More....

Lovely day working in the garden picking up palm fronds...finished another cuff, as well as a requested pair of cufflinks.

eyeball cuff
I do not know how to solder.....only theoretically....but i took my book knowledge and tried anyway.  Voila!  i silver soldered the copper bezel for the eyeball, and i have to say it turned out ok., and i only had to do it twice!  the bezel sides were a little thick, but it smooshed up around the eye enough to hold it in place.  I put the bezel in a cup of used pickle and then added some steel wool to the pickle...it wasn't instantaneously, but indeed, it did copperplate the silver solder.

shotgun shell brass cufflinks
These are for Sky.   He asked for some cufflinks. I didn't know anyone still wore them..... The cufflink stem part is bronze...it is embedded in ice resin that was colored with aztec gold mica.    Next i am going to make him another pair out of thrift store star wars parts...
..

Finished Cuffs

Here are the cuffs I have finished.  They are very colorful, but are actually much more subtle and dark/deeper colored in person than the photos....they look different depending on the light.  I am listing them on Etsy for one week only, to see how they do....after a week I will be taking them to the gallery.  Of course it will take me a few days to get them listed!

The SEA collection:

Brass Sea Devil Sea Horse on copper cuff

Under the Sea...etched foldformed copper cuff with brass ocean scene

etched foldformed copper cuff with patinaed brass seahorse

Handcast Bronze nautilus on etched and foldformed copper cuff

Narrow etched foldformed copper cuff with sea dangles

The Flora Collection:

Handcrafted bronze plumeria on copper etched foldformed cuff

Brass leaf  cuff
This one is unfinished...it needs a pearl in the center.....

Etched copper leaf cuff...WIP

...and the BUG Collection:

Colossal Butterfly on etched foldformed copper cuff

                                    brass scarab on foldformed etched copper cuff

single etched and hammered copper cuffs

  One Piece Etched Copper Double Bangle   

...and this is my version of an Ancient Sea Pendant...it has hand formed copper beads, hammered copper discs, a copper woven hand and various sea dangles.                     

The Back.....

                                                     

WHAT'S ON MY WORKBENCH...

I have been finishing up all those bracelets I started last week.  I had mentioned I was waiting for jel flux to arrive so I could try and achieve the red and orange patina mary hettensperger recommended.  Well I tried it.  But I have to tell ya, I like the patina I got when I used regular old cheapo handy flux.

cuff on left has not been torched.  Cuff on right is handi-fluxed

Only problem is, you can torch jel flux (from rio grande) and there are no fumes.  handy flux you have to torch with tons of ventilation and a respirator, cuz the fumes are toxic!

I have also had good results using nothing but a good scrub on the copper with dawn blue dish soap and a green scrubby, and then a brass brushing....and no flux at all....this method though is not as consistent as the flux method.

so here's what I am working on...they were blued with a combination of ammonia fumes and solvent inks....and a bit of gel pen and sharpie marker thrown it.  then i laquered them.  they still need to have their edges polished to bring up the copper and then waxed......and then they'll be done.  yay!

9 out of 13....

HOME AGAIN

Well I made it back home - AT LAST!

Job was a terrific experience - top notch crew and not a sour apple in the bunch!  It's always so great to come home, however.  LA is a busy, bustling, chaotic town and I could really never live there again.  Kauai is so quiet.  and clean.  and the air is mesmerizing.

Me and My Boys
My son Skylar flew in from New York to visit with his brother Vince and I, when I was in LA, but unfortunately their grandfather died and the two of them flew off immediately to North Carolina.  I only got to visit with Sky on the Sunday I picked him up from the airport and we all went to breakfast!

While in LA I took a copper enameling class taught by Michele Ross.  The class was just me and one other person, and it was FABULOUS!  I had tried to learn from a book with no success,.....but now it all makes sense.  We learned regular enameling, watercolor enameling, graffito, painting and grinding .
 When I got home I found out that my items at the Philadelphia Flower Show did quite well, and i was asked to make more bracelet cuffs for the Merrie Monarch Festival in Honolulu. I only found out about this on Saturday, and Kathy needed the cuffs by Wednesday.  I thought I could do it - but it was so stressful to work with such a quick deadline that Tuesday night I just had to stop and concede that I am not a MASS PRODUCTION person.  I did get 2 cuffs finished, plus 2 bangles........and I have TEN more cuffs formed and etched, but not embellished or patinaed.....so they will be ready for the next time.  I will post pictures as I finish them... I am waiting for my jel flux to arrive so i can try Mary Hettmansperger's   method of flame patinaing the copper a deep red and bright orange.