I constantly draw inspiration from the world around me. Geology, man-made art, architecture and all things archaeological find their way into my thinking. I also live in the country, where the night sky is simply fantastic. With very little light pollution, a full moon is a stunning sight. I guess all that moon-gazing has inspired my Silver Dust Orbs. The moon has wonderful, endless texture, and so do these.
I start with discs of silver and copper, cutting them into various round shapes. Then I use my torch to heat the discs almost to the melting point, fusing silver dust onto the surface of the metal. After that, the pieces are shaped and tumbled to a polish. Only then do I get to see how the patterns have emerged on each disc.
The Process Isn't New, But The Results Are Totally Now
The process of fusing silver dust or silver filings onto silver has been around for a while. It's a solder-free jewelry-making technique in which tiny silver filings, dust or shavings are melted directly onto a solid silver sheet or base plate using a torch.
What I love about this process is the endless possibility for variation. You can follow exactly the same technique on two identical pieces of silver and get completely different results! Go figure.
Lately, I've been thoroughly enjoying exploring the creative possibilities of copper, both as a base and as a material to fuse. One of the reasons I first reached for copper was that the price of silver has TRIPLED, but I also love the warmth and feel of copper.
I never thought I'd enjoy working with another material as much as I love silver, but copper has absolutely won me over.
Who would have guessed I'd be contentedly hand-cutting thin sheets of copper to make my own copper glitter? Seriously fun!
More Sparkle, More Creativity, More Sizes
If copper isn't glitzy enough for your special piece, I even have a few bits of gold that I can sprinkle here and there for an added bit of bling.
These beautiful orb pieces all started with single earrings. Those simple but beautiful earrings grew into triple-orb earrings, then necklaces and now even brooches.
I'm not sure where this will take me, but one thing I know for sure is that when it comes to making jewelry, the creative journey is always an interesting.
