in which our plucky heroine shares the process of going from a concept and initial sketch to a finished pendant: this example, based on coin design from ancient Athens, was commissioned as a Christmas gift by my pal Vesta for her boyfriend, so it had to be kept secret until after the holiday. He was as delighted to receive it as I was to have been chosen to create it...
My original sketch, (after being enlarged to suit)
Wires bent to match design
starting to apply wires to enamel
six layers of enamel so far, going into the kiln to fire another layer of black
... gosh I love the leaded French enamels; they are sooo nice to work with
enameling is done, black dots on the owls chest are done with painting enamels...
The completed enamel in a simple silver setting,
ready to be mailed out to make someone very happy this Christmas!
a ruler shows the scale of the design...
the pendant is actually just about 1¼" in diameter
This pendant is simply gorgeous! What a lucky recipient! Happy Boxing day to you Alison.
ReplyDeleteHappy Boxing Day Claire! I am looking forward both to starting on my SWAP sewing, and to meeting you in person in a few weeks....
Deletethank you Ruthie... This sort of jewelery-making is part of my income stream, and is also what I have my undergraduate degree in, and I am always delighted and honored to have people choose me to handcraft their special pieces
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