Adventures in Reticulation

To begin the process of getting a piece of reticulation silver prepared, you must anneal the piece of silver several times and then clean the surface after each annealing with a brass brush (how often one uses the brass brush is highly debatable).  The silver becomes ready to reticulate after somewhere between 5 to 9 times of this process. As the silver is heated, the copper oxidizes on the surface. Once the surface is pickled and cleaned, the copper is removed which leaves a surface nearly pure in silver content. This is what causes the surface to have a higher melting temperature than the alloy within. When the metal is heated one more time to bring out the texture, the surface will begin to move and form in rivers and valleys. There are no two pieces the same. The number of times you anneal and the size of the flame used to reticulate cause variations in the texture of the reticulated surface. Some people use large flames from a large torch tip, while others use a small torch tip. Both produce interesting designs, so I'm beginning to believe that there are numerous ways to experiment here.

A number of us are making a bracelet that uses reticulated silver on the outside and fine silver on the inside. They will be soldered at both the top and bottom and a box clasp and hinge added last. Here is where I am at in this process: One piece of formed silver and one piece of reticulation silver ready to be binded together with binding wire and soldered.



It's hard to believe this will all be one unit soon. It's not going to be easy. I've already seen the struggles of those who are ahead of me, so know what is coming. :)

In the meantime, I've made a simple ring with some of the leftover reticulated silver. It's holding a deep blue opal inside a 22K bezel.



Next time I'll tell you all about my week-long class in learning how to make clasps and closures.

The Golden Acorn with Jean Stark

Is it Hot in Here?

After a week-long workshop in granulation with Jean, it was sweltering.

I just had probably the most intense jewelry workshop of my life. It was fun, scary, enlightening, nerve-wracking, frustrating and joyous all at the same time.

I started off by working three days on forming the above dome out of 22k gold and adding on those miniscule granules one at a time. Sometimes they would sit nicely where they were supposed to be, and other times they would slip down or slither over to hook up with some other granule formations they were not supposed to be a part of. But it was definitely 3 days worth of work before I reached the point of being ready to begin fusing. My brilliant teacher, Jean Stark, was at my side to watch over me as I began to fuse. My heart was actually beating faster and my palms were sweaty. I'm not kidding about this. I was SCARED. Anyway, the torch was put to the dome and heated until it was a bright, glowing red (I thought for sure it was going to just burn up and melt into one big blob). Jean gently encouraged me on how to use the torch, and little by little the granules fused to the gold. It all happens so quickly. Knowing when to stop and move the torch away before melting is a skill one develops over time I imagine. At this point in my granulation experience, which is practically zero, all I could do was try not to blink in case I missed the "flash" that told me the granules had fused.

Then it was on to making the bail, as well as re-firing the dome again and again to fuse wayward granules. I must have torched this dome at least 10 times, so you can probably imagine how happy I was to bring this baby home all in one piece.  



















Amazing experience with an amazing teacher!

Blues, Greens and In Betweens

After receiving about a quart of Liver of Sulphur from Rio Grande, I've gone a little crazy with it. I'm throwing pieces of jewelry into the pot that I had never considered putting a patina on. It's always a surprise to see the results after a dip or two in the heated Liver of Sulphur, followed by a little steel wool scrub. This new pendant was made from one of the Australian Opals I bought in class a couple of weeks ago. The slightly antique look of the silver really brings out the blue of the stone, another unexpected effect.



Below is an example of my attempt to use some of those new skills I learned in the gemstone-setting workshop that took place a few months ago. : ) Practice, practice, practice.



This is Rebecca, the senior student I've been "mentoring" and teaching metalsmithing skills to. She made a lovely Egyptian spiral bracelet and just finished the pendant hanging from her neck. The picture is wacky because the camera was accidentally set on "Manual" by mistake. Whoops!



Here we have a couple photos from our trip to the Georgia Aquarium last week. Ken and Sharon, friends from Michigan, were in town and we acted like tourists with them for a couple of days.





The beginnings of my next project...such pretty stones...what shall I do with them?

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Red, brown, dappled, gray, big, small and in-between dachshunds everywhere you looked! Yes, it was time for the yearly Howl-O-Weenie Festival put on by Dream Dachshund Rescue in Atlanta. David and his friends, Matt & Jacqueline, joined us in the park for a morning of dachshund mania.

This little "Princess" was quite the eye-catcher! She had her own well-decorated pink float to ride on in the costume contest.
This was one of the funniest! You can't see the Obama dog next to this pup, but that dog had a Biden doll sitting on it's back.
How cute is this?
The scary spider dogs!
This little pup is named Daisy.
Oh, let's not forget our own little ones. Yes, I'm aware they look rather disheveled and tousled here. Poor little Bella - the excitement of driving into the city was too much for her and she had a "foam at the mouth" seizure when we arrived. Luckily, I had brought some valium (doctor prescribed for just these types of moments) and we got a half of one in her mouth. So if she looks a little out-of-it, she is! Plus, the hippie costume thing just didn't work. Their skirts kept falling off. I must plan better next time.

Ahhhh....home at last. Sure was a fun outing hanging out with all those dachshunds, though.

Ball of Confusion

This past weekend I took a class on Granulation. Getting those tiny, little spheres to fuse to the silver without melting is not an easy task. There's no random torching here! What you see below is an experiment. The spheres did adhere, but I somehow over-cooked the silver so it now has a mottled appearance. I need to find out what I'm doing wrong here because it happened on both pieces. In November I'll be taking another workshop with the lovely Jean Stark, and will have to be proficient at this by then because I'll be using gold ($835 an ounce today). Overheating will not be an option. But I've been told that if you can fuse silver, gold will be easy. I'm counting on this to be true. :) 

Wide Open Spaces

Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About 15 years ago I was having dinner with a group of business people and one of the women said she lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At that point in my life, I was completely unfamiliar with the area. Now that I've come and gone, I understand why. Stepping off a plane in Jackson Hole is like walking into the past...back when there were huge open spaces with mountains and sky every which way you looked...cattle and horses grazing alongside the road...cowboys (real ones) with weathered skin and cowboy hats on their heads passing by on the street and taking pretty girls for a twirl on the dance floor at "Cowboys" in the evenings. Yep, it was the West I had envisioned in my head from stories and television shows and movies, but never really believed existed. It still exists, and it's stunning.

I suppose winters aren't quite as comfortable with a layer of white snow always covering everything and temperatures getting to minus 49 degrees. It makes me wonder how anyone can live there year round. About 7,500 people do live there year 'round. Good grief. Ann Arbor, Michigan has over 113,000 people in their little city so Jackson Hole residents must feel like a large family.

We had a great time hiking & rafting with our friends, B&C, who you have seen here on my blog many times before. Here's Brian tickling Connie on our way up the mountain. They are so much fun to travel with:



As we were entering the area to land our raft here was Mr. Moose, waiting for us. We were told not to get too close because he could get nasty. We kept our distance.



This is a view from Grand Teton National Park. We had hiked up to "Inspiration Point," which SOME of us found a little more difficult than others to accomplish (ME...because it was like straight UP the mountain!), and then we continued hiking along a more flat terrain (suggested by our rafting guide, Andy, who gave us so many wonderful suggestions of what to do with our time in Jackson Hole. He was a college student who had come there for one semester off, and never left. We understood why.)



I have so many photos of this trip, and plan to get them on flickr as soon as as possible. Will let you know.

: )

A New York Gluten Free Minute

First, I just want to thank the "celiac chicks" who have helped me find all the wonderful gluten-free restaurants in New York that I look forward to visiting when I'm there. This past weekend I was fortunate to actually find and try some gluten free potstickers!!! It was the first time in over eleven years I was able to order them in a restaurant. Lilli and Loo's (on Lexington) have a gluten-free menu with a wide assortment of choices. I drank Thai Iced Tea, gobbled up the potstickers and a finished with a crispy fried shrimp dish. Quite good and really a treat.

On a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon we headed to the Broadway show "Wicked." I wish I had pictures to show you, but they don't allow picture-taking in the Gershwin Theater (a good idea because you wouldn't want to miss a moment of the action on stage while messing with your camera.) What an amazing show. I was mesmerized from the opening number until the standing ovation. This is a picture of the stage right before the magic began:


Here's my favorite daughter, Jess, with her adorable boyfriend, Vitaley, in Bobby Flay's restaurant "Bar Americain," where we dined after the show (my favorite son was home watching the pups). I loved being in New York and I loved being with Jess & Vitaley for 3 whole days. I love so much about New York that I had to ask my husband if he was getting irritated at me constantly saying, "You know what else I love about New York?" He kindly replied that I wasn't irritating him at all. Hmm...I don't know about that...


The big letdown was on Monday when we all decided to meet at "Risotteria," the Italian GF restaurant I always try to visit when I'm there. This time I was going to try their GF panini. But we arrived to find it was closed for the day. Yep, a bit of a bummer, but we found another nice place nearby and then spent the afternoon doing a little shopping. How can you go to New York and not spend some time shopping? I splurged on a really-cool-sweater-wrap-kind-of-thing so am looking forward to fall so I can start wearing it everywhere. It's one of those pieces of clothing you can throw over your jeans & t-shirt and look like you are dressed far better than you really are. I need more of these. Lots more.

Somewhere in Atlanta with Diamonds

On Thursday afternoon I finished a three-day workshop with Robert Wooding where I learned how to set gemstones. Being the novices we all were, we used brass rings and cubic zirconias to do our experimenting with, and were expected to set approximately 3 to 4 rings every day. I learned far more than I expected to and am thrilled I took the course and can now, actually, set a stone! Amazing! Cabachons are cool and all, but sometimes its exciting to add something more...something dazzling.

Since returning home, I've been stuck with my head in the Stuller catalog, the Fire Mountain Gems catalog, and the Rio Grande Catalog, trying to find some lovely gemstones. Hmmmm...far too many choices!

Here's a good video on Youtube that demonstrates how to set a stone, for anyone interested:

http://www.technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpDiLpLgBOC4

I'd like to find a good source for gems in the near future. If anyone reading this has a suggestion, shoot me an email (Kathygrz@mac.com) or leave a message below. It would be very much appreciated! : )

Workin' on the Chain Gang

Last week I was fortunate enough to be a part of a workshop on chainmaking. Jean wrote the book (literally) on chains, which is called "Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains and Their Derivatives." We had time to learn five or six different types of chains, but very few of us completed any of them. It is a time consuming process, and the priority was to learn how to do these patterns to be finished later at home. The first step is cutting all the little links, sometimes one or two hundred of them, depending on the chain you are making. Then they must all be fused, one by one, so they'll stay nice and tight when you eventually form them into their pattern. I melted a LOT of links last week. There's a knack to heating the wire so it fuses just right.

Here are some silver examples Jean brought along:



And here are some gold:



One of the designs for a chain involved making what Jean calls a "Heracles knot." I liked it so much I made a pair in 22K gold with blue lapiz beads hanging from below.





The only chain I actually completed in class was this bracelet, which is called a "foldover link." The most difficult part was heating the metal to form all the silver balls on each link exactly the same size. Mine came out a little too big, so I'll have to be more careful the next time I attempt this.

Red Velvet, If You Please

Hammers pounding, drills buzzing, and torches ablaze with fire! That's how I'd describe my studio these past few weeks. Winter is bringing on a productive mode of being. The above pendant is a design from my favorite Japanese design book . These designs are so pretty I could probably make jewelry from this book for a very long time and never tire of them. I etched this particular design onto a plate of brass and then transferred it to sterling silver via the rolling mill. I lightly domed it and then soldered it onto a flat back piece before adding patina and polish.



Thinking it was about time to add some earrings to my collection, I came up with the design above. It's a cross between something I saw in a sundance catalog and a book on ancient jewelry. After cutting out the basic shapes, I added a bit of texture by chasing some designs along the bottom edge before adding the ear wires. I want to make them again, but this time edge each piece entirely in in sterling silver wire which will form the loops on each side, to which the ear wire can be attached. If successful, I'll post them here.

Tired of Smoothies? Try Energy Soup!

One of the things my teacher, Julia Woodman, is famous for (besides her master skills as a silversmith) is her Energy Soup. She whips it up and has it for lunch every day (truly, every day). I think it must be doing good things for her because she appears to have an abundance of energy and a zest for life.

I finally took the time yesterday to buy what was needed at Whole Foods. It's a wild concoction of ingredients that you simply can't imagine tasting good...but it DOES taste good!

If you don't have every single ingredient, it's okay. Just make sure you use a gluten-free soy sauce instead of the one listed below if you are gluten-free. Julia likes to add her leftover salad ingredients from the previous evening to her Energy Soup bowl before lunch, so I guess this is one of those recipes you can do whatever you want with, but the recipe below seems to have the just the right amounts of everything to balance the assortment of flavors and ingredients.  



Energy Soup

1 avocado
1 apple
1 medium Vidalia, or sweet onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of ginger root (peeled)
1 three ounce container of Vonnie's sunflower sprouts
1 three ounce container of Vonnie's buckwheat lettuce
1 whole cucumber
1 peeled stack of broccoli
1 bunch of washed spinach OR 4 collard green leaves
1 large swiss chard leaf
2 tablespoons almond butter OR 2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons sweet miso
1 tablespoon of grade B maple syrup
1 tablespoon of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Nama Shoyu organic unpasteurized soy sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1 3/4 cups filtered water
Several sprigs parsley, a little dill weed.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Large leaves may be bunched together and cut across into 1 1/2 inch segments and pushed through the top of the food processor. I would suggest using the pulse command so it doesn't get too soupy. You want it to have a nice, somewhat chunky consistency.

Yields 4 generous servings. Freezes well. Will be okay in refrigerator for 2 days.  

Mina Rakkaus Sinu, Aiti

This past summer I met a woman at the Wildacres Retreat where I learned enameling from Jean Stark. This woman's name was Katri, and I found out she was 100% Finnish. My mother is 100% Finnish, as well, and once we started talking, I felt an immediate kinship with her. She knew everything about the Finnish people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and was even familiar with my mother's family homestead, which has turned into a museum of sorts.

At the last meal we all had together, she wrote these words on a napkin and handed it to me: "Mina Rakkaus Sinu, Aiti." She said, "It means 'I love you mother' in Finnish." How sweet of her! My mother's 82nd birthday is coming up this month, so I made her this necklace with those words stamped on silver tags. I just knew I would eventually figure out a way to incorporate them into some form of jewelry for her. I even added a super big clasp so that she will be able to take it on and off herself. I hope she likes it.





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This is a new chain I whipped up last week. Can you tell autumn has finally arrived in my back yard?


This is my favorite time of year. It's so beautiful out there right now!



Until next time!

:)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

I haven't been blogging much recently due to being gone for 2 weeks helping out with the Music at the Crossroads first American tour. We picked them all up in Boston over 2 weeks ago with a Uhaul trailer and 2 extra cars, and then drove to Concord, New Hampshire. This was their first ever performance in the United States, so everyone was both excited and nervous at the same time. I knew after the first song the audience loved them. Clapping, hooting, foot stamping and a standing ovation! It was great!


The next day we drove to Woodstock, Vermont (gorgeous little town) and set up for that evening's show. Again, the audience was thrilled by their performance. Here's a little snippet from one of their shows.



After Vermont, it was a long drive with a couple of stops along the way before we got to Lousiville, Kentucky for a Performing Arts Exchange Conference. They played 12 times in 3 days. People were coming up to me saying that the word on the street was that this was the group to see! It was all quite exciting  and tons of fun. These musicians and dancers are the BEST!!! They're not only super talented, they're simply a great bunch of people - kind, sweet, funny and a joy to be with.

Sara Smile

I love making simple jewelry...and I especially love making it for others. I gave this to my friend, Sara, for her birthday and she seemed so happy to receive something I actually made for her. I tried to think of words to describe her and came up with beautiful, loving, friend, Sara. Yep, that's a pretty good description of her. A freshwater pearl and leather chain finished it up.

Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine

My article is finally out! The magazine just hit the stands today, and if you see it at Barnes and Noble, pick it up and flip to page 35 (I think that's where it is) and you'll see how to make the sterling silver bookmarks I made for my book club friends last December. Since this is the first time I've ever submitted anything whatsoever to be published, I'm pretty darn excited. The article is called "Bookmarks for Bookworms." I hope you have a chance to see it.

I spent an entire day etching this past weekend. It's truly a day-long process. First I found the designs I wanted, then copied them onto blue "P&P" paper. I then transferred the design onto brass (this was the hard part) before putting them into the etching solution for about an hour...sometimes more.

Here is one of the pendants I then made from one of my etchings. You can also find it on my new Etsy site.



After all the time it took getting the brass plate prepared and etched, it's a thrill to simply roll the metal through the rolling mill against the plate and have the designed transferred to the silver. I'm planning on making more with all the fun designs I have now.

:)

Feelin' Crafty

It was just by chance that I found out a neighbor of mine makes jewelry. So while walking the pups last week, I saw her outside and immediately went over to introduce myself. I said, "I heard you make jewelry...so do I!" She said she does make jewelry and she also sews. "So do I," I replied. We continued talking, got on the subject of our book clubs and she said she makes her book club friends bookmarks every year. Is this person living my life? I told her about the article I wrote for Wire Wrap Jewelry Magazine about how to make sterling silver bookmarks (on stands September 11th) and she told me she made some cute ones from old photographs and fabrics. I couldn't wait to see them.





On Wednesday she came by and I've been a busy little bee ever since. Yes, it's terribly early to be thinking of Christmas gifts already, but I don't enjoy being rushed during the holidays. By making gifts now, I'm enjoying the whole process... sifting through the fabrics, the photos and the quotes...scanning, printing, cutting and sewing. I'm wondering if I should add some embellishments. Perhaps a little ribbon, or buttons or a charm or two. Haven't decided yet about that...but hey, I've got plenty of time. These are just two of the six I've made so far.

;)

Hallo von Deutchland!

What a gorgeous place I've come upon here in Germany. We're at a hotel called the Sofitel Tegernsee which is not too far from Munich in an area called Bavaria, and I feel like I've been transported back in time. The women here still wear the traditional clothing (not all of them - mainly on special occasions) -- and often one can see men wearing the shorts and suspenders, as well. Just picture "The Sound of Music" and you'll know what I'm talking about. Most of the buildings have flower boxes hanging from the balconies, overflowing with flowers.



Stepping out the front of hotel I am greeted with the gorgeous view shown below. It's peaceful and is populated mainly with Germans. I'm wondering if this might be a well kept secret from the rest of the world. Very few people speak English, so that has been a bit of a problem. Today I was trying to order some chocolate ice cream and a coke and the woman thought I wanted her to put the coke on top of the ice cream. :)


I've never seen a cemetery like this before. It's located on the outside grounds of a church right here in town and each grave has a elaborate headstone, as well as a little space for flowers. Quite lovely.



Last night we had a crazy evening at a Bavarian Bierhaus. The waitress was...well...let's just say a little rude. Everyone was starving and she wouldn't let anyone order a dinner until we were finished with our appetizers. She said, "I'm the boss!" Hmmmm...perhaps a cultural difference? We're all laughing about it now, but no one was laughing at the time. Of course, they had no gluten-free beer...not even any wine. She would say, "NO WINE! THIS IS A BIERHAUS!" Um...okay, sorry. Lemonade will be fine, thanks. :) I didn't dare ask her if anything contained flour. Just had a nibble of this and a nibble of that and hoped for the best.

Here's Amy and I, I hugging our new friend upon returning from that memorable evening.



Tomorrow we're off to Salzburg.

Auf Wiedersehen!