Category: processes

  • What Can Each of Us Do to Help the Ocean?

    What Can Each of Us Do to Help the Ocean?

    small actions add up for a big impact

  • Niobium Bangle Bracelets

    My friend Kathleen and I wanted to try out her new electrolytic anodization setup to put some color on titanium and niobium. We were so anxious to get to the electricity and water/borax part, that we forgot we needed something finished to stick in the water. Disappointed that we couldn’t see colors right away, we…

  • The Where & Why of Recycled Metal

    An overview on recycled metal providers (see links below) and the reasons behind them can be found at: The Responsible Jewelry Council http://www.responsiblejewellery.com Christine Dein’s  “Green Jewelry News” email newsletter http://www.christinedhein.com/about.html Ethical Metalsmiths http://www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org No Dirty Gold   http://www.nodirtygold.org/ Earth Justice http://earthjustice.org Hoover & Strong http://www.hooverandstrong.com/blog/archives/117/  National Geographic Magazine The Real Price of Gold   http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text more links about the real…

  • Outta My Head, Into Metal

    The 2011 summer edition of San Francisco’s Metal Arts Guild newsletter showcased me as an artist member. Since the newsletter is printed in black and white, we thought you might like to see some color pictures of the inspirations and work described in the article. On a SCUBA diving trip to the Sea of Cortez in…

  • The First Press

    Pat Accorinti came over to spend the afternoon making silhouette dies. She created a shield shape and cut it out of brass and masonite. While she filed the edges of the silhouette smooth, I annealed some 24 ga copper sheet. We placed the copper in the press with the stiffest urethane, per the guidance of…

  • Starting a Silhouette Mold for the Hydraulic Press

    The scrap metal yard was a great place to find 16 gauge brass sheet for the top of a silhouette mold. And, they cut it into squares for us with their massive digitally controlled brake. The lumber store cut the tempered masonite into squares for us. Now it’s up to us to cut negative space…

  • Oxygen Free Copper and Fine Silver: Electrolytic Anodization

    I had some oxygen free copper and fine silver parts that a friend’s local company deemed scrap. While I waited for clear nail polish (a masking method) to dry on my niobium bracelets, I decided to electrolytically anodize the oxygen free copper and silver parts. I kept part of the fine silver piece out of…

  • All About Turquoise

    Turquoise prospector and metalsmith Dayton Simmons was in the SF Bay Area recently and gave a presentation about turquoise to the Metal Arts Guild. Thanks to him, I now know that the name comes from a long ago mistake in thinking the stones arriving in Europe were from Turkey, and that most turquoise comes from…

  • A riveting demo

    Picture phone shot taken at a riveting demo by Lynne Todaro of Mission College for the Metal Arts Association of Silicon Valley. Lynne did a great job showing how to rivet, and reminding those of us who’ve done it in the past that annealing the metal to be riveted is key to success.

  • Stone setting in metal clay

    Recently all senior instructors for Art Clay World were asked to create 4 pieces showing their craftperson skills with Mitsubishi’s silver clay. The curriculum had changed since my certification as a senior instructor almost 2 years ago, and 4 new projects now replace some previous projects in the curriculum. Those 4 projects were thus a…