Thursday, April 30, 2009

sterling heart...in hand

i have two brothers who are jewelers.  they sit hunched over their jeweler's bench wearing a 20x magnifier on their head, hands always torn up from working with various metals, gemstones, chemicals and soldering sources.  unfortunately, we've always lived in different cities and learning the "tricks of the trade" from them wasn't an option.  so when an opportunity came up to take a metalsmithing class about 13 years ago, i grabbed it (and may i say that after taking this class, i have even more respect and admiration for the job they do and the artistry that's involved!) !  in this class i learned the "lost wax" method, where you sculpt an image from modeling wax, and then it's melted and cast into a mold that fluid metals are later poured into.  it took me about three seconds to decide that i would use my favorite heart-in-hand image....and about three days to sculpt the wax into my favorite image...and another week to do all of the other steps involved after it had been cast!  yikes...it's quite a process!  my final result was a very rustic sterling silver heart-in-hand pin...and every time i wear it, i think about the fabulous work my brothers do, and i have a huge appreciation for it!

14 comments:

presious said...

Oh my goodness!! It is absolutely stunning!! I love it! How creative you are becoming each and every day!...:)

Okay, now you have to start a jewelry line so we, too, can have your pieces!

Just kidding :)....not a bad idea though ;)

Shaina said...

I thought I had a lot of patience! Beautiful job Lori! So talented!

Dolores said...

Oh that is so gorgeous. Well done.

Julie Bagamary said...

It's beautiful.

PrairiePeasant said...

Way to go for trying something new! I feel the same way about LetterPress printing. I took a workshop last year just to see what it was about, and I now have great respect for anyone who works with letterpress.

walther said...

heart in the hand

your heart in my hand

my heart in your hand

xXx

Michelle (aka mybelle101) said...

BEAUTIFUL!! I love it, Lori! I don't suppose I could convince you to make one for me? ;)

I've always wanted to take some metal smithing, but didn't have the chance in college (I was too busy with glass blowing, fusing, and casting!)...it's definitely still on my bucket list, though!

Kelly Warren said...

beautiful lori! i'd love to learn wax casting...yet another thing on my list of things i want to learn...

shiborigirl said...

I love that you tried something new and so far outside the box. Your hard work really paid off, and how nice that it increased your appreciation and enjoyment of your brothers' work at the same time. :)

I keep meaning to take a class in precious metal clay (PMC clay). I think it would be very exciting to do...

Hugs,
Kate

THE BROWN BOYS said...

congrats on your etsy front page 'etc' journal today! Hope you get lots of sales!

Debbie said...

Wow! You did a great job! :-)

julie king said...

you did such a wonderful job on the pin, lori, and i love the rustic quality! i'm intrigued by the fact that you and your two brothers are all very talented artisans. perhaps it ran in your family? i understand ylur pride in what they do. my dad was a brick mason before he retired and two of my 3 brothers are also in that trade. every time i see a beautiful brick building i think of my dad and brothers.

have a great weekend!

noodle and lou said...

ohmygosh...your talents never cease Lori! seriously!!!!
This is stunning, I'm crazy impressed!!!
have a beautiful week:):)
xoxo...jenn

Doda said...

this is beautiful! Well done!

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