broadening horizons

sometimes it s hard not to feel insignificant.

and sometimes everything just falls into place, and you realize that not everything s in vain.

take yesterday. it was the last day of school before Fall Break, i had made some new wire to start the next project we have to make, which is an entourage setting, and i d been talking to Diane, who is now doing the beginners course (the one i took last year). she s an extremely spontaneous and enthusiastic lady, very bubbly and i realized we share the same kind of passion for stones and jewelry.

later, when classes had finished and i was talking with another student, Miwa-san, Diane joined us with Frank, also a student at the TNA, and it turned out that Diane also has a website; STONED, where she showcases her jewelry, and Frank makes beautiful beautiful (i say this twice cuz it s the truth, i checked!) glass beads, and here s his website; HIERONIMUS GLASS JEWELRY.

i cannot tell you how much this excites me, to share thoughts and ideas and techniques with like-minded people!

i am happy!

expo 70

working with little spheres is addictive... i want to get the technique right, and it s not easy, it s a little scary, but oh so great when it works!

here s what i call my expo ring, plain band with a domed circle carrying 5 tiny silver balls in the shape of a flower, which somehow reminded me of the Tower of the Sun during the Osaka World Exposition in 1970 and its logo... it must have been in my subconscious. i even believe my mom and i went to see it, because we were in Japan during that time, but i don t really remember much

i posted a pic on FB too, and a friend of mine said it also had something of the Atomium here in Brussels

so there you go, my expo ring, matte and shiny finish for more contrast:

am thinking of other ways now to work with those spheres, might make a series, variations on a theme... hmmm

done!

allow me to gloat for a few moments:

two days ago i finished my Byzantine bracelet!

so happy with the results... although, i ve been surfing the net a bit and realize that it s not such a big feat apparently (what with all these expert jewelers around) except for the fact that i did solder the jumprings one by one, and my teacher said that i did do a good job, hehehe

also made the toggle clasp myself, so now i have a bracelet, completely and truly handmade

i really felt like a little kid in school when i took the bracelet out of the polishing tumbler, all shiny, a big smile pasted on my face that i just couldn t wipe off even when i got home (Sam thought it was all very funny)

amazing feeling, to think that i only started metalsmithing last september... and so much more to learn! YAY!

i have an idea for another ring now...

bubbly ring

home alone:

housework done, what else to do but practice on soldering and fusing techniques while making another ring... since i m pretty mad about rings anyway ;-)

so made a corps, fired up some tiny little balls and started to work... after some mishaps: balls just dropping off, i think because the solder wasn t quite thin enough and the work not hot enough, i finally managed to keep 9 (symbolic number for me) neatly fused to the ring and started polishing...

found out i ll need a few more gadgets to polish between the little bubbles though, but so far i m pretty happy with the result...

on to my next one!