I’m feeling pretty chuffed with myself at the moment: I made this pearl ring from scratch and I think it turned out pretty well! I made the ring using the lost wax casting method: carve the shape from wax; create a mold of ‘investment’ around the wax — sort of like immersing the wax in plaster of paris; heat the plaster mold up in a … Continue reading Thanks, I made it! Cast Silver Ring with Black and White Pearls
I can’t keep myself away from my neighbourhood jewelry studio! I’ve taken a few classes at Jewel Envy: Introductory Fabrication, Introductory Casting, Intermediate Fabrication, and recently I completed an 8-week course on enameling. I must admit, the look of enameled jewelry is not really my first choice for pieces I’d like to wear, but I just love being in the studio and learning new techniques … Continue reading Enameling Class
I’m taking an Intermediate Fabrication class at Jewel Envy. In the last class we learned how to make a die form to create hollow-form shapes. After 3 hours of intense, focused work, I brought my work home to show my husband. “Want to see what it took me all goddam class to make?” I asked as I walked through the door. THIS: “That’s…it?” said Dave. … Continue reading Fabrication class: creating hollow shapes with die forms
I’m actually pretty excited about this. Jewel Envy is having their annual Student Exhibition, showing pieces made by people who took classes there, and I’ve got three pieces in the exhibit. Woot! That’s my blurry silver cuff there on the bottom left of the postcard. But check out that ring second from the left. I’m told that guy made that ring in his first class. … Continue reading Jewel Envy Student Exhibition
No, that doesn’t mean I was hammered while making it. Drunk knitting? No problem. Drunk metalsmithing with blowtorches and sharp tools? Definitely not. 🙂 You may have seen my posts about the wax casting classes I took at Jewel Envy. I enjoyed them so much I signed up for a jewelry fabrication workshop. Here’s the difference: in casting, we learned how to carve things like … Continue reading Jewelry Fabrication Class: the hammered band ring
I love it! I had been searching for a ring just like this on Etsy but to no avail…so I made it myself! This was my final project for the jewelry casting class I’ve been taking at Jewel Envy here in Toronto. I posted previously about carving the wax model and the casting process. Here’s what happened in the last two classes. Below are the … Continue reading Casting class: my giant heart shaped ring
I’ve been taking jewelry-making classes at Jewel Envy, a jewelry studio that recently opened up just around the corner from me. They bought an old house in desperate need of renovations, gutted it, and painted the whole house a vibrant shade of blue (at which point they certainly had my attention). Inside are two floors of studio space for independent jewelers/metal smiths, and some gorgeous … Continue reading Jewelry Class: casting a ring
Frivolous At Last 