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.

little blooms...

I like to add detail where ever possible, I'm not a supporter of "less is more".  I created a little silver frame by cutting out a piece of silver & soldered on a bezel.  I drew a little picture and watercolored it.  Set the picture & filled in my little frame with a 2 part resin.  A little tricky to fill such a small space with such a goopy substance.  

A friend and I once made a coffee table with bottle caps and filled in the area with resin.  It is amazing!  Very durable and scratch resistant.  Equivalent to 25 coats of poly-eurothane or something ridiculous like that.

If only I had more time...

Cloisonne is one of my favorite things to create, unfortunately there is 6 hours of tedious work that goes along with it. I love the process, it's so satisfying to see the progression of the piece, but I just don't have enough time! Here is one of my cloisonne creations! You may view it on my website www.emylewis.etsy.com