Classes: Cabochon Pendant

 

Class 4: Stone Cabochon Pendant

In this fun three-hour class students will create a pendant using a freeform shaped stone cabochon of their choice. You may bring your own stone or purchase one from the great selection available at Nickaleena. I will help you design a unique setting for your pendant. Using either sterling silver or copper sheet metal, we will texture the background using stamps and hammers, as shown, or your own pattern. Techniques learned will be: Cutting with the jewelers saw, stamping, soldering, filing, sanding, drilling, measuring and making the silver bezel, setting the cabochon inside the bezel, making a bail, antique patina, and polishing. Some tools will be available in class. Students will be required to bring a butane torch (which can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot), butane, basic jewelry tools, metal ruler, chasing hammer and bench block. Some of these items can be purchased at the store if needed. Space is limited. Class fee must be paid to reserve a spot. It is an easy technique you can use to make many fine pieces of jewelry. Sign up today!

Register at Nickaleena or call Nicki Lundeen at the shop for more information: (423) 899-2868

Location: 

6134 Airways Blvd
Chattanooga, TN 37421

Class Dates: Choose one date, the class is one three-hour session.
Tue, Mar/22/11 - 6:00-9:00 pm
Wed, Mar/23/11 - 6:00-9:00 pm
Wed, April/13/11 - 6:00-9:00 pm
Thur, April/14/11 - 6:00-9:00 pm

Classes: "Sweetheart" Garnet Earrings

Class 3: "Sweetheart" Sterling Silver and Garnet Earrings
In this informative three-hour class students will create a pair of earrings from sterling silver sheet metal, wire, and garnets (other stone colors may be used by availability and slight price change). You will texture the silver using stamps and hammers, as shown, or your own pattern. Techniques learned will be: stamping, soldering, filing, sanding, drilling, selecting and wiring briolettes, setting small cabochons, making attached earwires, antique patina, and polishing. All materials included in fee and some tools will be available in class. Students will be required to bring a butane torch (which can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot), butane, basic jewelry tools, metal ruler, chasing hammer and bench block. Some of these items can be purchased at the store if needed. Space is VERY limited so act fast if you want to attend. Class fee must be paid in advance to reserve a spot. Tons of great information to learn in this class!

Register at Nickaleena or call Nicki Lundeen at the shop: (423) 899-2868

Location: 

6134 Airways Blvd
Chattanooga, TN 37421

Class Dates: Choose one date, the class is one three-hour session.
Wed, Mar/16/11 - 6:00-9:00 pm
Thurs, Mar/17/11 - 6:00-9:00 pm

Painted Antique Light Fixtures

Usually, I shut down my metal studio in January to prepare for the upcoming season. This year however, I decided to upgrade the workspace. Which led to upgrading the living space, by replastering my walls. This took much longer than I had anticipated, but well worth the efforts as my home no longer looks like the Alamo. Along the way I found a few extra projects for myself. This is one of them. These original light sconces live in the foyer outside the kitchen. I also painted the canopy for the new ceiling light fixture to match since it came with a spray-paint job anyway.

Original Sconce

Crustyness / 100 year old wiring

Clean well. Paint black. I used acrylic Homefront Decorator color I bought at Ace Hardware.

Tip: Use Satin or Flat black as an undercoat when dry-brushing. See how it

dries Matte (sconce on the left)? You want that. Picks up the paint better than glossy.

Dry-brush acrylic red over black lightly. Two times. Leave black showing in recesses and blotchy on flat areas. You can use any color combinations. I like these red, really modernizes them. But I want to take them back to metallic.

Very sparingly brush metallic gold over highlights and swiftly over flat areas. Accentuate dings. Leave details of black and red. One coat is fine, it is easy to over-do it. Then it looks over done. So stop while you are ahead. I consider this a bronze finish with a red twist.

Detail

Clear-coat with Satin finish. I found these pretty capiz-shell shades at Shades of Light

Canopy installed.

Classes: Textured Ring & Stone Setting

 

Class 1: Sterling Silver Textured Ring

Great class for beginners. In this two-hour class students will create a ring band from sterling silver sheet metal. You will texture the silver using stamps and hammers, even add a short message if you like! Techniques learned will be: how to measure for size, using the jewelers saw, stamping, soldering, filing, sanding, rounding the ring on the mandrel, antique patina, and polishing. All materials included in fee and some tools will be available in class. Students will be required to bring a butane torch (which can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot), butane, basic jewelry tools, metal ruler, chasing hammer and bench block. Some of these items can be purchased at the store if needed. Space is VERY limited so act fast if you want to attend. Class fee MUST be paid to reserve a spot.

Register at Nickaleena or call Nicki Lundeen at the shop: (423) 899-2868

Location: 

6134 Airways Blvd
Chattanooga, TN 37421

Class Dates: Choose one date, the class is one two-hour session.
Wed, Oct/06/10 - 6:00-8:00 pm
Thurs, Oct/07/10 - 6:00-8:00 pm
Wed, Oct/13/10 - 6:00-8:00 pm
Thurs, Oct/14/10 - 6:00-8:00 pm

Class Price: $135.00

Class 2: Setting a Cabochon Gemstone

Bring your textured band back to learn how to set a beautiful gemstone on it in the next two-hour class. Choose from a variety of genuine stones. Techniques learned will be: preparing the ring with filing and sanding, soldering the bezel, setting the stone with burnishers, patinas and polishing. Students will leave with a unique, personalized ring, learn construction and get familiar with the tools needed for a small home studio. Tools required are the same as in the ring band class. Space is VERY limited so act quickly if you want to attend. Class fee MUST be paid to reserve a spot.

Register at Nickaleena or call Nicki Lundeen at the shop: (423) 899-2868

Location: 

6134 Airways Blvd
Chattanooga, TN 37421

Class Dates: Choose one date, the class is one two-hour session.
Tues, Nov/09/10 - 6:00-8:00 pm
Wed, Nov/10/10 - 6:00-8:00 pm

Class Price : $130

Making Custom "Dragonfly"

Client had a beautiful periwinkle blue sapphire he wanted to get set into a dragonfly pendant for a friend. I drew up the "dragonfly in moon" design which was influenced by Japanese ink drawings. I made it proportionate to fit the stone size. Here is a pictoral glimpse into it's construction.

The finished pendant. I love how it turned out.

Measuring the circumference of the drawn circle with wire.

Straighten out the wire and check with a ruler to get the correct length for the silver wire.

Silver 14 gauge square wire soldered.

Dragonfly shape sawed out and circle textured, both sanded.

Details are tooled into Dragonfly to add dimension.

Because I am just doing minor tooling, hammering over wood works well.

Took an afternoon hike and saw this crazy bug. It was just over an inch in length. It was fun chasing it down the trail trying to snap a picture. It's good to get outside.

 

After tooled and pickled, I solder on the pre-cast prong setting. This can save a lot of time and expense.... sometimes.

The two components are ready to be joined. Notice I already have the bail soldered in place.

All of the components have been connected with Hard solder, and I will attach the two main parts with Medium, but I still apply White Out to the previous joints to help protect them. I carved a little notch in my solder board for the bail so the piece could lay flat.

This is the piece after it has been pickled and then bathed in Liver of Sulfur to blacken.

Look it is out of the tumbler all shiny and ready to set! Almost done, right? Not quite. I decided I couldn't trust these factory prongs to hold an irreplaceble stone. It was brought back from Iraq and is quite valuable in size and clarity.

So, I made new better more sturdy prongs from 16 ga square. They are looped like that so I can solder without the heat-sinking third-hand pliers after the initial tack. Trimmed to height after.

Next, the prongs are trimmed and a notch is filed to hold the stone. It takes me a few hours to get the filing correct to the shape of the stone, and the prongs set and shaped how I want them.

The new prongs after messing with them all night. Ready to set the Sapphire.

The finished piece. I am modeling it to show size and length. It is on an 18" rounded box chain. I am into a variety of box chains this year. I love them.

 

Back and Front documentation.

Making Custom "Anvil"

Speaking of tiny anvils...
Last month I made a custom piece for my friend Tiffany. It is a memorial to her dearly departed canine pal, Bodhi. It is Etched Copper and Sterling Silver. I love how it turned out! And so did Candice, who ordered a similar style with a tooled anvil as the centerpiece.

The inspiration necklace "Bodhisattva".

Drawing and materials.

Saw out and sand.
I tape sandpaper to a piece of glass for maximum flatness.

Tool texture the copper and cut the silver backing.

Sweat solder copper to silver to get a good seam all the way around.

Emboss anvil shape onto paper background gauge.
Cut out with Xacto knife

Glue to silver backing and saw out shape.

Drill holes, file, and sand.

Put components together and solder all jumprings.

Pickle. Neutralize. Patina with Liver of Sulfur.

Patinated (blackened) necklace.
(check out my NEW bench pin! it is flat, hooray!)

Respirators aren't just a fashion statement.
Breathing the dust from this step is toxic. Safety first.

I use 80 grit yellow 3m bristle disks to bring up the highlights.

Tumble with mixed stainless steel shot for a few hours.
Burnishes and work hardens the metal.
Sometimes it makes the piece too shiny in my opinion.

So I use 15 and 30 micron polishing papers and 200 grit red bristle
disks to achieve a nice Satin finish.
Ta-Dah!

Need Artizen Metal gifts now?

I've gotten a few phone calls from loyalists (i love you) needing early holiday gifts. My next official showing is Sunday, September 19th at the Chattanooga Market. I will have all new designs. I was in Memphis to drop off my Horn Island 26 work at MCA, and stopped by the National Ornamental Metal Museum. I thought they might want a few things for their gift shop. I was surprised and quite pleased that they took everything. So, if you are in Memphis and would like to purchase some Artizen Metal, you may do so at your convenience (according to the gift shop's hours). Be sure to make time to check out the exhibits and explore the grounds. It is a really wonderful place. As a metalsmith I have many great memories volunteering at the museum's Repair Days. Nothing like hanging out with your ilk. Fixin' stuff.

The cast iron gazebo on the bluff at the Metal Museum. Overlooking the Mississippi River.