I've been BUSY!!!!

Hello Folks! Lest you think I've been slacking off by watching game shows and eating bon-bons, I've been BUSY!!! I am launching my first wholesale line this summer, and just got my sample pieces back from the caster. Here's my loot:

I'm now midway through assembling my sample set in order to photograph for line sheets, so I can take my show out on the road and get orders with retail stores. I spent hours cleaning, soldering on bezels and findings, oxidizing, connecting, and setting stones. New pieces will be released soon- watch this space!!!

Those of you familiar with my work and blog know that I make a lot of spinner rings (see above pic). They sell well and are made with patterned silver with a spinning band of Australian opals. To be honest, to be able to wholesale these rings and get the price down so I can offer them at a low enough price, I looked into using lab opal 'stones' instead. You all know I love using natural stones, but honestly those lab opals are gosh darn pretty. And seeing how no one is going to retire on the the sale of these rings, why not try to find some measure of cost-savings that still is aesthetically equal to the original?

Sometimes an artist has to make these kind of judgement calls... it definitely tugs on my moral heartstrings, but I decided to try the lab opals out on some new earrings designs I just got back from the caster. And these pretty stones are 1/10th the cost of the natural stones. 

So this was the sample panel of lab opal colors I received from the manufacturer. Not a lot of naturalistic choices, are there? Still, I chose about 10 colors to try, and then did a sample panel of all of them:

I laid down 4 stones of each color, starting at the left with natural opal. My goal was to match the natural variations of the natural stones, so I was prepared to use a number of colors, mixed together to best emulate natural opal.

I decided on the above color combination. I would mix equal amounts of the above 4 colors, and set them in place to see how they compared:

The first thing I did was to prepare the earring- I used a black Sharpie to darken the inside track where the stones would be epoxied into place. Opals really look best against a dark background.

Then I randomly placed the stones, and compared the color variations and tones to a spinner ring made with natural opals. I was pretty happy with my combo!! They look is very similar.

And here are the finished earrings- stones epoxied in place and only needing earwires to complete! I am DEFINITELY making a pair of these for myself!

Do you Mass Finish?

There are many 'helpers' to the busy metalsmith, a big one being the 'mass finisher'. If you're not familiar with the process of 'finishing', it can be a real chore and a real skill to be able to finish a piece of silver jewelry.... to achieve a good polish can take a lot of hand power- filing, sanding, polishing. And the way you go about this varies dependent on the metalsmith. 

I have always struggled with finishing/polishing because a) I'm so happy something is almost done that I'm lax to put the time in to finish it 'right', and b) I haven't had a good education in the art of finishing.

And, yes, it is an art!

So here comes mass finishing to the rescue!!!! Above you can see 2 tumblers. The one on the right is an antique Lortone tumbler, believe it or not, used by me and my Dad 35 years ago (when it was new) to tumble rocks to shininess- only took 4 weeks to achieve! We'd change the grit every week and this powerhorse would be constantly running for a month!

I don't use it anymore because the plastic liners on the spinning rods had long since worn off. You can see rubber debris in the bottom where I had put rubber bands around the barrel so they would have enough friction to move on the spinning rods, and everytime ultimately they got worn down to crumbs. 

So, I bought myself a replacement from Harbor Freight that actually fits 2 barrels- on the left. The idea is that you put the pieces to be polished in the barrel, and it spins on the spinning rods, in the process rubbing against some sort of media, thereby polishing by burnishing the metal surfaces.

There's a new type of tumbler that's called a vibratory tumbler- it essentially vibrates or shakes the contents, which results in the same outcome as these traditional rotary tumblers. They are also sold in many sizes- for bigger or smaller jobs. Something I'd like to upgrade to!

This media is an abrasive pyramid-shaped material that actually slightly scratches or grinds the surface of the metal ever-so-much. It is helpful to start with this media first, I've found because it lays an even foundation to the metal and produces a better surface in the end. There are rougher media available, too, but I like just a subtle, almost sand-blasted look that this type provides. There are many other types of media (even walnut shells!) that produce a variety of finishes, depending on what the metalsmith wants to achieve.

As the barrel spins with the metal and this media inside, as well as water and a dash of dish soap to make everything lubricated and hence rub together nicely, the media essentially 'scratches' the metal evenly. I let them tumble for an hour or two.

Then, out they come, all scratched up and ready to go into a final polish. The above media is a polished porcelain. There is also stainless steel 'shot', which is essentially doing the same thing- polishing, but I feel I get a better finish with this stuff... the various sizes and shapes are for getting into small spaces. The stainless steel mixed shape shot left a bit of an orange peel texture on my pieces. This porcelain stuff leaves a smoother finish, but requires several hours in the tumbler.

That's okay- it's 'working' while I do other tasks!

Here're a few pieces after coming out of the abrasive media... all of the essential shaping, filing, and sanding has been done beforehand. You can see they look sand-blasted, with a matte-white finish.

Here they are out of the polisher- definitely shinier! It is still impossible to get into all the little areas of granulated pieces such as these, but since I am going to have them oxidized and then re-polished, the parts the media can't reach will be dark anyway. But these are ready to go to the caster to be replicated as rings, pendants and earrings! Then they will be mass-finished again, and findings and stones will be added.

I am glad mass finishing exists- it's like my little helper!

Of course, there are lots of ways to polish and finish by hand, but that's a subject of another post! Here's an overview of finishing techniques:

http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/406/10--Finishing-Techniques

Can't wait to see how these come back from the caster- check back here in 3-4 weeks!!

Just a Quick Question....

Want to stay in touch with what I'm doing? Like to see the process? Well, I post a lot of quick info to my Facebook page... not full posts like you see here, but little snippets of things I'm doing. It's new, so go to my page and 'like' it in order to find out some things you won't see in this space:

https://www.facebook.com/danaevansstudio

In addition, you can get weekly newsletters which are a bit more personal in nature, all about the life and times of a jewelry and stone addict, by going to my webpage and filling out the opt-in section beneath the header:

http://www.danaevansstudio.com/

It's a great glimpse into my little world! 

:) Dana

Influences and Artwork... Obsessed with Jill Ricci

I wanted to share some artwork with you by Jill Ricci, who I'm totally obsessed with. Here is her website:

 http://www.jillricci.com/wp/

I don't know her, but have seen her work around the internet and on Pinterest and really connected to her work.

Just without reading her bio, you can see she uses collage- found objects/papers, layers, form and graffiti-esque application of information. Order within chaos, ancient form, modern application, color, texture, pattern, decor and embellishment. 

Her work really appeals to me on so many levels and I wished I owned one....! One day!

There is something very tactile about her work too- you want to touch it, maybe peel back some of the layers to see what's underneath.

There also seems to be a 'snapshot' quality to her work- like you're only seeing a snippet of a whole.

And yet they are composed, balanced, and symmetrical in their own way. 

I also like to use some of the exotic shapes she encorporates. I feel a kinship in her use of the old and the modern. 

Here's some pieces from my current inventory that have some of a similar feel:

You can check out my shop for more pieces:

http://www.danaevansstudio.bigcartel.com/

New Stones- Yum!! Opals and Rubies and Jade... Oh My!

Today, when he returned home from work, my husband asked me how my day was. "I went to the gem show today...." I said, "... so it was a great day!"

I got these juicy jade cabochons, and Madagascar rubies to go with them. Don't they look great together? I have been wanting some pink stones, and these satisfied my craving. There's something about jade- the fact that it's translucent makes it rather mysterious. And the color is so subtle- it's not screaming for attention like an emerald or peridot. It's calm, serene, and just.... there. You gotta love jade. So rich and yet accessible. Like the leaves of a pretty flower... jade is happy to support the brighter color of the ruby, or any other color for that matter. A very generous stone indeed!

But truly what I get excited about are opals. This is a group of faceted Ethiopian opals from my favorite dealer.  Last time the show came around, the dealer was OUT of these. Not happy. He apparently sold his entire stash of these (1500 carats) to a 'guy who makes jewelry and sells it on T.V.' I have no idea who that could be... since I don't watch much t.v., but am happy his new supply is just as nice as his last bunch.

This is the kind of ring I was making with those stones from my prior purchase from the dealer. They sell quite well, as they are GORGEOUS, and surrounded by a luxurious 22k gold bezel. 

They will be back in my shop soon, so if you're interested in purchasing one of these, check my shop in the next week or two, or send me an email and let me know what size I can make for you:

Dana@DanaEvansStudio.com

This is a parcel of similar stones- Ethiopian opal. They have a broader area of flash than Australian opal and are a bit different in behavior... this opal likes to stay dry, and if wet, it can temporarily turn clear or turn white. Australian opal doesn't change at all in water. I actually cut these stones myself from a parcel of rough stones. It's cheaper to buy stones in rough form, but time-consuming because I have to cut them! 

However, I like the idea of using stones I've cut myself. I feel more ownership towards the finished piece and feel it's more authentically hand-made, too. Since the process of faceting a stone requires completely different equipment than producing a rounded cabochon (and I don't have that type of equipment!) I tend to buy the faceted-types of stones, and cut the rounded cabochons myself. I actually have a store where you can check out some of the stones I have cut myself:

http://www.stonecabcrazy.etsy.com

I sell these to other jewelry-makers because I also love to cut stones.

Here's a ring I made with the stone in the above picture, upper right. It's more than 10 carats, the largest of the above parcel. I feel good about setting stones I've cut myself. I know the stone better, too, and can cut it exactly to my specifications.  Here's a link to it in my shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181914853/large-opal-ring-size-7?ref=shop_home_active_6

This is a piece I made as part of a collaborative project- creating a 'link' in a huge chain for charity. The center stone is one from the above pic of stones I cut- the center right stone. I feel like a lot of myself is in this piece, and I'm proud of that. Here's a link to more information about this project:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Hundred-For-One/260852380747467 

New Large Opal Ring in my Shop... & some old Favorites....

Today I finished a new ring that features an Ethiopian opal that I handcut, resulting in a gorgeous stone more than 10 carats. It's so hard not to keep some of these pieces for myself!!

Here's a link to it in my shop if you want to check out more pics:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181914853/large-opal-ring-size-7

It occured to me that I've made a lot of showstopper opal rings. I thought I'd do a show n' tell of some of my past pieces; here's a glimpse:

Some of these were made recently; some years ago. It sure is fun to see how my skills have come along. Check out my current inventory of rings:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/danaevansstudio?section_id=5601337&ref=shopsection_leftnav_3