Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Learning to Metalsmith

  Wow. I knew it had been a long time since I posted, but I didn't know it had been THAT long. This is my first post of 2014!
  The most recent development in the life of Sleepy Turtle Beads is that I am taking a metalsmithing class at my university. I love it. Each class is about 3 hours long, and I usually stay after for another hour. I have learned how to solder, anneal, file, hammer, dap, sand, saw, and polish metal - mostly copper and sterling silver. I bought a small slab of sterling silver at the beginning of the semester, then melted it down and made silver sheet and wire. The butane torches are a bit scary(that is a LOT of heat), but I'm getting more and more comfortable using them.
  Here are a few of the projects I've been working on:

Hammered copper earrings
 
Sterling silver pendant with copper and brass hearts

This is the second bezel I made - pretty rough, but I set it with a stone and gave it to my mom for her birthday.


I like to make knot rings in copper and sterling silver
  I have more projects in the works and some that currently exist only in my head. More to come!