I’ve returned to the bench after a hiatus, and need to sharpen my skills in granulation. As I love English history, and all things Game of Thrones, I will make a simplified Anglo Saxon Disk pendant. I start with a fine silver disk, size 1 and 1/8 inch, or about 29 mm. The thickness of my […]
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Basse Taille and Cloisonne Pendant: Part IV
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
I am now adding the first layers of enamel. Although I will not photograph all the layers, it will take may 10 layers or so to fill it. You could pile it in, but it is better to layer thinly, and you can change the colors as you work your image. Enamel on most any […]
Basse Taille and Cloisonne Pendant – Part III
Friday, October 4, 2013
When beginning an enamel, you first must sift a little clear glass onto the base, which will act as an adhesive for the wires. Since my next step is to bend and attach wires for the design, I am here sifting on a thin coating of Bovano #3, the clearest clear I have found. I […]
Basse Taille and Cloisonne Pendant:Part2
Friday, September 27, 2013
Continuing from the last post, I am now going to use the etched plate to create and fine silver base for the enamel. I could use a rolling mill, but that would distort the image. So I will use the hydraulic press instead, which applies pressure directly down and will not stretch the silver. I’ve […]
Basse Taille and Cloisonne: Making a Triskele Pendant, part 1
Saturday, September 21, 2013
I want to make a triskele pendant, and have lately been interested in the surface that is under the enamel. For my first step I am going to create a new texture plate for this particular design. I’ll start with some heavy brass sheet. This is about 14 gauge, and I’ll cut a square that […]
In Search of Shape
Thursday, May 17, 2012
My work for the last few years has all been circular. Not that there is anything wrong with that… But my friends Marina, Addison and Bill advised me to look at some other options. So, after seeing a great brooch Bill welded, I decided on this: Kinda goth, but might be interesting made in prissy […]
Turning a Sow’s Ear into a Silk Purse
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Gone are the days when I tossed my mistakes into the little box on my bench. Silver is just too expensive to treat without the proper respect, and perhaps that is as it should be. Even though anything that could go wrong did, I decided to fix the meltdown to use for my Betty McKim […]
Making Granules: The Sandkuhler Splash
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
I actually think granulation looks better with things other than granules, but eventually, you need them. So, I use Iris’s method. A word about Iris, she is a great friend and master fuser, in fact she wrote the book on fused jewelry. Unfortunately, this method involves teflon, bad for birds, and bad for us, so […]
The Trouble with Granulation
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
My most recent distraction has been attempting the ancient art of granulation. For years I have used a concoction of my own to fuse fine silver and make champleve bezels for my little round pendants. See the YouTube here Since I teach this technique, it became necessary to bottle the ‘magic solution’ to sell, so […]