Monday, August 29, 2011

New Cuff Bracelet in the Works!

 I've been very busy this last little bit with the Farmers' Market in Merrickville and with my lessons at Rain's Art in Metal for my metalsmithing courses. This is the last piece I did at her studio, and it is still in progress as I have quite a bit of work to do. I took a piece of 16 gauge copper sheet, sawed it into a 6" x 1" length, sanded the surfaces and filed the edges. I then took a piece of beautiful antique lace and wrapped it around the cuff blank and put it through the rolling mill, which exerts high pressure on the metal (and the lace, in this case), to imprint the lace pattern onto the surface of the metal.
 Here is the pattern close up! It doesn't look much like lace, to me it looks a bit like snake scales, but I love it either way. Now I need to get a rolling mill for my own workshop!! The only issue is that, with my being so busy with my baking, I kind of forgot about the cuff bracelet in my bag and when I took it out I noticed that it needed some cleaning on one side. Not a big deal, I just took a scrub brush and warm water with dish soap and started scrubbing. The only problem came when I turned it over to do the other side...
Alas! It has apparently been resting against a piece of copper that I had recently etched, and the etching solution mustn't have been properly rinsed off. Now I'll have to sand that part down, leaving that part potentially with a reduced image on that area. Oh well, live and learn. Now I know NOT to put anything that has been etched anywhere near any other pieces I'm working on!
See you all soon,

2 comments:

  1. August must be insanity month or something. Thankfully, mine was not as pricey as yours just nuts-O ;o) I LOVE the copper with the lace embossing; that is just phenomenal!
    A new oven AND a new dishwasher? Well, well, well aren't you the queen of the kitchen these days? *giggle* Congratulations all the way around!

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  2. Thanks Jen, the oven and dishwasher were past their times, so it is nice to have things that work properly and are so much more efficient!
    I can't wait to have more time to finish the cuff bracelet. Rest assured that when it is done I'll show everyone :)

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