I finally found some liver of sulfur in chunk form. I dissolved a little piece in about a cup of hot water, dipped the earrings in, let them sit for a moment or two and then rinsed in cold water. A little polishing of the ring portion finished the piece.
Today I found some reticulation that I apparently didn't like because it was in my scraps jar. I cut a couple simple circles, reticulated them a little more to soften up the edges and then added a circle of square wire. I don't have any liver of sulfer to patina them but I want to darken the outside and leave the center circle silver.
I finally got around to making a tornado ring. All I had was some scrap copper, but it came out OK. I never actually drew it out, but in my mind this is sort of what it looked like.
It was pretty easy to fabricate, I cut a few strips of copper, rolled them through the mill, soldered the ends together, forged them around my rind mandrel and finally soldered them to a copper band. I did very little in the way of surface texture, about all I did was put a soft shine on the band.
I like how it came out, I think this is probably going to be a prototype. I have a few other ideas I would like to try on this pattern, patinas, wire instead of strips of sheet etc...
My daughter asked me to make her a pair of hoop earrings. I did better than that, I showed her how to make them! She chose the wire size, cut it to size, forged it over a mandrel and help me make the ear wires. The only thing she didn't do was solder the rings. She was a little hesitant of the torch. I think they came out pretty well.
Near my house is hiking trail, it is a seldom used hiking trial. It's almost my personal hiking trail. Me and my children will frequently go there for a short hike. I don't really know how big it is, but it's a mile walk or so All of the land is cut off by a rail road track.
I have decide that it will become a canvas for some art work...
In the weeks since my hip replacement surgery, I've been struggling with issues related to physical recovery and rehabilitation of muscles used either too little or ill-used in order to compensate for my arthritic hobble. Even as I regain muscle strength and stamina, I've still been plagued with what I cannot do that I feel I 'should ' be able to do at this stage in my recovery. For instance, I 'should' be back at my bench making jewelry by now. After all, I'm back at work full time, walking the dog most days, twice a day, on increasingly brisker and longer walks, starting to work grooming horses and the occasional barn chore back into my to-do list, taking fewer and fewer naps, etc.
Last week I went to an exhibit at Shelburne Museum with a friend, and after two hours of art gazing and walking through the grounds, I was completely taken aback to find myself all wobbly and trembling with exhaustion. So taken aback, that I didn't want to admit to myself or my friend that I'd reached the end of my physical endurance for the day. However, my friend Amy did notice that I was taking rest breaks while she went to look at gardens along the path. We decided to take a break for lunch as we'd seen the exhibits we'd agreed were must-see. On the 15 or 20 minute drive to the restaurant, I kept telling myself, that I'd feel just fine if I could only have a cup of tea. Once we got to the restaurant, I was so tired that I couldn't think straight. I managed to order a cup of tea and something for lunch. We carried our drinks out to the restaurant terrace and sat down at a table. My tea (in a paper to-go cup) was much too hot to sip out of the lid spout. I was determined to take the lid off so it could cool faster. Smart thinking, right? Well, the damn thing was so hot, I couldn't really get a good grip on it and so in my muddled state of mind, I scrabbled around at it and managed to dump most of the steaming contents into my lap. The only thing that saved me from extensive second degree burns, was the timely arrival of another customer who promptly doused my steaming pant leg with ice water and the helpful intervention of the restaurant waitstaff with more first aid.
I thought the moral of this story was that I should be sensible and listen to my body, pay attention to when I'd done enough and rest. Heaven knows, enough people had give me that very pertinent and valuable advice. My primary care physician had even gone so far to suggest that this recovery period was 'a magical time'. I tried hard not to be cynical about that, but that was a little far out for me to appreciate when it was said. I was still too focused on getting to where I thought I should be.
That is until yesterday. I went to a horse show to watch my daughter ride and be as helpful as I could as her gopher. I got up early, bustled about the grounds of the farm where the event was being held. Once there, I ran into my friend, Scott whose horse crazy daughter was also riding at that event. Scott and I had worked together in the past and he is someone who is just a real mensch. Simple as that. As we stood on the sidelines of the cross country course and chatted, I really got going on about my surgery and recovery. I heard myself tell him what a positive experience it had been - how I'd dealt with my pre-op anxiety with hypnosis and how well cared for I felt by my surgeon, the nursing staff at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital,
my family and the staff from the Addison Home Health organization. All things I'd said to other friends before, and all true.
Then, on my way to work this morning, it hit me (no, it didn't occur to me, it hit me like a sledge hammer on a brick wall) that I'd been thinking about my recovery all wrong. Those shaky episodes of exhaustion weren't really about listening to my body and resting. They were - and are - about appreciation. They are opportunities to reflect on, savor and be grateful for the pain free activity that I'd just been blessed with. Was I tired and foot sore when I stopped for a conversation with Scott? You bet I was. But, I was also standing in the middle of an extensive, green and rolling cross-country course that I'd traversed end-to-end once already that day on a beautiful day. I'd played with a pupppy, groomed a horse, cheered on riders, supported my daughter, seen her supported by her friends and watched her pass on the support & encouragement to fellow-competitors. It was a grand day so far and I realized that being tired was a chance to stop and savor it all right in the moment!!
Of course, that analysis didn't happen until the following day, but now, I GET IT!! I get what my doctor was saying....this is indeed a magical time. Miraculous, even. I'd gone from measuring everything I did in terms of what the pain of arthritis would cost me; what I'd have to forego for everything I chose to do. And here I was tired and a little shaky, but having spent a whole morning being active, outdoors and pain free. That is a miracle!! I have a new hip - stainless steel or titanium or whatever it is and my whole life is opening up to me again. I was just too focused on my desired outcome to be without limits or whatever I was calling it at the time to see what an exciting and expansive time this is in my life. I hope I'll remember this lesson for the rest of my recovery and the rest of my life....generalizing it to whatever situation I am about to kvetch and complain about because it doesn't meet my preconceived notions of what life should be. Every moment is an opportunity to stop, be grateful and open yourself up to the wonder of the universe.
Namaste,
Helen
I've been out of commission for the last 8 weeks or so, recovering from hip replacement surgery. In the run-up to surgery, as a sort of insurance policy, I bought supplies and materials thinking magically guarantee that I'd make it through surgery and come safely home. I also had this lovely little fantasy going that my recuperative period would include a creative interlude with time and space to be at my bench. WRONG! I couldn't have been more deluded and in denial. I had no idea how much energy it takes to recover from this kind of thing. And, don't get me wrong, I had a very positive experience in the hospital and afterward and according to my home based medical support, a pretty strong rebound. I just wasn't being terribly realistic about how much energy my healing would take. Unfortunately, it left very little energy for creative endeavors. Even at this point in my recovery, I look at my bench and just feel sort of blank. I have ideas and sketches for projects, projects to complete and I even made a half-hearted attempt at beginning a project. But, I'm just not there yet. So, I'm writing this entry as a statement of faith, that as I complete my physical therapy and muscle strength and endurance come back, so will my enthusiasm for metalsmithing. I am placing my trust in the universe that when the time is right, I'll be drawn back to my bench, happy to immerse myself in making and learning.
Namaste,
Helen
Last week or so I made quite a few ear wires. Each wire was measured and cut to length. I added this to my bench to help with the measuring. It's a simple plastic ruler taped to the bench with packing tape. Now I always know where my ruler is.
I had some time today, so I made a few more pair of earrings. These were some beads I had hanging around, I don't really know what they are. I needed some ear wires so I made some based on this tutorial.
This is a simple set of 4, 6MM hematite beads.
These were hanging around, don't know what they are, but I really like these. I made these ear wires also. Once you get the hang of it, making ear wires is pretty simple.
A little different this time, two beads on opposite ends, lightly hammered to strengthen the curve, homemade ear wires.
These would be a new pair of earrings to go along with the bracelet I made. These are very simple to make. Each one consists of two 8MM hematite beads. To make the earring I cut a small piece of 1.0MM round wire about 40CM long. I heated the end of the wire to form a ball, then popped on the beads and made a loop with round nose pliers. Couldn't be any easier.
Helen asked me what I am planning for my next project. I just made a couple pair of earrings (photos to come soon) but longer term I want to learn CAD/CAM. Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing. In one of my previous jobs I worked with a guy who had a milling machine and it was fascinating watching him create things out of blocks of metal.
There are few different disciplines to learn and master on the path to understanding CAD/CAM. Here is a nice explanation of what is involved.
It's common to think of a metalsmith as hammer and anvil, torch and metal. CAD/CAM design and production places the metalsmith's artistry in a new location, the computer lab and machine shop. Do these techniques make you any less of a traditional metalsmith or more of a metalsmith? Does working in the same medium where you could as easily design a door knob or pair of shoes take away from the experience of being a metalsmith?
Tonight I stopped in the local book store and picked up a couple of my favorite magazines, Art Jewelry and Ornament.
In the past I have been intrigued by textures inside of confined spaces. Hollow forms, interiors filled with mesh or roughness with the bounding beauty of a highly polish surface.
I built the earring to the right for a course I took at UVM a year or so ago. I like their lightness, and how they seem to have a certain weightlessness, simple yet defined.
Flipping through the magazines I became inspired to build another piece. I would like to build a tornado ring. I haven't drawn it out yet, but imagine a stack of pierced silver. Each one containing a section of the tornado, and when stacked on top of each other you could look down inside and see the inside of the tornado. Maybe the bottom will contain a jewel.
