Yep the ol’ funk still.
If you’ve been reading my blog for any time you’ll know I get them.
I’m a funky kind of person – and not in the good way 😉
Well this one’s just been lingering around trying to make itself more important than it really is, and I’ve been plodding along almost going ‘there’ (yes you know where), but then writing my blog and laughing at it like this,
Hahaha!
It works. I laugh at, and with, myself through this blog, and, for me, that brings everything back to a level I can work with.
So yesterday I was in the studio having one of my, why am I bothering doing this, nothing really matters, I’m just so bored with it all moments.
You know, general wallowing and floundering around, looking at all the stuff on my table and not wanting to do anything.
But, knowing that I just needed to get on with something, anything, to work through the funk, I decided that I was going to make a piece similar to this one.
Because I had another of those nice little coral flint whatever stones just left hanging there with nothing to do.
It was one of a pair that were sold as earring stones, but, thoughtless me, split them up and now they’re lost twins.
O.K. So…
No writing now, I think I’ve managed to get all the melodrama out.
Let’s see how long I go without having to say something.
Mwahahaha.
Too pointy so I changed it slightly.
Now I’m playing around with it as I never really do know what I want to happen next.
Finally decided.
Added the bail.
Cut the prongs.
Added some extra little balls along with the prongs.
Not quite like the one I was going for.
The darn prongs got on my nerves a bit, but I finally remembered I had bought some of that Rio Chil Gel a while back and decided to give that a go.
Bit of an overkill with that ginormous syringe though for those tiny prongs 🙂
It really works well so try that out if you want to stop something melting five hundred times before you finally clue up.
And that was when the determination kicked in.
Up until then I had been making the piece by rote really, not really putting my back into it. But… when those darn prongs kept melting and I finally decided to walk away and give up because I would never be able to do it, I suddenly felt my bloody minded side kicked in.
Where had it been all day?
Probably slinked off somewhere to have it out with the funk is all I can think of because it came back with a vengeance and, before I knew it, those prongs were set and finished.
It was a beautiful thing.
😉
Here’s a little video of me making the leaves. Don’t know if you can really see what I’m doing, but hey, I was in the funk at the time, so it’s all I have.
😉
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thank you for showing how to do the leaves,i didn’t hear that english ?i was waiting lol,jane 🙂
😉
Wow! Just wow!
If this is you in a funk, imagine what you will create when the funk goes away!
Wow, super gorgeous. Determination paid off. Now take that funk, ha ha ha!
🙂
Beautiful! Nice to know I’m not the only one who gets “the funk.” Sometimes I have to force myself to get to work . . . and I’m almost always glad I did, because making jewelry is a good funk buster.
I know! It comes and goes. I think I’m mostly tired at the moment.
I like the effect of overlapping on overlap, and the prongs counter to the stripes in the stone is a great finale. (I didn’t watch the video yet, though, because it would put me into a funk…and any funk of mine will never be as productive as yours.)
Ahh, it’s really not a funky kind of video. Just making the little leaves. Boring really.
on the final product before the piece is polished, is that a flame retardant? the white stuff.? the only thing i’ve seen used to retard a flame (if indeed thats what that is) is liquid paper. of course its been 20 years since i’ve thrown myself into it. for instance , i didnt know about the “chill gel” . what a great idea.
so…. what is the white stuff?
You mean the picture of the piece before I darkened it? This is what the silver looks like after it’s been cleaned in the pickle. The pickle brings all of the fine silver particles to the surface of the silver (or something like that, I’ll look it up for you), Then you can clean it with a soft brush and soap and it will look like ‘silver’ again.
The chil gel is just that, an almost clear gel which I just covered the top of the prongs with. That really did stop the heat from damaging the prongs. I’ve heard about liquid paper being used as a retardant but I should imagine the fumes are horrible.
Oh okay. The pickle! I’m not used to seeing it that white.
Really impressive work. When layering do you integrate various solders. Say from extra hard to soft. As layers go along.
On this piece I just used easy solder. You should really use different hardnesses? of solder, but to be honest I’m a bit lazy.