation more than anything. After a few months of this, a couple of the other women in the group got curious about my jewelry and asked me to bring some things for them to see. Each of them picked one bracelet to learn the technique. Lynn wanted to learn to make a memory wire bracelet/necklace set, and Emmy Lou wanted to learn how to make bead and wire dangles on a chain for a bracelet. I just got back from a very enjoyable two hours of teaching these two ladies. It was so fun to see their progress. Lynn finished her bracelet (complete with dangles on the end loops) and Emmy Lou got about five or six dangles on her bracelet (and bought wire to finish up with). This whole experience really reinforced my love of teaching jewelry making techniques. These ladies were much, much easier to work with than the sixth graders I often teach (I run my school's Jewelry Club). What fun!

Wishing I was a better photographer

I sent photos of some original projects to Denise Peck at Step by Step Wire Jewelry. I borrowed my husband's new camera. Shoulda stuck with my old Mavica, I guess--she said they were too blurry and asked me to rephotograph and resubmit. Sigh. I guess I'll have to give it another shot, but it'll be Friday by the time I have the time to really do a proper job of it. When I do figure it out, I'll post some photos here. One project I want to post here is a very simple kind of multistrand necklace I designed on Sunday. I won't claim it's never been done before, but I've never seen one, so to me at least it is new. All you have to do is get a spool of 28 gauge copper wire, string about two to three feet's worth of beads on it, and chain stitch (crochet) the wire, adding a bead about every fourth or fifth stitch. The resulting chain will be perhaps fourteen to sixteen feet long, depending on how tight your stitches are and how big your beads are. Then take the finished chain and fold it in half, then in half again. This should be a wearable necklace length, hopefully at least. Now all you have to do is add a clasp to the loops on each end, and perhaps twist it a bit to get the strands to meld together somwhat. OF course you can leave it loose as well. This is a sloppy-looking, casual necklace, and I can tell you so far that it works very well with mixed pearls and with baroque small turquoise pieces (the only materials I have tried it with so far). It's not a design for the anal-retentive as the strands take on a mind of their own to some extent. I like freeform, organic-looking things, so this design makes me quite happy. It is also very cheap and fast to make. The wire set me back $1.87 at Hobby Lobby. I don't know how much the pearls were (they were in my random pearl bag and were leftovers from a bunch of projects). The turquoise was not marked (I don't keep careful track of what things cost, bad me) but I seem to remember getting them in a swap. Yeah, that's right, I got them in a swap, so I traded something for them, but I don't remember what. I guess I'm one of those creative disorganized people. Anyway, I'm going to try this in some other materials. I have some 28 gauge artistic wire in 'gold' and electric blue. I think they will look good with various glass beads I have. I have had fairly good luck with my Mavica this evening, so here is a photo of the design (I'll have to name it something, I can't just keep calling it 'the designs' as if it is the only one!) I have other photos, but this blog program doesn't want to load them right now. I'll add more later.

Welcome to my blog

I'm just getting started with blogging, and I hope to share not only pictures and notes about my jewelry, but about the other things I enjoy, such as my family, my church, my job, and my pets. Right now I'm trying to get a feel for how this works, though, and to upload some pictures so that there's something for you to look at besides all this verbiage! For example, on the right you see a somewhat fuzzy photo of a recent project. The technique is a simple bead and wire link design with a clasp very similar to the Strongest Hook and Eye Clasp in the Universe from All Wired Up by Mark Lareau. The unique thing about this is that I made it with 20 gauge niobium wire (not craft wire!). It was harder to work, and I had to kinda manhandle the pliers a bit to get it to do what it was supposed to, but I like the final result.