Jewelry Class - Completed

I had meant to post weekly updates about the jewelry class I was taking, but boy did those 4 weeks fly by fast! So, I will take the opportunity to do it now. First, I'd like to introduce you to our cool teacher Emily Wohlscheid. You can see her blog here and check out her Etsy shop here. Not only does she work in metal, but she also works with fiber. She joins the 2 to make lovely jewelry creations! She does several shows during the year and also sells in the Art Center gift shop. She taught us many cool things and I enjoyed chatting with her about displays, doing shows, Etsy, where to shop for tools, etc.....

I set up a better little metal studio in my basement since I wanted to keep it all separate from my jewelry studio. Working with metal can be loud and messy so it really wouldn't have worked with all of my delicate bead trays and such. Having an organized/designated space will prompt me to keep up with these skills.
Since my first post, I have added a few more tools to my collection: a die set that punches different size circles and a dapping set. I am looking forward to making my own bead caps now!

Among the many techniques we learned, one was roller printing. Similar to etching, it creates a raised pattern on your metal. With roller printing, you first have to anneal the metal and then as long as your image is dry and flat, it will work. I used a stencil I had to create these peacock feathers. I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet - I can always cut them into different shapes from here - but I did put a patina on them to bring the pattern out more.

And, I am happy to report that I do have a completed project and it did come from my original inspiration during our first class: to somehow use the rivets as owl eyes. You can see my sad little first try here. I am glad that I was able to expand on this idea and cut out a better owl head. I then etched an outline on him to give him a more finished look and to add interest. Then pantina of course. His eyes and nose are scrapbook elements (the gears are from Tim Holtz). I am so thrilled with how he turned out, and I am excited to do more! Perhaps an entire owl series! I have collected many cool objects that can be used as eyes and noses. I didn't want to compromise his design by poking any additional holes in him for stringing, so I adhered a bail since I took this picture. I think just suspending him from a simple chain or leather will be perfect. Be on the lookout for more of these owls - hopefully coming soon!