Denizen of the Deep Deeps

The first die formed tin piece is now finished.  I am pleased with it, considering that it is a prototype for a series I am designing.  The flashy lure is moveable on one axis -- it swivels around the setting rivet.

Here's the abyssal anglerfish all finished. All the metal is recycled tin, except for the copper rivets and the memory wire pin.

These little nasties lurk in the deepest, darkest part of the sea, gaping wide and dangling a bioluminescent lure that just dazzles dinner, who swims up to investigate, unaware of the dark predator behind the pretty light.  Then SNAP, it's all over.

Die Formed Tin Experiment Work in Progress

Victoria Takahashi kindly coached me on the making of matrix dies and using the die press.  My first try was with recycled metal from the bottom of a cake tin, using 6,000 lb. of pressure, padded with multiple layers of Z-foam.  The die was made of cast polycarbonate, drilled (low speed) and cut with a jeweler's saw frame and spiral blade.  I am planning to assemble with rivets and add a stainless steel wire pin to the back to make a brooch.

Studio Improvement

I just got a portable jeweler's bench top to add to my worktable.  At last!  A bench pin that doesn't wiggle, and the ability to get close to the work without bending my poor old neck.  Isn't it spiffy? Next project: replace the tables with a sturdy wooden built-in.  On my tools to get list:  drill press, EZ Torch from Otto Frei, and when it rains dollar bills and roses, a hydraulic press.  The craving for tools seems to be bottomless.

Cheating the Well of Nonbeing

My first work with silver in quite a while began yesterday, as I decided to use some old failed pieces of silverwork that came to me from flea market leftovers.  The ring shank was a nice, solid half dome sterling wire, with a battered, unsuccessful split at the top, most likely meant to hold a bezel.  I opened that, trimmed it, and spring fit four prongs to a silver salt shaker lid, intending to rivet an ancient carnelian bead inside.  After an hour of dinking around with tiny rivet components, they of course rolled off my bench and into the Well of Nonbeing on my floor.  I did find one, and decided to proceed without the rest.  Setting the rivet resulted in another trip into the Well of Nonbeing; the whole thing was not happy with its parts and it failed to come together, preferring to fly apart and separate into the Well.  After a few monosyllabic remarks, I began looking for a solution.  That's when the magic happened -- an old mirrored glass sugar button with a broken shank begged to be tried in the shaker lid, and it fit like pure destiny, with just the right amount of silver above the edge to burnish over it and set it like a precious stone.  Happy, happy, happy.  This is so sweet; the button loves the shaker lid and vice versa -- they tell a story the dear old bead could not have told.

So, Well of Nonbeing, 0, Maker, 1.  I win (this time).

I get a kick out of doing my own packaging. It's all from recycled cardboard and 1912 magazine pages. The paper is long past its use-by date, so it cracks and tears and makes for a great shabby look. The fragments of old poetry and ad copy often come together in unexected, funny ways. I have an old sea trunk full of ephemera destined for this use and for collages. Well, I see the little boxes as a great exercise in construction, but also as 3D collages.

Here's an order, wrapped and ready to package for the post.

There's an added satisfaction:  this is entirely post-use recycling, not plastic, and won't end up in the carcass of an albatross or a fish's belly.

In the background is a sachet that I like to include as a lagniappe, filled with patchouli leaves, rose petals, red cedar shavings, lavender and balsam fir.  It makes for a good, natural, sweet-smelling way to repel insects and scent your closet all at once.

Piercing Tin With Jeweler's Saw

I know some makers avoid using the jeweler's saw -- it can be tricky, the blades can break and you feel like you're hacking away at your project.  But!  A few adjustments in tools, technique and attitude can make you fall in love with that tricky saw.  Here's a project in the works:  middle-eastern inspired flapper dangles with pierced arabesques cut from (don't tell) an old Hostess Fruitcake tin.

The secret of using the saw is first to have the right blade for the metal you are using:  in this case very thin steel.  That means at least 3 teeth per thickness of the metal.  I used a 6/0 blade, and believe it or not, just one blade, one I had used on other projects, and finally threw out because it got dull.  The other secret is to use a relaxed hand in holding the saw, even letting your pinky finger tilt up like you're drinking tea from a fine china cup. This will help you avoid pushing the saw through the metal and just let the tee-tiny teeth of the saw blade do the work.  Keep the saw more or less in the same place, and turn the work piece gently with the other hand.  Then remember that if your mind wanders, so will the cutting line.  It can be like meditation, and enjoyable, with a little attitude adjustment!

When buying blades, get the best quality and look for ones that have a rounded back edge.

Once you get the hang of it on tin, you can progress to other metals, and it will be soft and silky like butter!

Dear friends -- I have been away from blog posting for a long spell, and now, if I can find out how to do it, want to close this site, or at least change the header and name to match that of my Etsy shop, yesdearsister.  I've been making new beach-themed things and rings lately; here are some of them.  As always, they feature recycled, reclaimed, components.  Here you'll see sea pottery, beach glass, distressed printed tin, a tintype and pressed flowers.  It's been great fun to make rings again after many years of not making them, and see them fly away to new fingers.  Next challenge: a good adjustable ring.

Shall I close this blog or just rename it?  Hmmmm.