In the Studio :: Metalsmith 101 with dad

One year, ten months, and nineteen days--the amount of time it takes for a lot of stuff to happen.. and I have zero blog posts to show for it. What can I say, life happens much faster than my speed of blogging! But one of the highlights of recent months is finally getting metalsmith lessons from my dad. For many years during my childhood, my father worked as a goldsmith. He did not immigrate to the states with this trade, but somehow taught himself soon after settling here. And all the equipment that I'm now using to learn this trade are the same pieces of equipment that my father worked on decades before. Rusty, dusty, and so full of history.

There is something very meditative about playing with a torch and some metal. I'm not sure what it is about it that I'm drawn to, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. And it is much harder than it looks. Good thing practicing is fun...and I have so much to learn!

Here are just a few preliminary pieces I made while practicing my soldering techniques. I've been using a lot of copper to practice with because it's more affordable than sterling silver and I have to say, I really love the look of it! Not so much a fan of the shiny copper look, but when oxidized and textured, copper really adds a nice rustic quality and dimension to jewelry. I've worked with copper in the past, but haven't used it much until recently and I've already incorporated copper into a lot of new jewelry pieces. They're not listed online yet and I'll probably debut them at my upcoming show next month!  Details soon.

It feels great to be blogging again. I'd love to hear what you think of my new layout and look!