Explore my work
Get to know about processes and techniques, and how I am developing my own signature designs. I am glad to share my jewellery journey as I continue to create and explore materials and ideas.
Working with Brass
I recently started working in brass to provide a more economical way to experiment and create designs which can be more reasonably priced. Brass is lovely to work with. It has different properties to silver. It is a harder metal and so it is easier to work with it a bit thinner and roll it down with the rolling mill. Once it is at the desired thickness I can then apply a texture in the rolling mill. The Brass earrings are in the front row of the above/left picture. They are on gold plated ear wires.
A Pleasure to create!
I was recently asked to make a pendant for someone who likes to play with their necklace, it is tactile, a fidget pendant! My client liked the idea of having a couple of shells on one chain. She picked 2 out. While I was soldering the jump rings I was looking at the different combinations of shells and possibilities. Then I noticed I had a spare starfish. I had originally wanted to make into stud ear rings. This one was on it's own and I think it added a little something extra. I decided that having the shells and starfish hanging from a larger jump ring would help the pendants to hang nicely. So I soldered the jump rings so that it was nice and secure. She was really pleased with the result. I added a small ring at the top to stop the pendant from turning the wrong way on the chain.
Rolling Mill
Recent additions to my workshop are my large rolling
Last year I bought a small rolling mill. Which I have to say I did love very much. After a while I found that the small rolling mill was not allowing me to do things I wanted to. It would not allow thicker textured plates through and it and it only had a 20mm wide flat area for rolling out flat sheet.
This was quite restrictive so the next time I bought one I made sure I went for 'the one.' These things last a lifetime so you have to get the right one. I didn't hold back as I didn't want to make the same mistake getting a mill that would not meet my needs. And what a fantastic thing it is! Amazing! It is a dream! Now I can roll metal out to my hearts content.
I can also use it to roll out different shaped wire for use with bangles or rings. Apply texture and roll out melted scrap.
What is Silver Clay?
I first started working with silver clay in about 2012. I completed the Silver Clay Diploma at Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery in St Austell. I then taught silver clay classes in Plymouth for several years.
So what is silver clay and how do you use it?
Well, silver clay is a clay made from tiny particles of fine silver which are recycled from things such as photographic film and other industrial uses. It was first made available in Japan in 1994.
The silver particles are bound together with a binder to make a clay. Once the clay has been formed it can then be dried out on a hot plate and then fired with a torch or kiln. The binder burns away, the piece shrinks by 10% and the particles are sintered together. Silver Clay can be hallmarked with .999 as it is fine silver.
Cutting Die
I recently bought a cutting die to save time when cutting out metal and to use with copper and brass. My idea is to do some enamelling and to cut the copper out quickly to test the different colours out in the kiln.
This cutting die is unusual because it has lots of different shapes. Quite often they provide only one shape in different sizes. You have to be careful not to hammer your thumb. Sounds obvious but it really hurts!
After several goes and a plaster I got the hang of it!
What is Sterling Silver?
Sterling silver is made up of silver and a small amount of copper. The copper is mixed with the silver to give it more strength since fine silver is very soft to work with. Sterling silver is Hallmarked 925 meaning that its silver content is 92.5%.
Silver is work hardened meaning that with hammering and forming it gets more brittle. This is good if you want to stop your ear wires from bending around, but bad if you have a cuff that has been bent too many times, because when it becomes too brittle it can break.
Annealing is the process used to reset and relax the silver particles so that it will be malleable again and can be continued to be hammered without breaking.
These days you can get Argentium Silver which is a different recipe for silver which has slightly different properties. But more about that another time. I may look into working with this in future..... So to be continued!
"I am so happy to receive these earrings. Fantastic customer service from Jenna."
Jessica Hartman