Would It…Could It…IT DID!!!

Posted on May 28, 2012 by

After spending several weeks playing with the fine point DecoColor Paint Pen, I decided to try writing script on a piece of copper. My mother self published a book of letters written by family members at the turn of the 20th century. The book also included family memorabilia, including a newspaper article about my grandparents wedding…this was the perfect verbiage for my experiment.

I was amazed that the paint flowed from the fine point to the ‘squeaky clean copper’ without skipping. If you like instant gratification, then you may want to try the ferric chloride etching process…MUCH FASTER!!! Etching with electricity and copper sulfate takes 60 to 90 minutes…a long time when you are eager to see the results.

What will I do with this piece of etched copper…WELL…I have an idea for a focal element on a bracelet. Who knows…my sisters’ may receive bracelets to go with the earrings for their birthdays.

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Not Quite Right

Posted on May 26, 2012 by

I was soooooooo excited about the ‘tubular’ earrings…they looked great…OFF!!! Unforutunately, they did not look great…ON!!! For some reason they did not hang correctly and nothing I tried improved the situation.

This morning I decided to ‘flatten’ the pieces and try again…SUCCESS!!! Because the gauge of the metal is so heavy it was difficult to smooth out the piece…I like the undulations…they are in keeping with the old/worn feel of the earrings.

The photos below show the earrings in their tubular form and then flattened. The third photo is a pair for my baby sis whose birthday is May 27th. They will be on their way to KC on Tuesday…HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!!!

Finishing two articles for Belle Armoire Jewelry this weekend. The step outs are on paper…wordsmithing has commenced…a tweak here and a tweak there. I cannot wait to email them  on Tuesday…WHEW!!!

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Where Does Inspiration Come From???

Posted on May 20, 2012 by

Inspiration is a nebulous element…it can flow like a river, dry up like the desert, or pop up in the most unusual places…church. When I saw a fabric pattern on a fellow parishioners’ shirt, my mind went into design mode…and did not stop until I pulled this out of the etching bath this morning. I am one happy artist today…I cannot wait to take this in several directions!!!

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A WOW Etching Day

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

Etching metal has it’s ups and downs…early in the process…more downs. Today was a FABULOUS etching day. The Deco-Color pen worked well in the etching solution and an OP ART pattern that was not the best transfer to the metal turned into a WOW piece after etching.

I am so pleased with the two pieces that I am listing them on etsy later today. I was too emotionally attached to my first pieces to put them on the ‘auction block’…and honestly they were not that good. I think I’m ready to send them out into the world for another artist to take them to the next step.

The first few photos ARE NOT zentangles. They are part of a language series that I am developing as design elements. The symbols were drawn on the copper with a Deco-Color Extra Fine Paint Pen.

Now for some OP-ART!!!

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Two New Belle Armoire Articles

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

WOO HOO!!! Two article were accepted by Belle Armoire Jewelry for publication later in the year…Cleopatra’s Collar and designs using fragments and pieces of the etched metal on polymer. This was just the lift I needed after spending the last two weeks at the hospital. Sorry, I do not have a photo of Cleopatra’s Collar to share…

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Flash of an idea

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

Do you ever have one of those moments…nowhere near the studio and you get this flash of an idea for a new project? Well, that has been my brain this week. Between spending the time with my husband post surgery, running to an from the house and the office…my brain has been churning through an etching idea. Would it work…How can I make it work…do I have everything I need to complete the project…where will it crash and burn…ETC!!!!

I grabbed an hour yesterday morning before a trip to the hospital and HOORAY…all of the ‘pondering’ time was time well spent…IT DID NOT CRASH AND BURN…and I may be on to something.

Several months ago I bought $26 worth of scrap copper including 20 feet of refrigeration tubing from the metal recycling center. I’ve sliced and diced some of the copper tubing and am now the proud owner of several pairs of earrings…but that saga is for another day. Last week, Ornamental Elements featured an artist who makes ‘rings galore’…that is where the brain went into overdrive. I am halfway there…I am hoping the second half of the design process will be as successful as the etching component.

Several pieces of the etched copper tubing pre and post sawing. 

Daps make an easy process of flaring the ends of the pieces.

The copper tubing before and after. If you have been to the Atlantis in the Bahamas, you may be familiar with the language that was created for The Dig. I am working on a similar language. The etched copper tube is reminiscent of something very old that was discovered in an archaeological excavation.

Hope to eek out some time today to take the pieces to the next level…
whatever that is???????

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Taking a Break

Posted on April 9, 2012 by

The good and the bad…

Belle Armoire Jewelry REQUESTED more items for publication…the VERY GOOD!!!

Belle Armoire Jewelry REQUESTED more items for publication…so the metal etching goes on the back burner and the assembly process goes into fast forward…the bad…but not TOO bad!!!

I have a fairly large stash of etched pieces to work with now and some are even beyond the experimental stage. Love the fact that when the metal is mounted on the polymer background the focus goes to the metal and the polymer becomes a ‘mysterious’ material. I think this will help remove the comment…’Oh it’s plastic’ from the mind of the art jewelry purchaser.

I found a book of art deco stencils in my stash of ‘stuff’. Great black and white designs for etching. The scale has to be manipulated, but it is worth the effort. Love the heat patina on the copper.

When I took the etching class last spring, the teacher had an amazing book of geometric prints and generously allowed us to copy as many as we ‘needed/wanted’. I spent a fortune in the Penland bookstore copying designs.

In another ‘stash of stuff’ I came across a Dover book with paisley patterns…another good design for etching.

Small-over etched pieces take more time but are well worth the effort. Using brass creates another mystery material.

Not a great photo…but this is the prototype that uses polymer as a carrier and metal as the focal point.

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