Review - Art 21: art in the twenty-first century

There is a fabulous series on PBS called Art 21: art in the twenty-first century. Some friends of mine had told me about it and I already had it in my Netflix Que! I've just started with the first season but am already totally captivated. Each episode highlights a few artists and gives a brief snapshot of who they are in their creative process.

You can check it out on the PBS website, or if you have netflix, you can add seasons 1 thru 5 to your Instant Que and watch them on your computer (or tv!).

I have found them to be wonderfully inspiring.

Etsy Metal Finds

This weeks finds were inspired by cycling. As the weather warms up in the Northern Hemisphere, more and more people are hopping on their bikes as a way to get around. Here are a few tools and accessories to go with your lovely biking adventures!

From Left to Right:

Flying Bike Shirt by Marty May

Tools Included Bike Roll Voyage Blue by Bike Cozy

The Sum of Its Parts Pelican Porteur Bicycle Bag by Partybots

EtsyMetal Jewelry Challenge 7.10: "Hey, That's My Fabric"

WELCOME to the reveal of last weeks' Episode 9

"Takin' It To The Streets!"

Below are our three EtsyMetal member entries!

Last weeks' TV challenge was to create a piece that incorporates the the theme of one of four New York City Neighborhoods. All three participants chose Chinatown!

1. Inbar Baraket: Chinatown

I had framed picture I took last summer in NY china town - Mother carrying her son on her back - Both were very colorful as china town. I made the frame from sterling silver etched with NY skyline and I LOVE NEW YORK on it , the bezel remind me NY high buildings. I used anti reflex glass that made me hard time taking this picture :-)

2. Kira Ferrer: Chinatown

I wanted to do something that was reminiscent of Chinese latticework.

3. Nina Gibson: Chinatown

I've never been to New York, but I've been to Chinatown San Francisco and other areas. This necklace is a tiny Chinese Lantern, made from sterling silver, patterned brass and copper. The beads are vintage glass. I'm re-thinking the yellow - it's a little bright, but I like piece!

Episode 10 :

"Hey, That's My Fabric"

"Project Runway" Season 7 Episode 10 (Hey, That's My Fabric). Guest judge is Vivienne Tam. Air Date: 03/25/10. In this episode, the designers' challenge was to design their own fabric to use for their look.

Have fun and we will see you next week, we are very much looking forward to seeing all your creations! *click to watch Episode 10:

MyLifetime full video here!

Our Jewelry Design Challenge: Please design and create a piece which incorporates

Pattern! Like the prints that were made by the PR contestants, we can pattern our materials. The pattern must be handmade.

**guidelines for guest participants:**

Please read this every week as there may be small updates and changes. The pieces you submit must be pieces that are made specifically for that weeks challenge. Then post your links in this weeks comment area, they will be retrieved as they come in before the deadline.

*We only are accepting guest submissions from our blog comment area at this time, insert your links there. Then please cross-post this to your Blog, Flickr, Etsy, etc. And tag them with "Project Runway Season 7 Episode 9." Currently we will post your name with a link and a picture of your piece on our blog. The new deadline for guest submissions will be Friday at 6 pm, Pacific Standard Time. The new blog posts and the new challenge will go up the weekend after the new episode airs.

New Members: Fluxplay and Inbar Bareket

We're rounding out Etsy's Euro Week with two more of our new international members - fluxplay and inbarbareket!

Maria Whetman - Fluxplay

Maria Whetman aka Fluxplay - In my mothers’ photo album, there are lots of photos of me from as young as 4 peering into holes and picking things up off the floor, I liked to wander the housing estates I grew up in looking for snail shells, rusty metal and interesting rubbish and pretty pebbles. I grew up loving to collect the things that I found around me and making small artworks from bits of card and stuff reclaimed from around the house. That evolved as I got older into making small things that were about found objects then making small things that incorporated found objects…and here we are today. My interests in images, old packaging, old advertising, architectural details, history, textures and patterns are evident in my sketchbooks which in turn feed into my jewellery designs falling into the realms of narrative jewellery. I like my pieces to evoke memories and moods for people or perhaps feelings of curiosity for the story within the piece. There’s never enough time to make-up all the ideas I have, plus I love experimenting too much which is why I named my jewellery persona “fluxplay”, a play on words and a reference to change and movement.

Inbar Bareket

Inbar Bareket - To make the long story short I will begin here: In the last 10 years I was the system (IT) manager of a high-tech software company. About 18 month ago I decided that it's now or never-- I need to do something with my soul-- and I began studying jewelry making and I fell in love.

My jewelry is all created by hand. Most of them are one of a kind pieces. I work with precious metals, especially gold and silver, and precious/semi-precious stones.
I usually don't plan what I'm going to make - I just feel it and go with my emotion. I love the stones and the metal - I feel they are a part of me, and my hands are doing the rest.

SNAG Tool Review Continued--Micro Forming Tools

I was enchanted by the tools offered by N. C. Black Co in the vendor room at the Society of North American Goldsmith's conference.  N. C. Black Co. specializes in micro forming tools for shell forming, raising, and spiculums by offering a full range of hammers, mallets, stakes and forming blocks for metalsmiths.  

These tools are available only at ALLCRAFT TOOL Co. and are 100% made in the United States.  I couldn't find a website address for Allcraft, but I do have a phone number to call for the tools, (212) 279-7077.  People were constantly at the booth trying out various hammers.  I don't remember a time when they had an empty booth!

They also had handouts available to show how each hammer was used to create these different micro forms.  I decided in the interest of time that I would visit them after I get home since they are located in North Carolina.  I am planning to travel to the Sawtooth School to get a lesson on these beautiful tools. 

Open-backed rub-over setting...without any wobble!

This versatile setting allows light behind the stone and is smart and minimalist.

• You can use it to set stones of opaque or translucent quality.
• It works for most flat-backed stones as well as faceted stones, cut stones, or smooth cabochons.
• You can make the inner bezel from thicker metal if your stone needs a wider ‘seat’ to sit on.
• You can make this setting for most shapes of stones, with a little practice.
• You can incorporate this setting into virtually any kind of jewellery, from rings to necklaces…it all depends on your own ability and skill level.

1. Measure the height of your stone with dividers or a strip of paper then allow a few millimetres more, as I have done here. You may notice that my dividers live in a damp environment and are in dire need of oiling!

2. Mark out a strip of metal to the width that you have set in step 1. The length needs to be long enough to wrap around the circumference of your stone but allow much more to play with. The metal needs to be really thin, thin enough that you can easily cut it with scissors, thin enough to eventually rub over your stone with ease, but not so thin that it would quickly melt when you solder it onto your piece of work….this will vary according to your ability and how bulky the item you are soldering onto is.

3. Cut it out with scissors or snips. Now use some narrow flat-nose pliers to bend the strip into a square for a square / rectangular / triangular etc shaped stone. Use round or half-round pliers for round, oval etc stones, or a combination of pliers for unusual shaped stones. Match the strip up to the stone to check you are creating the right shape. Gently anneal the strip if you’ve work-hardened the metal with over shaping and re-shaping.

4. You can see here that I’ve made 2 of the corners for this faceted square CZ stone and I’m matching the strip up to stone before marking in pencil where the next bend needs to be. Decide when looking at your mark at this point, whether you are going to place your pliers on one side of the line, on the line, or to the other side of the line….it can make a big difference to how your setting looks, but notice how many stones are not as geometric and perfect as they may at first appear to be!


5. Here you can see the finished square next to its owner. You may notice that the stone is narrower across the lower length…it is not as square as it first appeared.

6. Here is the stone in its Bezel that we have just made. It’s a snug fit. The bezel was soldered closed with hard solder and a careful, small flame on a crème bruleẽ torch. Now make another one of these squares, but in a thicker metal, and make it NOT to wrap around the stone, but to fit snugly inside the 1^st square (bezel). Make it the same height as your stone. It will be the seat your stone sits on.


7. Above you can see the stone, the bezel (1^st square) and the inner seat (2^nd square), side by side for comparison. Solder the ‘seat’ closed now, or in the next step.

8. Ok, now solder the seat into the bezel with hard solder. You may choose to be soldering the ‘seat’ closed at the same time, all in one go…it’s not hard, it will happen without you even having to try if your inner square fits snugly in your outer square….hang on though, before you go for it, just read the next step (step 9).

9. You are looking at the bottom, the ‘base’, the underside of the setting. Excess ‘seat’ is protruding (we’ll remove it later), but this protrusion is handy for placing your solder against. If you place your solder inside the setting then you are in danger of inadvertently ruining your nice neat, crisp edged seat with excess solder or possibly solder residue from insufficient heating, the stone wont sit happily. By soldering from underneath, you allow for your mistakes or novice ability…and no one will know! Make sure your stone sits so that enough of the outer bezel protrudes above the 'girdle' of your stone, for you to be able to rub over.

10. And here is the finished setting. Snip and file away the underside so it’s neat. Solder onto your piece of work, clean up/polish etc, place your stone in. If your bezel isn’t that thin, then you might want to file the top 1mm or so, in order that it pushes over easily. Push each side over with your Pusher, 1^st one side, then the opposite and so on, all the way around. Next, for a tight fit that avoids ‘wobbly stone’ use your pusher to carefully push down on the very lip of the bezel. Just a bit of pressure is needed to ensure a tight fit. The edge of the lip effectively curls over and ‘bites’ into the stone…but not that you can see it, see the illustration here…..;

Finish by rubbing the edge with your Burnisher, all the way around, always rubbing in one direction so as not to stretch the metal, just enough to harden, too much will wrinkle it. This hardens and shines up the setting nicely. Here you can see two of my brooches which each feature a little set CZ stone, one square, one round. I use this setting also for cabochons.

Etsy Metal Finds

Easter is just around the corner, and here are a couple of fresh finds on Etsy....

From Left to Right:

Chocolate Bunny Sugar Cookies by Just-Iced

Love by Lisel Jane

Today Dress by Thimble and Acorn