Reticulating Silver

First, it was etching. I love etching. I am etching everything I can get my hands on and hope to some day afford an electronic etch system for silver. For now, I etch brass and copper like no tomorrow.

THEN, I discovered reticulating silver. WOW! This is really fun, and really simple. I've seen reticulated silver before, and figured it was created through some incredibly difficult process that was far beyond my skill-set. WRONG. The look of rugged peaks, valleys, bumps and lumps I love so much are created with heat, and patience. With my little butane torch I can easily heat stering silver discs and sheet to red, then, with steady, even heat, start the reticulation process. You can see the bubbles begin to form on the nearly molten surface, then you have to stop, and clean the silver either by pickling or by hand with patina prep or whatever else you like to use to clean silver. This removes all the impurities that are in the silver, which come to the surface when heated. Then, back under the torch. Keep your flame even over the surface, don't focus the flame in one spot or you might burn right through the silver. Do this several times until you get the pattern or look that you like, cleaning between each torch session. The silver will deform, so start with a piece larger than what you want to end up with. I love the deformed look, and usually leave it at that. When you are happy with the results, clean thouroughly, and burnish either by hand or with a wire brush wheel/dremel. Be sure to look at both sides, sometimes the bottom side turns out even more interesting than the top! From here you can hammer (be a bit careful here, reticulating makes the silver somewhat brittle), cut, and patina to your heart's content. COOL!

Pictured here is a ring I made combining etched brass with reticulated silver and a baroque freshwater pearl. I just love the ancient, organic look!!! More to come....

I'm all Etchy...

Been experimenting with etching and LOVE IT! Made two new locket pendants over the past couple of days, plus a ring, plus some earrings...basically etching anything and everything copper and brass. Here are a couple images of the lockets--one features a great collage image of a finch, the other a picture taken of my Mother when she was a girl. One of my favorite photos. More images to come--what do you think???

Just for Fun - Etsy can really rock sometimes. I love having a shop there, and am constantly inspired and surprised by the artists I discover. This "Mom and Dad" artist duo was featured on Etsy's home page and I really love the work! I'm not a huge "doll" or "figure" collector, but these creations are just weired enough to make me want one! Take a look at Cart Before the Horse!

Want to Come Up and See My Etchings?

I've been wanting to experiment with etching metals for quite some time. Recently, I came across a great blog post at Alternative Designs explaining how to etch brass and copper with ferric chloride. I'm very intrigued...planning to give this a try. Ferric chloride has to be disposed of properly when you are finished using it...luckily I have a great recycling center within 5 miles of my house. I'll let you know what happens.

I'd love to hear from you if you etch...what is your preferred method? Contact me and I'll post your advice and sources here!

Hummingbird image etched in copper.

More Experimenting...

Another package arrived from Objects and Elements...so love getting those! Their new line of handmade brass charms are so cool. Very ancient in appearance, so many to choose from! Can't wait to begin working with them. I did immediately pounce on the faux bone I ordered. In case you haven't heard, this stuff is really fun to work with. It's basically PVC in sheet form. You can cut, saw, heat, bend, scratch, and carve with ease. Age it with anything from shoe polish to glaze, buff it up, and you have the look of ancient bone. Robert Dancik is the genius behind this, and he is aslo a fantastic jewelry designer. Take a peek at his site and get inspired...Don't miss his tutorial on YouTube!

So, here are two new designs using some of the great stuff from O and E. The bracelet is made from a 7-inch brass bangle topped with layers of brass, faux bone, copper, sterling silver and a Michigan beach stone. I textured and aged/patina'd all the metals myself. This piece is cold-connected--held together with brass screws and nuts. The ring is a layered design using sterling silver that I impressed with a woodgrain pattern then colored with patina to bring out the design, topped with sterling silver, a text transparancey sheet, a cup of plexiglass, a copper washer, a brass bezel and sterling silver bead (again, held together with a brass screw and nut). Love them!

More to come soon....

Sunday--It was a Good Day!

Yesterday (Sunday) was a nicely productive day for me in the studio. My head was chock-full of inspiration from visiting my favorite artist's websites and blogs, and I was ready to try some new techniques and designs. I created four rings, each very different in style and appearance. One incorporates a vintage photograph and loose gemstones under a clear mineral crystal dome, one features a super-cool antique signet stone I found at a funky antique fair, the third features a hand-carved 800 year old bead from Africa, and the last is a huge stack of mixed metals hammered and heat treated with oil pastels. WHEW! Three of the rings are cold-connected, no soldering involved, and use my favorite copper and brass tube bezels in one way or another. I connected the elements using rivets and brass screws. How cool is that???

I'm most excited about working with oil pastels on metal (thank you again, Susan Lenart Kazmer). I had no idea you could work the colors into the metals (with or without patina), heat it with a torch or heat gun, then seal. The possibilities are endless, and I plan to do much, much more with this. I'll keep you posted...

In the meantime, here are a couple photos of the results. What do you think?????

All of these designs are available in my Etsy shop...

Mmmmmmm...Mokume

Remember when I posted about Reactive Metals? Well, I purchased some copper and sterling silver mokume gane from them and...well...WOW! I bought a 3-inch by 3-inch square, and Baldwin's patina to bring out the color in the copper (which the super sales representative reccomended, thanks!!). It sat on my workbench for a couple weeks 'till I got up the courage to actually cut into it. It ain't cheap, but boy is it GORGEOUS! This is the result, a pendant in a series I call "Perseverance". I used brass pipe, copper and brass sheet, sterling silver wire, brass wire and a 5mm faceted green tourmaline. Available in my Beadkeepers Etsy shop. Can't wait to make more...a matching ring perhaps?

Don't Forget to SAMPLE!

I can't believe I haven't posted about this before. I am a self-taught jewelry designer on a tight budget. With that in mind, I am constantly searching for bargains, especially with metals like copper, silver and brass. Copper and brass are relatively inexpensive and there are tons of sources for sheet, bar, tube and wire. Just do an online search or take a look at the Google ads running to the left of this post...most are about copper and brass sources.

What I wanted to share here is the wonderful world of SAMPLES. I have discovered that almost every metal sheet manufacturer will offer samples of their materials. I just got a sample pack of copper sheet colored with a variety of patinas. Ten 4 x4 inch sheets of copper, each colored with a different patina, for under $20.00!!! SWEET!

So, if you are browsing a metals site and don't want to invest in a large order right off the bat, or are not sure what you really want, ask if they offer samples!! Sometimes you can even find them for FREE!

Aging Metals - The Beauty of Patina

Recently, I've come across a lot of posts, blogs and convos about coloring metals with patina. Everyone is searching for the perfect way to change shiny new copper, brass, and silver to appear like ancient relics, colored by time. Who new that there would be such a demand to look old? It is true, aged metals are gorgeous. Brass and copper turn shades of intense blue and green, silver can change to a virtual rainbow of colors, to deepest black. In this post, I will be sharing with you my experiences coloring copper, brass, and sterling silver. I also invite you to comment here, and share your tips and tricks. I'd also love to share photos of works in progress and finished designs using patina colored metals. Contact me with your photos and ideas!!

First, what is "patina"? According to Wikipedia, "Patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides or carbonates formed on the surface of metal during exposure to weathering. The green patina that forms naturally on copper and bronze is known as verdigris and consists of copper carbonate. Patina also refers to accumulated changes in surface texture and colour that result from normal use of an object such as a coin or a piece of furniture." Well, if you don't have the patience to wait months or years to let a piece of metal patina naturally, there are many chemical patinas commercially available that will do virtually the same thing in hours. My favorite sources for copper and brass patinas are Modern Masters and Michael's Crafts. Both offer a line of metal infused paints and chemical patinas that will change copper and brass to green, blue, brown and black. Simply spritz or brush on the patina of your choice and you can virtually watch the colors begin to change! The photo here is of a pendant I made using a solid copper bead I sprayed with green patina then sealed with automotive clear coat. I also always have brass ager on hand from Kennedy Hardware. This turns brass and copper deep brown to black depending on how long you leave it in the solution. All patinas must be sealed with a top coat or the colors may fade or flake off. Modern Masters sells a gloss and flat UV stable topcoat specifically designed for metals treated with patina. Otherwise you can try light coats of acrylic sprays. Use caution here, products not specifically designed for metals treated with patina can actually make your colors disappear (I speak from experience here...ugh!). A trick I use quite frequently for copper and brass is to spray on layers of automotive clear coat from my local Discount Auto Parts store. Acrylic spray for cars is specially formulated for metals and works quite well--giving a strong, durable finish without changing the color of the patina.

There are also some great books out on coloring metal--I just got "The Jeweler's Directory of Decorative Finishes" by Jinks McGrath. A great source for patina ideas (and much more) with formulations you can make at home. Last night I tried the formula recommended for turning copper and brass indigo blue--something I have wanted to do forever. Simply take a medium sized plastic container with an air tight lid and place a smaller ( I used a baby food jar), open container of common household ammonia inside to one end ( I got the ammonia at my local grocery store in the cleaning products aisle). Prep your copper/brass by sanding, and wiping down with warm saltwater. Place the metal next to the open ammonia container. From here you can do a couple things to add texture to your patina. I sprinkled salt and vinegar on one piece of copper, left another bare, and left the brass bare. Cover the container with the airtight lid and leave for at least three hours up to overnight. You will be amazed at the color you get!!! The copper treated with salt and vinegar got a mottled, spotted coloration of deep blue and black. The untreated metals turned lovely indigo blue. When the colors reach your desired intensity, simply take the metals out, rinse thoroughly, pat dry and seal. Kind of magical actually....The book also describes a similar process to get that rich, blue color by burying the metal in an airtight container of sawdust, garden soil, and tobacco soaked with ammonia and vinegar! That appeals to my inner mad scientist/archaeologist. I like the idea of digging up the metal later, even if it is from a Tupperware container. I'm trying that one next... The photo below shows my ammonia experiment with (from left to right) a solid copper bead, a dome of brass, a fragment of copper sheet and a larger fragment of copper sheet. The large piece of copper had the salt/vinegar splashed on top. Don't you LOVE that blue? All were finished with Modern Masters UV flat topcoat.

Of course, you must be sure to do all of this in a well ventilated area--ammonia fumes are overwhelming if you are not careful. The commercially available patinas that I mentioned earlier are odorless and easier to use, but don't give the intensity of color that you get with the ammonia treatment.

AND, let's not forget the beauty of RUST. Rust is the poor step-child of patina. You don't often think of it as a desirable patina for jewelry, right? Well I disagree! Sophisticated Finishes (from Michael's) has a rust paint and patina set. The paint contains suspended iron particles that react with the chemical patina, turning the iron a lovely orange. I have used this with brass and copper, and love the result. I layer this with blue and green patinas, sand some off, add more--it's a process. To quote Forrest Gump, "You never know what you're going to get!"

I haven't even touched on coloring sterling silver yet...I could go on forever! The most common chemical to color silver is liver of sulphur. Smells horrible, like rotten eggs, but is easy to use and you can get it at Cool Tools. It comes in chunk form--simply place a small chunk in a plastic or glass container of HOT water, and drop in your silver. Have another container of warm water mixed with baking soda on hand to immerse your silver in when you reach the desired color. The color change is immediate and will go from a lovely rainbow effect to deep, dark black in moments--so be ready to remove your silver right away. You can also brush on the liver of sulphur/water mix to better control your patina. Drop in the water/baking soda to stop the reaction and then rinse in cool water. Pat dry and seal.

Well, that's a start...I will be adding to this post as I get your responses--I hope you will join me in sharing your patina questions, secrets, ideas, and finished designs. Let's grow beautifully old together!!!