This is the Blog

omega worn side, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

The studio is a mess. It is a fundamental, uncleanable mess- there simply is not enough space to pout everything that needs to be put away. SO. I am finally using all the bits of metal that I have collected, thinking “Oh, I can use that”. It is time. There’s some really lovely stuff coming out of the pile, including this short series of copper plumping pipe pieces. I hadn’t used this pipe because it is so very thick, but, now that I have the forge and can work it hot, it’s not so bad. Still surprisingly difficult, but so very rewarding. I love how all three of these pieces have come out, and i have enough scrap for one more bracelet. Some time in the future, I may purchase more of this and continue the exploration, but, for now, I’m not buying anything, only using what i have.

my studio is a mess, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

This week- I am cleaning. It is a subtle art, involving making things out of kitchen sinks. Stay tuned!

frederick booth with me, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

The best part? My mom came down with me. The worst part? too far away. Both of these are personal, though, so to take a step back and give an honest review- the fair was only pretty good. Sunday was quite hot, which kept the crowds down- I wouldn’t have thought it would be such as issue, being right on the creek, and thus, likely cooler than anywhere else in town, but it was. Of course, the weather is not the organizers fault, but, talking to both exhibitors and attendees, this has been an issue for the past three years. I wonder if there is a reason to have the thing the weekend it was, or if it might, possibly, be worth considering having it in May or September. Saturday, though, cool and overcast, was great, and I had a fairly good day. Not much better then I do at home, but, again, not their fault I had come so far. Not too many people were buying stuff, but they all seemed to care very little what the prices were- making me think that this fair would be better for higher end pieces. If I go back, I’ll leave out the word panels, entirely, and only take my forged work. Other things of note:
-free lunch for exhibitors! how sweet! They’ll even sit in your booth while you go get it, or go get it and bring it to you, whichever you prefer.
-Phenomenal crab cakes. Those weren’t free, but most certainly worth 7 bucks. In general, really high quality fair food.
- BOOTH SITTERS
-load in is a little tough, as, in some spots, it requires stairs. Still, they had plenty of volunteers on hand to help, so this is not really a complaint
- a generally well educated audience; I only had to explain what vagabond meant to one person, and he spoke English as a second (or fourth, what o I know?) language.

Overall- I was very happy with the show, but I’m not sure that, for me, it was worth the drive. We’ll see how I feel next year.

Ok, I got gehind. By, maybe six months or so? And anyone who WAS reading this has given up hope. But I’m gonna try again- for three updates a week. Here’s the goal:

1 update on Monday, Teusday morning if there was a big show over the weekend. This post will detail said show ( if there was one) including tips on whether or not i thought it was worthwhile, and whether it might, or might not, but worthwhile for other crafters. This post might even be useful.

2 other updates throughout the week. I’m gonna figure those out and let you know.

For today, I’m gonna do a couple of show overviews, and try to catch up a little.

Skull process- ocular ridge third raising, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

Raising the ocular ridges takes time- this is the third run through. On this run through, I also hit my hand quite hard- pinching the mound of flesh below the thumb between the anvil and the hammer. While it (of course) did no actual harm, it made it hurt to hold on to the piece, and I decided to call it a day. A short day.

skull process- beginning ocular ridges2, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

Beginning to form. I started with the simple parts- curved the two connector bones into tubes. this was done primarily for strength. Flat metal will bend in the direction it it flat- even very thick flat metal is not as strong as a tube, and I will be expecting these two little bones to keep the whole mask from twisting- rather a large task for them. So they have been formed into tubes. I may decide to solder those tubes shut, to take full advantage of the strength of a tube.

The lower jaw will be defined much more by hammering and forming than it is by it’s cutouts. There is one long “dent that runs from the cut out to the end of the beak. This has been started, but will need further annealing to get deep enough- metal only moves so far before hardening.

Speaking of which, I have, in this photo, done the first run on raising that ocular ridge. The important thing in raising it is to stretch the metal in the middle of the eyehole enough to let it stand straight out. But, very first thing, I went around and defined the edge.

skull process- first annealing, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

After all the pieces were cut out, the larger two are put on top of each other and their filed to make sure they match- this is a little superfluous here, because hammering will be done between here and soldering them, but at least STARTING with a good match will help a lot when we get to that stop. After that filing, all five pieces are annealed- All will be hammered and formed before they are ready for joining. I am not worried about oxidation. All areas will be sanded again to clean them before that soldering. I will not pickle until the very end- if then. The size and shape of this piece means that it will be VERY difficult to get an even heat patina, but it will be just as hard to get an even pickling. This is something that does not require a solution till much later. Right now there is plenty to think about.

Skull process- one day, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

Whoo boy am I not keeping up with this. I’m gonna try harder. I’m not promising to succeed, but I will try harder.

After finishing all the patterns, the next step is to cut out all the parts- sounds simple, doesn’t it? This is all done by hand, with a jeweler’s saw. If you aren’t a metalsmith, a jeweler’s saw looks a lot like a coping saw, but with a six inch long blade. That blade has teeth small enough that I have to look very carefully to get the thing put on right side up. These blades are made to break when they start to get dull. Or when you twist them slightly. Or when you get startled. When working on a piece of this size and complexity, I prefer to keep the studio very quiet for this reason, and in any shared studio situation, you will note the metalsmiths by the fact that they never greet each other at their desks, but instead stand around behind each other waiting for the person at the desk to just happen to look up. We are silly people.

Also, my saw has a six inch throat. This mask is far more than twelve inches long, so many of the outside curves were done purely on my Beverly sheer. The lower jaw was done by hand, as were the side connecting bones. Much of the large upper portion was done with the sheer. These parts were all done in one day, there is a second half of the upper mask that is not pictured here.

One final note- you will notice how much more closed in the eye is than in the pattern- this is to allow for the raised ocular ridges. Turned out not to be a good plan. We’ll get to that later.

Skull process_ pattern 3.6, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

This is still not the final final pattern- metal must be left for the ocular ridge, which is not drawn on, here. Because of the size of the piece, i taped the pattern on, and then, using the beverly shear, cut it out with a great deal of clearance- perhaps three inches. The weight of the large sheet off to the left made it night on impossible to get good control, and I wanted to be VERY sure not to cut into the metal that would be the head.

I am using 20 gauge copper for this piece- very thin compared to what I normally use, but the weight of anything thicker would make wearing the skull a pain. I am trying to make this guy as wearable as I possibly can. The round shape should lend sufficient strength that the thinness will be ok- if not, I will have to make a frame to go inside.

skull process pattern, originally uploaded by Vagabond Jewelry.

So you know how I was saying that the pattern needed to be dead on? I spent a week just in paper. Each paper mask gets fit to the face, looked at critically, draw on, cut out, added to, until it seems right. Then I trace that out and make… another paper mask. It’s important to check it. I thought i had gotten the first one right, so I traced it out, here. Notice how far in the cuts go? remember, that is only for the paper, but it is important. I discovered that the tabs were not giving me nearly a good enough idea of size. There is also, inside the ocular cavity, a lot of metal left on. On the skulls I am looking at, the ridge around the eye is one of the defining characteristics, and i will need enough metal there to make it.