The hardest part of beginning is figuring out when to stop, because nothing is ever really finished. Something was done to it before I got it. It even came from somewhere before that.
I just roll it into sheets and pull it into wires. Cut it out and bend it into shapes. Grind the stones and rub them till they shine.
I heat it till it becomes one piece. Set the rocks into it. Change the surface of it, and then char the surface of it with a patina.
It’s never really finished. It just becomes ready for the next phase, when it tells its story. Then it begins its slow transformation back to where it came.
Penelope's Bracelet: sterling silver with three cabochons to represent the three children's astrology star stones, aquamarine, jade, and turquoise. (but, I used gem silica in place of turquoise)
Follow my studio on facebook, with current posts of what I am doing at the workbench.
Latest posts by michaeljohnson (see all)
- On Cosmic Success… - July 28, 2013
- Why Flowers? - February 28, 2013
- Comet and Cosmic Dust - January 28, 2013
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you,
:o) When asked where I get my gold, I always tell them I buy bags of broken promises. Which I do. I can sometimes barter a better deal at pawn shops, and come home with a bunch of engagement rings, wedding rings, friendship rings, broken promises.
Good story, my son was asking about gold the other day, where it all comes from. I told him mostly just recycled trash. He had a hard time with that. He is thinking what I create should last forever and I told him it did, just in another form and around someone else’s neck other than his mother’s. He is taking it hard. Funny child for being in his early twenties. This isn’t the age where the hoard of gold is buried with the queen when she dies, it’s auction off to settle the estate.
That is a nice piece you have created there, good work.