Bang banging away....Repousse.

As pitch is nasty stuff and not very green at all, i tried different ways of using the idea of repousse.  My intention here was to create the intaglio effect without using a pitch bowl. I tried a stamp system to create the larger more protruding veins and then chased on a scrap piece of pine wood for the more delicate veins. 

 It sort of worked but my silver kept buckling, as there was nothing to support it.

Sustainable Casting....

Cuttlefish cast leaf-test piece. 

sand cast bronze leaf- test piece

Generally casting is used to reproduce delicate or intricate designs or for mass producing a design. Neither of these desired affects can be satisfied through either of these primitive techniques of casting. Sand and Cuttlefish casting are two techniques of primitive casting that are resource minimal, energy saving and pollution free. Bonus with these techniques is that they leave a unusual  beautifully rough finish to your piece (particularly cuttlefish casting) therefore minimal cleaning up is required (further sustainable). They also add an element of surprise, as you never know exactly how the cast will turn out.

Manufacturing Practice- Techniques

This list includes the techniques I use to create a desired effect on my metal (this has a relatively small scale negative impact) but some of these may need either alternate methods to ones generally used or have to be cut out completely.

     A.  Piercing- Includes saw frame and saw blades

B.Enameling- Glass enamel, glue, which is organic based gum and a kiln. The problem with kilns is they draw a heck load of electricity. 
      Alternative- Torch firing enamels, this just means there is less room for the various techniques of                      enameling. and that the backs of the pieces will burn slightly- adds to the effect i guess.

 C.Etching- To etch silver nitric acid is used.YUK. big NO NO. So i oust that completely.  
       Alternative- Find out if there is an eco alternative to get a similar effect. 

D.Chasing and Repousse- I make my own Chasing punches out of old tool steel, using old allen keys. Im not sure if using pitch is a problem or if i need to find alternatives. Ive worked on pine scraps, but detail is a problem as the plate needs to be held still. 

 E. Fly pressing- Uses a 20 ton hydrolic jack- second hand ones are easily available.

F.Casting- common lost wax casting technique for the entire process can include the necessity for , A valconizer, silicone, Pattern wax (aka injection wax), flasks, investment(terrible stuff), a de-bubblizer/casting machine and a kiln. 
     Alternative- Sand casting, or cuttle fish casting

G. Blackening- Liver of sulphur (also terrible stuff).
       Alternative- Boiled egg, re usable airtight container. 

      Im looking for other sustainable techniques that can create detail.Not really sure how to go about this just yet. I think a good place to start would be to look into primitive and ancient techniques and tools. By default they mostly made jewellery in a "sustainable" way because they had fewer resources and no mass production abilities. I would also have to look into cutting out certain techniques, like ones that include the use of toxic chemicals, and other un-essential, negative impact methods. 


   
   This post is to continuously be edited and added to.

Egg- The Eco friendly alternative to Liver of Sulphur

So never been quite so excited about egg (other than when I've had a few too many glasses of wine the night before :)). I came across a site called ''Finishings dot com''... and through a conversations thread by jewellers found this out-
The trick here is easy peasy, hard boil an egg, break the shell and squash it a little. Then leave it for a day in an air tight container with the piece of jewellery. If the piece has not been polished it blackens in a couple of hours, if its polished it take a little longer. The areas you don't want blackened cover with tape, i used masking tape but with the moisture from the egg it just peeled off. The solder joints stayed white, but will see with my next test. This is how my test pieces turned out ;) Now to use it on actual jewellery.

the back 1 is fine silver and the front one is 925. 

Replacing Etching.

I want the cow shrine I'm making to be wonderfully decorative, as traditional Shrines generally are. To achieve this, a suitable technique would be etching, It really is a beautiful technique, but unfortunately requires the use of harsh Nitric acid. Which is why I've got to explore other suitable techniques that can possibly match/compare to the intricate detail that comes out when etching.

eg.1. Etched Bangle by Virginia Vivier

eg.2. Etched silver, Sarah Alford

Techniques that I would use to replace etching could be-

 - Piercing- then layering pierced plates (to give a sense of depth).

 - Roll Milling - Giving the metal an indented texture or pattern.

 - Engraving- Perfect technique..... but i need at least a million years practice before i dare. 

 - Chasing- adds the same sort of depth dimension as engraving would, I suppose (yet less detailed).

For this pendant I think I'm going to use piercing and roll milling layered together, maybe also small accents of chasing.

Jewellery for Sustainability

My intention is to manufacture jewellery using sustainable practices and techniques. I'm not really sure how to go about this just yet. I think a good place to start would be to look into primitive and ancient techniques and tools. By default they made jewellery in a "sustainable" way because they had fewer resources and no mass production abilities. I also want my jewellery to have the narrative message of what being 'green' means to me. I am passionate about sustainability through lifestyle awareness and conscious choices, so as a jeweller I'd like to do the same.

I think Jewellery's environmental footprint is made up of two factors:

1. The trade. By this i mean the process of jewellery manufacture (this has relatively small scale negative impact).
2. The raw material. Traditional jewellery generally is made from metal and stones. These are extracted from our earth through mining,(which has a significant negative environmental impact).

By breaking Jewellery's environmental impact down to two, i can focus my personal strategy for making sustainable jewellery . I can reduce my footprint by

1. Consciously choosing manufacturing processes(possibly primitive ones) and materials that are better for the environment, and
2. Sourcing low-footprint raw materials. Using recycled silver and ethically sourced stones. I am using recycled silver that has been extracted from old x-rays (a process i am keen to find out more about).

I think i may finally understand what it is that Im trying to do, hope so :) and having some fun.

Creating a pod by form folding.

Trying to make a pod.... looks a little more like an oyster though. Will try form folding starting out with different shapes and see where it takes me.

trying out fold forming

I cut a marquise shape out of .4mm fine silver plate, then folded it in half. Left hand side, forged along the fold and right hand side forged along outside edge. metal moves opposite directions, changing the shape. once opened the one on the left forged along the fold becomes concave shape whilst the other convex type shape. i think this would be an effective technique to use to create pods.

Half way through the year........ looking back

So far i have spent most of this year making orders, which have mostly all been remakes of the range i took with me to Design Indaba. Through this continuous re-production i have become far better with the techniques of chasing and enamelling. I enjoy these techniques and will probably at some stage go back to them, or use them minimly with other techniques, but for now they limit my options ( in terms of "3D" form, i am only able to work on fine flat plate ).

I have not spent very much time designing and experimenting with new ideas, until recently. Working with ceramics and carving have enabled me to realize the potential in producing jewellery in a more sustainable way and with more form.

Fun with ceramics

Really enjoyed working with ceramics, and definitely intend on doing lots more, until they are good enough to use in my jewellery . For eg these carved ceramic
beads i would like to underglaze and glaze in pretty garden colours and maybe even add gold leaf to areas. To use as pendents or rings, could maybe set them in an organic way.











My first carved pot i underglazed with green and iron oxide, then glazed. For the second one i just iron oxide-ed it and then sanded it off in raised areas. prefer this look, its more natural.

I think i enjoyed the ceramics so much because it made me start to think about other options in my jewellery, because i like the idea that with carving you can create different depths/ layers on a single surface , things start to look a little more interactive rather than just flat.

I also like the idea that ceramic elements can be carved and then sand casted(primative casting). This is a sustainable form of casting and elements can be made into dies, allowing for intresting possibilitys.

Emotional piece

For this piece of jewellery I wanted to portray feelings of happiness joy and fulfilment. I therefore thought back to a time when I felt particularly happy which was living in Underberg. Part of what made this time special to me was the beauty surrounding me and the 3 hrs of yoga I did daily.

This was significant as it taught me a lot about myself and the life style I want to pursue. The yoga allowed me to relate it back to Indian designs as they aesthetically appeal to me. As well as the bright strong colour.

The technique I used is piercing as I feel it somehow is able portray a certain amount of depth whilst been decorative and effective. I also used enamel as I wanted to show the bright happiness that I felt at this time.

I would definitely like to expand on this piece by putting more time and thought into it as I believe with that it could be really beautiful. I think it is successful in showing the emotions I felt. I learnt about setting issues and a bit about enamelling, but most importantly I think that with every piece of jewellery I learn how to look at life from a different perspective and it allows me to put time and thought into aspects of life that I appreciate, as well as learning something new about myself each time, that’s what’s most important to me.

The feedback I received was overall positive, I think, and helped me to try and become more decorative. I am excited to make a beautiful chain for this pendant to finish the piece off.