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Flowering Sun
Published: 2008-02-19 08:24:13 +0000 UTC; Views: 6833; Favourites: 219; Downloads: 0
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Description
FinalSet includes, bracelet, two earrings and a pendant. The earrings will be french loops. I have not added them yet because of the difficulty it would cause for the shot.
All though it is very difficult to tell in this photo, the ends of the bracelet are hammered and lightly flattened into spoons shapes.
i might make a matching ring for the set.
Sterling Silver, Bronze, Patina
for another view:
[link]
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Comments: 51
ya know, its really very, very nice. i was thinking if you could make a ring, just exact same as the bracelet?
lets say... size 20? or 16? I'd just love it.
please answer if u can, oh, and say the prize (most likely in euros, polish zlotys, or $)
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Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I included this in a little feature [link] .
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Your work is really cerebral, your fine sense of artistry and meaning come through loud and clear.
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Thank you very much
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Wow, Thanks everyone. Quite the surprise, I must say
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I love the textured surface. it really makes the piece.
may i ask what you used to get those textures? (i know you used a rolling mill....)
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Basically i am using the same techniques in metals that photo manipulators guys are doing with their textures. And contact me directly if you need a source. It is a secret! lol
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Very nice! I wish I knew enough about metalworking to do this sort of thing.
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this is a real good looking and interesting set of jewelery. Like the yellow sone and the images on either side.
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Very cool set... I can't wait to see another photo
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Very nice. I can't wait to see the final picture.
I usually set up with soft boxes for lighting, and use white cards to reflect onto the work. When I have time that is. Sometimes I just put it on the scanner, LOL. I am anxious to get my new lenses to play with
I am like you in the use of patinas. I use very little polished surfaces, but if I do, I take the pictures before I polish. This helps a little. I have heard that using a spray deoderant works also, but I haven't tried it.
Great work!!!
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ohhh good idea on the white card, did not think about using a reflection for fill light. I thought of bouncing flash off ceiling, but i have a spot light i can use for fill reflections. cool. I do use a soft box.
i just saw a posting on differing colors patina, i know you like that. let me know and i will get you a link. You probably know about these already.
i seldom use high gloss finishes, known as black finish in the industry. The customer is going to take the piece home and scratch the finish in two seconds, and try and return it to me. I want that already worn look as fast as possible. I love the warn blue silver look. I want a piece that looks like it will last for a very long time.
Industry uses black finishes to get spontaneous purchases from the Wow factor. I really dont ever want to sell a piece because it is a shinny metal object. I sell abstract art, silver is my medium of choice.
I do break these rules somewhat on my cab setting. I need to post some of those still.
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I teach the use of flashes, but I find that I like to totally control my lighting. So, the soft boxes work best for me. That way I can see what is going into the camera and use the cards to adjust. But, it may just be my lack of trust in my own control using the flash. Plus the soft boxes allow me to add more fabric to further soften a light if it is a problem on my reflections. But, you work is beautifully photographed, so who am I to suggest?
Since you have the mill and torch, have you ever considered alloying the metals down to 5-10% silver to copper? You can pull more color from different patinas that way. Even adding 5% gold to copper can get you purples and such. I have never had a customer complain about turning green or anything, but I have started adding a pure silver backing to ensure that no one ever does
I have been asked if I do this to conserve silver, but at 16$ and once it still isn't gold. I just do it for color.
Keep on making. Very nice work.
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i learned about copper turning green from my mentor. I walked in one day with this killer mix of silver and copper work with the copper to the skin side. She made me go and put a backing on all the work. What a pain lol.
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not sure if i read what you said right our not. you are using 5 - 10% silver mixed with in with the remainder copper in an alloy? And you say that changes the color that is rendered when it is patinaed with liver of sulfate? or your using many different patinas to get your pallet?
I have not tried any alloying at all, besides making my own sterling ingots from mixed clean scrap and 50% new. I have a electric melt furnace, i dont use torch melts. I also have a burnout oven but i dont think that gets high enough for melting. I will have to check.
So far i have only stayed with one type of patina, i have not tried to increase that pallet. I dont think color very well as you know. So having a limited color pallet has not bothered my up to now. BUT, now i want to learn how this works. Keep talking
I guess it is time to start experimenting with all sorts of patinas and alloys.
here is a link to some formulas; any here you like?
[link]
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Rokusho is what I use. It bites deeper into the metals with its patina. I use it with a Cupric Sulfate. Both of which I get from Reactive metals.
As the alloy of copper goes up, so does the reactions with the patinas. Liver of Sulphur is a good patina, but as you have said it tends to wear off. You can pick up more info on the alloys at ganoksin's website. They don't go into exactly how to make the alloy, but trial and error has taught me that the best source of copper is refrigerator tubing. I melt the copper first with plenty of Borax, and then add the gold or silver to it. This is because I use a torch. I don't have a furnace (envy, envy) but, since the copper melts at a higher temperature, it has to be the first to liquefy.
These are recipes from Japanese sword making. And, there is enough of a difference in color and shading that even with color blindness, you can see the effect.
As a side note, when copper turns green on the skin (mostly on women) it is because their body is absorbing it. The skin releases an acid when the body needs the copper, and absorbs it. Women need a higher concentration of copper, but we all use it for our joints and ligaments. Women need it to regulate the female cycles, and I don't mean the transportation kind 
Anyways, Your work is beautiful without any alloys. I just mention this because you mentioned the patinas. But, it is a nice new crayon to use when making
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I do not like having all those nasty chemicals around, so, nope, not etched.
It is fueled by the power of my imagination and my rolling mill; my most favorite tool ever. And i am a guy, so that is saying a whole lot. My flexshaft comes in a close second. Both were used to create the textures.
Thanks for commenting and taking time to visit my gallery.
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Someday I will have room for a rolling mill
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it is a truly wonderfull tool. I bought it well before i understood how to use it. I am still learning new tricks from them.
Do NOT buy those cheap ones. There are like only 3 brands out there. Buy one of those only! Do tons of research if you are even considering one of the cheap ones.
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ohhh hmm thats hard, i can not remember the names of the competitors to mine. i own a 150 mm combo Durston. I bought mine from Rio Grande. I took me several months of research and thinking about things to finally decide. It is a lot of money for one tool, and there are so many options out there. The cheap ones that are going for half price of the expensive ones for or about $350 for 100 mm or so, are the ones you want to avoid. I think Pepe brands are right in the middle, but i would do some homework on them first.
You probably can buy any of the ones in the $600 dollar range for 100 mm. The big difference bettween the good ones and the cheap ones, besides craftmanship, is how the rollers are made. The expensive ones are a bit soft in the middle, the cheap ones are hard and brittle all the way through. This makes a huge difference when you have accidentally tried to bit off more than you should be on one pass, on a work hardening piece.
Also trying to decide on what types of groves was important. lots of them had round groves, the durston had square. You can always turn a square into a round, but you cant turn a round into a square nearly as easy. Took me a while to figure that out. I thought i would use more round stock than square in my work. Turns out i was wrong, i use way more square stock.
Then the issue of how much flat vs. groves area on the main rollers becomes important. There i think i overbought relative to my use. 100 mm of flat is a very lot turns out. 60 mm probably would of been more than enough for 95% of anything i would do. You can buy the stock for the 5% you dont use. However, i am happy that i have the extra room.
The gear ration is the other part that is important. I dont recomend the ones with zero gear reduction. Gear reduction makes for easier work in reducing.
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thanks for the input
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where to put it is very important. They have to go on an extremely heavy work bench, or bolted into the ground.
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I went with a larger PEPE mill. I had read some negative feedback on the ganoksin website about it, but they were from people who got 5-10 years out of their PEPE's before they snapped a gear. I just couldn't afford a Durston at the moment, and I figured if I got 5-10 years out of it, it would be worth it. Maybe at that time I will be able to afford a Durston.
The PEPE Mills are the ones with the hardened cores, but I just take it easy steps at a time, never pushing the metal. It has already paid for itself with making my own custom stock. I was hammering out my own sheets before that, and my shoulder is thanking me for it
I hope that helps.
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good point about making your own stock. Most companies charge 20% or more, above their silver fees for any stock. So if you do the math, it really doesn't take long to pay for itself.
There are plenty of reasons to buy prefabbed stock even if you own a mill, time is money.
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