Leaf Pendant

The first piece I made was the leaf pendant shown below. I made it using copper, nu gold, silver, and a peridot. This piece was not the first time I had touched metals, but the first time I designed a piece and employed the techniques I had learned in class to create what I had planned. The peridot was one of a few stones I had received as a gift from my paternal grandmother and I had been carrying these stones around for almost 13 years before I started making jewelry and had a place to put one!

The steps to make this piece were as follows:
-Roll print copper (I used a scrap of tweed to create the pattern)
-Cut out leaf shapes
-Grind a center groove from which to fold each piece
-Manually curve back edges of leaves to create 3D leaf shape
-Solder nu gold wire down the center of each leaf
-File sides, edges, and ends of piece to create softness
-Make bezel (so many other steps!) and solder bezel to piece
-Set stone, polish, and curl the central vein up to create the bail

It was exciting to be able to actually create something I had planned out. This was my first taste of the full process involved in jewelry making. Every step is important; from a good drawing and plan to the last polish.

The Big Orange Box

For a lot of my youth I remember there being a big orange box full of mysterious tools. This box had been my grandfather's and was passed to my brother when he died. It was full of gadgets and half-started projects -- things I could recognize (a file or pliers) and things I had never seen. About two years ago I enrolled in a jewelry course at my University; it was my senior year and I decided I wanted to try something new (plus I like torches and hammers). Somehow I managed to secure a spot in the class even though I was not an Art Major. After attending my first class, I knew I loved metalworking. I called up my brother and asked him if he would allow me to take charge of our grandfather's toolbox and he accepted. The first day I brought my big orange box to class with me I felt proud and excited; finally I would learn the secrets of this box! It is two years later and there are still some objects in the box that I haven't figured out yet, but I use his tools in all my metalworking and his box is now mine.