Finished pieces from 09-22-11

My two new rings. And yes you did see something similar before, but this on is tapiered at the back, thinner around and it's mine! The Heart from the heart ring was very very hard to do and I'm glad it came out. The are both real gold.

Andrew's Birthday present- Finished casting from 09/22/11

Yes it is real gold. It prolly the best ring I've done so far. He loves it.

Casting results 09/22/11

I have managed to maintain my fifty fifty record. Last night one pour went well and one, um, not so much. Okay, so when I said there was molten metal *everywhere* it was a bit of an exaggeration. But that's kinda what it felt like at the time. I didn't get the spout right over the button when I tipped and so there was splash back. Anytime you have molten metal where you didn't expect it it's a serious situation. I managed to correct my position enough to get some in, but it all happens so fast that I didn't even really know what had happened until it was over. I've never experience so much natural adrenaline and it took a long time for me to get back on an even keel after seeing that red hot liquid metal splash around and fly through the air. My instructor (who also owns the studio and is totally awesome) Threw some more silver in the crucible and said she could try to repour the rest and maybe it might fuse and could possible turn out. She poured the rest (right into the button of course) and One side of the tree actually did come out, so all was not lost. The next cast I did myself (right into the button of course because you don't make *that* mistake twice) And it turned out like solid gold (in fact it is sold gold!).



I'm going to finish them to a high polish and may or may not do a stardust finish on the heart ring. The one with the holes is for Mr. Andrew man, as it is nearly his birthday. It will be the most expensive thing I've ever given to him (Aside from Ben of course, but Ben isn't really his as we have a share split in that little one). There will be one more round of casting that will take place in two weeks, I have big plans for a necklace and little plan for some earrings. I have officially run through all my own gold, so unless I manage to find some buried treasure (Arrrrrrrr!) it's silver from here on out. I'll let you know how it goes.
:D

Wax cast ring Finished piece

This ring was carved out of wax and then cast in gold. It took me soooooooo long to finish the wax ring (I broke it a couple of times and had to repair it) but that was nothing compared to the clean up. It's very light and shinny. Anyhoo, here it is:

Casting and Fabrication

Ta-da! Two new pieces to share:
My finished pendant from the first batch of casting, and the earrings I cut at home. Both pieces are sterling silver. As for last night class, I poured two, one came out great, and the other didn't come out at all. But it's all a learning process. I will share photos of those when they are all cleaned up.


I have way more pieces that I cut at home, but If I post them all, this blog would be nothing but pictures of jewelry.......Hmmmm, I'm not sure if that would be a bad thing or not yet :)

Earrings in progress

I cut these recently.
As your keen observation skills have probably already detected, the one on the left has be filed and sanded, while the one on the right has not.
After they are both fully filed and sanded I will take them to the studio and anneal them so that they can be twisted into the shape I want. I will curl the tops of them, as is my habit, around a jump ring, hang them on some ear wire, and presto, I will have a beautiful pair of earrings!

Work in progress......

It doesn't look like much yet....but it will once it's been cut off and cleaned up!
I'm working on another one of these, I'm going to try it in gold.
The other thing in the back ground is a ring. I'm going to try to set a stone into it, but I haven't decided which stone to use.

Casting classes!

So I'm going to my casting class tonight. So far the things I've sculpted have turned out beautifully!!!!

The way it works is you make your piece out of wax, and then you make a plaster cast of it. The wax is burned out and the hole left in the plaster is then filled with molten metal. The metal is then cleaned and finished.

This process allows me to really use a lot of my artistic talents, and I love working with that wax. It's completely different from the fabrication classes. I'm really glad I took those classes first because if I hadn't, I might never even want to, as my talents are so well suited to wax modeling!

The pieces that were cast in the last class were poured by my instructor, so technically they are not my work alone. She said I could pour it myself but, as I've see it done more than once, but I wanted these two pieces to, um, actually turn out? She said that casting is never guaranteed, if I do it there's a 50% chance it will turn out, where as if she does it, there's an 80% chance it will turn out. There are just so many factors that go into it and so many things that could go wrong. I wanted them to have the best chance of success, as I really put a lot of work into the pendant. If I'm feeling very brave, I will pour the next batch. I have been commissioned to make a ring for someone, and if I manage to get a round to it in this class, I will have to pour that one myself......
Even if I'm not successful in the pouring it's all a learning process, and as my instructor says I can't let being afraid of ruining something prevent me from doing it, "After all Sarah, it's only wax!"
I will take my camera with me tonight so I can photograph the unfinished pieces!
And oh, Happy Birthday to me!! I didn't receive any cards this year but that's probably due to the postal strike ;)

Ta-da! Earrings and a necklace

This is the necklace I made a while back that needed a bit more finishing. I'm very happy with the way it came out. I'll soon be wearing it for the first time to a very special event. Out of everything thing I've made I like this pendant the most.


These earrings are the end product of a botched (and extremely time consuming) project. I'm really glad I was able to salvage at least some of it and make some lovely earring the rest will be melted down during lost wax casting, which starts at the end of May :)



I also finished three pendants, and two pairs of earrings :)

Bag of tricks!

So I have my open studio tonight, which is bench time at the workshop where I can (hopefully) drill/solder/ polish all the little things I've cut at home.
Since my explanation of my home set up always leads to questions (Srsly! It's just a block of wood clamped to my bookshelf above a cake pan also clamped to my book shelf) I have included some photos of that as well.
Wish me luck tonight!!
Here are 12 things I have started at home displayed in the sanding tray my darling husband made me:



Here is the cutting block on the bookshelf:


Here is the cutting block with the drop pan:

Home set up!!!

I am now able to cut metal at home!!!
This is a huge break though for me as it means I can really use my bench time at the work shop well. I have me a saw, cutting block, files and sand paper which is all I really need to cut and shape things at home. It's all very exciting. I have several projects on the go that I will hopefully be able to finish completely on Friday. Also so excited to show my teacher all the stuff I've done independently. She is always so encouraging and supportive. Hopefully everything will turn out well. Still trying to wrap my head around actually making something to sell. so hard to attach a dollar value to all my hard work, especially as I like jewelry so much that I just want to keep it all! I know without a doubt now that this is what I want to do. It's just a matter of finding a way to make it work. Wish me luck, and hopefully I'll have good news after Friday!

Best necklace!

Well, I love it anyways!!
what do you think?
It still needs some sanding and polishing, but I didn't have time to finish it in my last fabrication class......It will have to wait until May, when I have one open studio slot booked. I love it when things turn out looking like what they were meant to look like :)
I will be starting my casting classes at the end of May, which really seems like ages away.

SOLID GOLD DINOSAUR!!!

And by solid gold I of course mean brass.
In retrospect maybe not the best design for a small boy to play with.......
But it looks great mounted on his door.



I also brought home the earrings and pendant from last week and another new pendant, I will photograph and post them too when I get a chance, hopefully this afternoon.