Jewelry, inspired by Nature
Jewellery making techniques
Silver clay is a wonderful material, but it has its constraints. It is difficult to avoid cracks. In my opinion main crack causes are shrinkage, porosity, and contamination. Shrinkage manifests itself mainly in small cracks around the stone (or other … Continued
Recycling is hot. Literally, when it is about silver recycling. I have always been fascinated by melted metal. In my Soviet youth the steelworker was a prestigious profession and a fruitful topic for art, music and literature. I remember this … Continued
In the beginning I found soldering very difficult. The process looked so easy in these great You Tube tutorials: How to solder silver jewelry and Soldering metal clay with Tim McCreight. Of course, the easiest skill is the one you have … Continued
The ultimate usage of precious metal clay – of any clay – is for 3D sculpturing. Actually it is a shame to use this precious material for flat shapes which can be cut from sterling silver sheet. The sculptures from … Continued
A nice and funny example of custom jewellery design. A couple of months ago I made this Egyptian cat, wrapped in a crescent moon-shape around a mysterious fluorite stone. After it was put on sale I received a message from … Continued
Precious metal clay makes you a real recycling fan. Almost everything can be recycled: from broken parts to dust collected when sanding greenware. Almost…as long as the piece is not fired. However, if anything goes wrong after firing, all … Continued
Once a precious metal clay pack has been opened, the clay can be stored for some time in a sealed storage bag, wrapped in a piece of plastic foil. I usually put a humid cotton swab or a piece of … Continued
Tumbled gemstone jewellery is challenging for a jewelry maker. Their irregular shapes are difficult to fit into a standard bezel. Very often the only way to hang them onto something is to drill a hole through them. Drilling requires special … Continued
Reproducing custom made jewellery is very difficult. Here is just a story. I received an order to reproduce a pair of earrings with a different stone color. It looked quite easy, but turned out to be a real challenge. … Continued
It can be challenging to duplicate.objects when making silver clay earrings Lizards have fantastic body shapes: ideal to be shaped in silver clay. Making a lizard on a leaf pendant is probably no big deal, but making earrings is a … Continued