A few weeks ago I was headed out to the shop to start my coursework for Unveil Your Mastery, and I was reviewing what stones I had on hand. I dropped a small faceted aquamarine and I haven’t been able to find it since. Today I was shifting things in the shop to adjust the… Continue reading Lost & Found

The weather has been warm and it was a pleasure to be in the shop. After making multiple tubes (Module 1) I finally cut my first seat (Module 2)! Figuring out the bur took a hot minute - the photos reflect the third attempt bc I filed the first ones down after butchering the edge.… Continue reading Going Tubular – Lesson 2

Here are my practice pieces from the final Metal Forming class before Christmas. Anticlastic forming wasn’t super hard, but the spiculum was a real challenge. It was hard to imagine how the paper pattern would translate to metal. And really hard for me to get the metal to do what I wanted! Of everything I… Continue reading Metal Forming #4 – Part 2

Finding my pickle FROZEN is a first! ❄️🥶 Pickle is the solution used to clean silver and copper after soldering. It is more effective when it’s warm, so hopefully the little crockpot will thaw the ice so I can clean my work in progress.

This week was my final Metal Forming class at Lillstreet with Darlys Ewoldt. We covered anticlastic forming and then had Open Studio time. Anticlastic forming means forming in two directions at once, so, in the pieces below, that means making the metal into a u-shape, but also into the shape of a bracelet. She first… Continue reading Metal Forming #4 – Part 1

This past Saturday was my final Color on Metal class at Lillstreet. It was basically Open Studio, with access to the instructor and all the tools. I had decided that alcohol ink was the most appealing of the techniques that we covered, so that is the technique I wanted to practice. I brought a bunch… Continue reading Color on Metal #4

Did you know that jumping from one hobby to the next is a ADHD trait? The more I learn about how ADHD presents in women, the more it resonates. This week that tendency served me well, because I had ALL the fun crafty supplies on hand to bring to class! I attended my third Color… Continue reading Color on Metal #3 – Part 2

I was back in my Color on Metal class at Lillstreet today. The light wasn’t great so the photos don’t do the colors justice. Our instructor demonstrated using colored pencils with liver of sulfur or turpentine wash, guilders paste, and alcohol inks. She showed us some samples using acrylic paints too. This first grouping of… Continue reading Color on Metal #3 – Part 1

Well it turns out that forging is way harder than forming for me - who knew? Though I am so new to all this, take my perspective with a grain of salt! 😂 The featured picture is my first sloppy attempt at a forged bracelet. These are some of the teacher’s samples: If you look… Continue reading Metal Forming #2

I learned about sand blasting and powder-coating today! It was the second session of my Color on Metal class at Lillstreet Art Center. Powder-coating looks like paint; you might recognize it from cars, home appliances, etc.. Apparently, it’s actually a type of resin, or plastic. You conduct a little electricity through the piece, spray it,… Continue reading Color on Metal #2

At the beginning of our second class we had a look at people’s work from last week. Some left theirs at the studio, and I brought in experiments from home. Here are the instructor’s rings - cool variety of colors! These are from another student. The dark blue is really amazing! And the chunky salt… Continue reading Color on Metal #1 – Part 2