A bit more starlight....

I said that I was going to explore the idea that I started when making a present for my lovely sister-in-law.  With that piece, I sandwiched silver ovals together with resin - leaving the black clear so the light can flood through.  This is a similar idea but I really wanted to get a more geometric look so I've been working on getting more angles into a silver shape.  This is what I came up with......

I used some labradorite wheels to finish off the necklace.  

Keum boo

I recently went to a Keum Boo workshop taught by the lovely Jo Tinley.  Keum Boo is an ancient Korean technique which allows you to attach 24 carat gold foil to silver.  Gold and silver have a similar atomic structure so, by using the correct heat and pressure, it is possible to get them to permanently bond together at an atomic level.  It feels a bit like alchemy!!

I made a couple of pieces in the workshop.  First, I cut out a shape from the gold foil using a punch and attached it to silver that I had textured (with Jo's favourite hammer!).  I also added a patina using liver of sulphur....

My second piece is a domed silver disc that I filled with scraps of the gold foil.....

I really loved the workshop - if you have a chance I would definitely recommend Jo's workshops.  The Keum Boo technique is great - I'm definitely going to keep experimenting with it - will let you know how I get on.  

The soup is cooking

I'm part of the bead soup blog party again this year - and this time I have been partnered up with the very talented Marcia Dunne.  Please go and have a look at her work - she is seriously talented and has just been published in Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine.  Very impressive - congrats to her for that!  

Here is what she sent me......

Marcia said that she had a good stash of artisan beads and she wasn't kidding.  She has sent beads from a few different bead artists - Happy Fish, Scorched Earth, Blueberri beads, as well as her own shop - some of whom I haven't come across before.  I'm going to enjoy looking up these shops and discovering new artists - part of the fun of this blog party.  I'm very happy with my bead soup - thanks Marcia! - I've got a few ideas already.  Please come back and see what I come up with on reveal day - May 3rd.  

Thanks to Lori Anderson for organising this blog party - especially when she is so sick.  It is a serious feat of planning and organisation.  She has nearly 500 of us to wrangle for this party - must be like herding cats!  Thanks Lori - get better soon. 

Crushed Gemstones

I've been playing around with some crushed gemstones and seeing how they work with resin.  For this piece I made a domed silver disc and then filled it with crushed garnet and citrine - using resin to keep everything in place.

I was after a textured finish so I didn't dome over the top with resin - I was really just using it as glue.   I like fiddling with jewellery and I thought the texture would feel good to the touch.  

I finished the necklace off with a string of co-ordinating garnet nuggets.