Bracelet of Petals...

More silver, more etching.  The bracelet was originally a flat, plain piece of metal.  I cut out the form in 2 pieces (to save silver) and soldered the two together to have a semi-symmetrical piece.  I fabricated the shape using a sinusoidal stake, (picture to the right), creating a compound curve. 

My mentor, Joe Cornett who teaches at Northern Arizona, was adament about teaching us the art of metal fabrication.  He said it would set us apart from the others.  It is a satisfying feeling starting out with a flat piece of metal and hammering it to no end, annealing it, hammering it again until you've created this shape you didn't even know you were capable of doing. 

I soldered on 4 bezels and set Champagne colored CZ's. Etching this piece took quite a bit of time because of the large surface area.  Well worth all of the effort.  Unfortunately I do not have one of these stakes, or the set up at home at the moment so I can't create any more of these curves...sigh.

The bracelet may be viewed on my Etsy website.

Roman chain...one of the most tedious, frustrating, & cumbersom creations ever! (Hence the hefty price tag!) Despite the process, it can be rather relaxing once you get a rhythm.

You start out with making your own hoops, fusing them together, (melting half of them in the process), and then stretching them to an oblong shape. The relaxation is when you get to weave all your stretched out hoops together, until you have a chain (that will look horrible!). The trick is to anneal the metal (without torching your chain!) and draw it through a series of holes in wood or metal to tighten everything up.

But...after much practice, set backs and creativity, you create something unique and one truly amazing.