Experimenting with Etching

In the past nine-and-a-half months since Sawyer was born I haven't had much time to make production jewelry, let alone experiment. The little time I am able to get I usually work on class development and making samples. One new class Sonja at Sticks & Stones in Mankato wanted to be able to offer was etching.

The Bead Monkey, here in the Twin Cities, is also offering etching but, as I understand, they are using Ferric Chloride. This is a great mordant, but only lasts so long and, as with all etchants, needs to be treated as hazardous waste when it's spent. It's also a very dark solution, so you can't see what's happening as the etchant works on the metal. So, for those reasons I started working, instead, with a seed batch of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, which after etching a couple of copper pieces turns into the reusable, refreshable cupric chloride. Cupric chloride is a mordant for copper and brass, and I still need to see if it has any effect on sterling silver whatsoever, but for the very low cost, lack of trips to the hazardous waste facility, transparency of solution, and effectiveness, I really like this stuff so far.

When you mix a new batch of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide (in a 3:1 ratio, done in a pyrex mixing cup -- a different brand than the kind you might have in your kitchen to prevent accidental switching) the bite it has on the metal is quite fast and deep. Very nice. I've started to notice, now that my solution has turned into the cupric chloride, that the bite isn't as deep. The result isn't necessarily bad. After about 20 minutes, running my fingers over the metal, I can't feel a textural difference, but there is a visual difference. The non-etched metal that was covered by the resist is very shiny, but the etched portion is matte. I think it's a very nice effect. Now, I've left a piece in the solution for the night. We'll see the wisdom and result of this in the morning.

The resist I used in this case I was using DecoColor opaque paint markers in white and black ... both work the same but the white cleans up better. Both require turpentine. When the solution was fresh (HCl and H2O2), I tried using red and brown Sharpie markers. The ink tended to disappear over time, particularly if I didn't go over the lines more than once, but what I had originally drawn was clear in the etch and the gradual removal of the ink may just have been due to the strength of the acid. I still need to try the DecoColor pens with in the fresh solution. I suspect it will be more durable than the Sharpie drawings, but I don't yet know if it will totally resist the mordant or not. I've also purchased some asphaltum (and Ferric Chloride, for that matter) with which I can do some sgrafitto, but the downside is that you need Naphtha to remove the asphaltum when you're done and it seems a little silly to buy Naphtha for just that one application, whereas I use turpentine - needed to remove the paint from the paint markers - for other things, too.

We'll see what we have tomorrow. I'll also edit this post then and upload some photos. Yay!

Color of the Season

The season is the reason ... 'tis the season ... given the date you'd probably think I was talking about the 2009 holiday season, but in terms of fashion that's a distant memory. Nope, I'm referring to the Spring/Summer 2010 colors, and even then I'm late on board. Color is serious business!

There are several sources for season color forecasts. Pantone is perhaps the most widely recognized, but after a quick Google search I found a website, Fashion Trend Setter, that summarized the PANTONE Colors and also several other color forecasting fashion sites such as Interfilière and Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF).

On the ten compiled images below, I compare the 10 PANTONE Colors with the closest matching colors from those other two forecasts. The large squares on the left are the PANTONE Colors, the rectangles are CIFF colors, and the small squares are from Interfilière. What amazed me was, although each company forecasts a different number of colors - sometimes several palates of color, was that I could find very similar colors in each. The take-away being that there does truly seem to be international consensus, at least, about the tones and hues of color that will be important in design.

Taking these colors, I wanted to write a little about where we can find these colors among the raw materials used in jewelry design. In specific, glass rods for lampworking and semi-precious gemstones, since those are the sources of color I use most. So selfish!

Glass rods, generally being more affordable than stones, were more familiar to me so I knew where to look for specific colors. The glass rods shown in the images come from a variety of companies in different coefficients of expansion (COE). Moretti, Effetre, Lauscha, and CiM are COE 104, Bullseye is COE 90, and Glass Alchemy is COE 32-33. These images come from a variety of websites that sell glass including Frantz Art Glass, Lauscha Lady, Glass Alchemy, and Bullseye. I have personally purchased rods from all of these sources except Bullseye, which I purchase at my local glass store, J Ring Glass Studio.

Finding matching colors in semi-precious gemstones was a little trickier, primarily because stones are never one single color and some vary more than others. I started by looking at websites with good examples of stones, Fire Mountain Gems, and Holygemstone. I then used Google Images to see how much color variation existed for any given stone. If the color in a stone is relatively consistent, I give you the link for the Google Images result.


A semi-precious gemstone with a similar color is Kambaba Jasper. Holygemstone has some Ocean Jasper this color.


Holygemstone has some River Jasper this color. Another semi-precious gemstone with a similar color is Bamboo Jasper or some examples of Ocean Jasper.


Holygemstone has some Poppy Jasper this color.


Fire Mountain Gems has a great selection of Calcite this color. Holygemstone has some Picture Jasper this color.


Citrine often has this color.


Google Images shows a great variety of Pink Coral, which is a great match for this color.


Again, you can see from Google Images that Red Coral, though coming in a variety of hues, often comes in strands this color.



Although Amethyst comes is a wide range of hues, you can often find them with this color. Sugilite, an absolutely stunning semi-precious gemstone, also frequently comes in this color.


I think that the best match for this color is Lapis Lazuli. If you're finding strands that are too dark, try looking for Denim Lapis.


This is another stone with a lot of color variation. Some is a bright blue, but you can find a lot of true color Turquoise, too.

So, if you haven't gotten a start using the new colors yet, and if you actually managed to wade your way through the post, I hope this gives you some good places to start!

Happy Anniversary Sean!

Yup, today is our 3rd anniversary. That's not normally a bloggable topic except that today, instead of celebrating with my honey, I was teaching a Silk and Stone Necklace class this evening at BeYaGi. Tomorrow, of course, is the Art Show, then Friday we're driving to New Ulm - scheduled as such because I'm supposed to be teaching two classes at Sticks & Stones on Saturday. Doh!

Granted, I'm not one of those girls with my anniversary date tattooed to my brain, which is why a class ended up getting scheduled for today. But now that today's here, and the rest of this week's schedule is what it is, part of me wishes I had a little more time for us today. Alas.

Website Updates

Okay, so I still need to update the classes, but I have put a new face on the website by revamping the main page. I'm pretty proud of it. It's a little cleaner than the last version and it does a better job of showcasing my work, hopefully providing a better enticement to venture further - giving a little more value to updating the class information. So, if you don't access my blog through the main page of my website, check it out!

http://Autochthonous-Evolved.com

P.S. I own more than one domain name, so you can access my website through two other URLs:

http://AutochthonousEvolved.com
http://AutEvLampwork.com

Classes and Art Show

So, among some of the other tasks that have fallen by the wayside in my adjustment to being a new mom is that I haven't updated my website with the classes I'm teaching or announced the small art show I'm doing October 8th.

The art show is called the Art Scoop and is held next door to a local ice cream shop, across from Washington Middle School, about six blocks away from where I live. I've been part of the show since the first one two years ago (and the one last year which was switched to coincide with the July Rice Street Festival), so I'm very excited to continue being part of the local art community! I've posted the times, date, location, and some images of the jewelry I'll be bringing with on my website:

http://www.autochthonous-evolved.com/ArtScoop2009.htm

I posted previously about teaching at BeYaGi and the Bead Gallery, as well as at Sticks and Stones in Mankato. So, as I work on updating that information on my website, here's a brief synopsis of the classes and dates I'll be teaching at each place:

BeYaGi (more classes to be added as the demand is assessed):
Silk and Stone necklace (basic stringing/macreme)
- Wednesday October 7th, 6-8pm
Multimedia Accessories (basic loop-and-wrap wirework)
- Thursday October 15th, 6-8pm

Sticks and Stones:
Ameoba Links (basic soldering)
- Saturday October 10th, 10am-12:30pm
Spinner Rings (intermediate soldering)
- Saturday October 10th, 1:30-4pm
Faux Chain (basic wirework)
- Saturday October 24th, 10am-12:30pm
Deja Vous Links (intermediate wirework)
- Saturday October 24th, 1:30-4pm

Bead Gallery - Woodbury:
Beyond Stringing (basic design/intermediate stringing)
- Monday October 19th, 6-8pm
Art Deco Rivoli (intermediate wirework)
- Thursday October 22, 6-8pm
Faux Chain (basic wirework)
- Tuesday November 10th, 6-8pm
Fused loop-in-loop bracelet (basic fusing)
- Sunday December 6th, 1-4pm
More Crazy Wire Rings (intermediate wirework)
- Monday December 7th, 6-8pm
Herringbone Cable (basic beadwork)
- Thursday December 10th, 6-8pm

Bead Gallery - White Bear Lake:
More Crazy Wire Rings (intermediate wirework)
- Tuesday October 20th, 6-8pm
Herringbone Cable (basic beadwork)
- Monday October 26th, 6-8pm
Fused Charm Bracelet (basic+ fusing)
- Sunday November 1st, 1-4pm
Art Deco Rivoli (intermediate wirework)
- Thursday November 12th, 6-8pm
Beyond Stringing (basic design/intermediate stringing)
- Monday November 16th, 6-8pm
Faux Chain (basic wirework)
- Thursday November 19th, 6-8pm

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday!

Today is my Birthday and we're celebrating 27 for the ... something-th time ... making it a good time to reflect on what's happened over the last year.

I'm teaching in three stores now - four if you count that Bead Gallery has two locations. The newest place is BiYaGi in Little Canada on Little Canada Road just east of Rice Street. The classes I'm teaching there will be really basic classes in the near future, then building up as the clientelle builds up and the skills of the current clients strengthen. I'm extremely excited about all of that. The more I can teach bead- and jewelry-related classes the more I can be home with Sawyer during the day and not completely let my resume go to crud.

I was a substitute teacher for the St. Paul school district last school year, with a long term Social Studies subbing position in February, just before I had Sawyer. I have my first subbing job for this new school year scheduled already, so I'm excited about that, too. The only sticky wicket is that I get paid about what it costs for Sawyer to be in day care, so I'm hoping to find some creative solutions there. It's good for the resume, and all of that, but at the end of the day Sawyer's fomula still costs money if I'm not at home to feed him, so it'd be nice to come out ahead in the financial realm.

Being a stay at home mom has been a lot of work, as any stay at home parent knows. The days that Sean has to work late or has Tae Kwon Do (he's a second-degree b lack belt now) get pretty long. Even the days he's home at 6 I'm chomping at the bit for a break by then. That being said, it's hard to imaging letting someone else take care of him. When I was coaching fencing for three weeks this summer my dad, who was one of the many people who got laid off, watched Sawyer for me, but family is a tolerable option. It's sort of a love-hate thing, particularly since I have an at-home business; when I'm at home I feel like I should be working and while watching Sawyer is work of a sort, it's not the kind that results in a happier bank account, but my handsome little boy always wins out. I am waiting for the time when he's a little more independent and I can work more - hopefully keeping the boy occupied by showing him some age-appropriate jewelry-making and fabrication skills.

What else?

Not a whole lot, really. One little thing is that I made the bridal-party necklaces for my brother-in-law's wedding in July. In the hustle and bustle of last-minute adjustments I forgot to get pictures and will have to see if the photographer got one with a good shot of the jewelry. The bridal party members were all stunning, so it'd be great to have model-like shots for my website.

All in all I've had many blessings this year and I'm thankful for each one!

Three Months Later ...

I had my handsome little boy, Sawyer Patrick Bowen, on 18 March 2009 at 12:56am. He was 7 pounds 3 ounces and 20.75 inches. We decided to go with the Irish nod in the middle name despite missing St. Patrick's day by less than an hour. He's 1/16 Irish from my side of the family, so we figured it still worked. A few images of the little snickelfritz for your curiosity:

Clean and Sleepy


Downtown Saint Paul with Daddy


Puuuuke


So Serious


Shocking!


Smiley Sawyer


I also have additional photos on my Facebook page, which is public.

I've been teaching a few classes at the Bead Gallery - despite the fact that I haven't altered my website to demonstrate this - as well as two at Sticks and Stones. In my time at home, during Sawyer's increasingly infrequent and short naps, I have had a chance to make some pretties, with some photos also on Faceobook. Take a look!