Spiculum you say...

There are days where I greatly miss the metalsmithing studio at college.  I miss the atmosphere, energy and of course, I miss the delightful array of tools.



Joe Cornett was in charge of the metalsmithing program at Northern Arizona University. He is an absolutely amazing and talented artist.  He focused on fundamentals, fabricating metal, how it worked and how to manipulate it. Joe studied under Heikki Seppa, an incredible metalsmith who passed away last year.  One of my favorite pieces to make, which Joe learned from Seppa, is the spiculum.



Bracelet by Seppa, open spiculum

The spiculum is created by starting off with a long triangle piece of metal & using a variety of forms & hammers, you contort a flat piece of metal into this hollow tube.  I soldered the seam, annealed it one last time & the form allows you to bend and twist the metal into amazing shapes.  This is just a simple pendant, but the technique is so versatile as you can see from Seppa's creation above.

Spiculum pendant

It's difficult to create this at home. The metal needs to be annealed numerous times and I don't really have a torch system which gets hot enough to heat up such a large piece of metal.  One day...

love of Deco

When I'm sketching, I tend to let my pen wander, draw a shape, fill it in with little details and create a design. Then I draw it about fifty more times with slight variations until I create something I find appealing. I will have pages in my sketch book of one little shape, filled with little differences probably only I care to notice.

The Art Deco era still remains one of my favorite time periods of art history and a source of constant inspiration.  I love the linear aspects, symmetry, geometric designs and overall style with its elegance and beauty.

This necklace I created by sawing out a piece of 20 gauge silver.  I covered it with a resist to protect the silver from the nitric acid and only etch whatever I drew out of the design.

I also solder on two half rings to the reverse so I will have something to attach my chain to. I etch my signature to the reverse of most items I create using nitric acid.

After etching, I clean the resist of the surface. I gave this piece a satin finish by using a 400 grit, carbide sandpaper.  It's not like the paper you would use for finishing wood, it's a bit different and gives metal a nice finish. 

I use an enamel paint to push into the lines so they are a bit more prominent. I use nail polish remover to clean it up, assemble my chain and clasp, and now I have my own little representation of Art Deco.

I enjoy making some of my jewelry a little large. I like the weight of it and after wearing it for a while it becomes warm from your skin. I like to know it's there, a reminder of something I created, it's an expression for what influences me. 

a bit of an obsession...

I hate to admit it, but I am rather fond of zebra print.  I try to keep it to a minimum, but I can't help myself. Some little girls want a pony, I want a zebra.  I've made a couple pieces utilizing this striking pattern, I wonder how many other 30 something women are captivated by this print as well.

These earrings are on my Etsy site.  I started out with a piece of copper, cut it with sheers and gave it a slight dome. You must also pre-drill all your holes prior to enameling since you can't drill very well through the glass finish.

I used a technique similar to what I use when doing cloisonne to apply the enamel. After firing on my base coat, the stripes are applied by adding water to the enamel powder. Before firing the enamel must be completely dry or it won't turn out and you may get air bubbles in the enamel.

 The pendant below is also on my Etsy site.  The base for this is silver.  I cut out a silver circle, soldered on a bezel and added a simple bail.  I did a little watercolor and ink picture, inserted it into my frame and covered the piece with a 2 part resin, similar to mixing an epoxy.  Little air bubbles form, but carbon dioxide will pull them up to the surface. So you can either breathe on it or use a butane torch if it's a large surface.

The resin is incredibly durable, a friend and I covered an entire coffee table once with the product, it hardly scratches and cleans up well.

I'm about to re-upholster a chair with a white on beige zebra pattern.  It's subtle, but I think it will bring a nice statement to my living room.  I look forward to the day when I may have a zebra skin (faux of course) rug in my home...

be mine...

be mine...valentine

It's almost "that" time of year again.  High expectations from lovers, or if you're well seasoned, perhaps boycott the holiday (if you can call it a holiday) all together.

I don't make too much heart jewelry, but I'm starting to become more fond of it.  I cut out a piece of copper using my jewelers saw & then enameled it.  I was having considerable difficulty enameling the piece, my enamel kept lifting right off!  Incredibly frustrating, but worth the results.  I absolutely love enameled pieces, even if it does take hours for one little piece because I have the smallest kiln available.  One day...sigh.

Slither....

I take a considerable amount of inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement.  This pendant was inspired by a serpant necklace I found in one of my many books. 

The stone is a white agate, and vintage black beads adorn the sterling silver chain.  I originally cut the snakes out separately & soldered them together along with the bezel setting to save on metal.  Once again my love for Intaglio is where the etching originated from.  I used Nitric Acid to etch the silver, and I rub in an enamel paint to help bring out the details of the lines.

Necklace is available to view on my 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.

Tree Nouveau

I absolutely adore the Art Nouveau movement. Nature was truly appreciated and always portrayed so elegantly. This is one of my favorite creations. The silver pendant is a hollow form, and I etched the tree design using Nitric acid. I had been holding onto this stone for a while, not sure how to present it. My design kept evolving & I think the pendant and the Rainbow Agate were destined for eachother!

Love it...

Coral is a slightly new obsession of mine. I love the look, the color, texture (although a little painful). It just has a certain aesthetic appeal. Mother Nature really knows what she's doing sometimes!

This is an enamel coral pendant I created. I took the piece out of the kiln early to create a slightly bumby texture. You can view it on my website www.emylewis.etsy.com