I attended a metal texture workshop, in December, taught by Amy Reeves (one of my favorite metalsmiths). I was so excited, I was going to finally learn what to do with my rolling mill (aka Chunk-a-Munk). Chunk-a-Munk had been a Christmas present the year before, but I was not sure how to even get started. Anyways in this class Amy had us use copper, due to how much silver costs have gone up in the last year.
I heard many different things about copper, mostly what I remembered was it was a pain in the butt to saw. Well that part was right! Though I found it was very different from silver once it was annealed. I felt like I had to work-harden it more then silver. Which surprised me.
The other thing that I had never done was use Liver of Sulpher (LOS). I had mostly used the egg method to "antique" my silver. I found this didn't work on copper quite as well. So I broke down and bought LOS and gave it a whirl. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but it worked and it was fast.
The piece I made that day in class was a bracelet for my mom. Crazy enough I didn't get any pictures of it...note to self "borrow the bracelet, take pics and post on blog"!
Since that class I have figured out my Chucnk-a-Munk. I have a bracelet posted here that I used cloth leaves on, with Chunk-a-munk. It isn't exactly what I pictured, but good for a first attempt. Also, I have a bracelet pictured, that I made for a friend as a Christmas gift. I put small swirls on it with a punch and antiqued it.
As copper is cheaper and I really like the look when it is LOS'd, I think I will keep experimenting with it.
They are both nice, but I love that leaf one!
ReplyDeleteI definitely prefer the leaf, but I generally prefer leaves :)
ReplyDeleteIf you plan on sawing a lot of copper, try the Knew Concepts saw. Copper is the first thing I ever tried on on and good, golly was it nice.
Lovely work! I'm in love with the leaf bracelet in particular. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree about the Knew concepts saw with copper. LOVE the leaf bracelet!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Janea! I, like you, started with silver and worked backwards! :D
ReplyDeleteNice work, Janea. Love the leaves. Try combining copper and silver. I love the look.
ReplyDeletenice texture with those leaves!
ReplyDeleteYou could do a whole line of jewelry along the lines of that leaf cuff. It's just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteDo you use the silver clay? My sister-in-law loves that stuff.
ReplyDelete