I started these earlier this week by forging some backs using three different hammers. They each resulted in some slightly different effects, but they all will make some nice jewelry. I selected one and cut it in two, then filed the edges and drilled it for stone mounting.

I then soldered in a 5mm fine silver bezel mount from Rio Grande, then made and soldered jump rings for the chain attachment.

For the stones, I chose a pair of 5mm zircons that arrived recently. These are pale blue zircons from Cambodia. Many people confuse zircons with cubic zirconia, or CZ, but they’re totally different stones. CZs are manmade, lab-grown diamond substitutes. Zircons are naturally-occurring, mined stones. While some synthetic zircons exist, they’re comparatively rare. Natural stones are found in a variety of colors, including yellows, pinks, greens, “champagne” and blues. They are commonly heated to increase clarity and intensity of colors. Like all stones that I buy, I tested these with a polariscope to make sure they’re genuine… I find a lot of fakes with a polariscope. Zircons were traditionally used as a diamond substitute. While they are slightly softer than diamonds- 6-7.5 on the MOHS scale- they have a high level of dispersion and clarity, which makes them a very sparkly stone.

I do a lot of jewelry with bezel settings, as the continuous band around the edge of the stone provides a level of protection. Prong settings would be fine for this stone, but opals are very rarely seen with a prong setting due to their softness.

The finished necklaces are small and delicate, and the bright stones contrast nicely with the fire-toned nickel backplates. Both are available for sale at $120 each.

This necklace features a 5mm Zambian rose garnet weighing .96 carats. I like these stones for several reasons. Since garnets are less expensive than rubies, it’s much more likely to be a genuine stone. While it’s certainly possible, it’s much less likely that gem sellers will try to pass a fake. Being less expensive, a better grade of stone is usually seen. This one shows nice clarity and reflects a lovely deep red color. Garnets achieve this naturally and are not typically heat treated. A similarly-sized ruby would be very, very expensive.

The second necklace completed this week is a dichroic glass pendant. This particular piece of glass was made by a student at the Appalachian Center for Craft, unfortunately I cannot remember her name. I purchased a number of pieces of glass from her somewhere around 2003 or so.

Both of these necklaces are available for sale at the Irritable Pelican Art Gallery on Tybee Island.

Here are some new earrings that I’ve recently finished. The square forms are something new, with the idea of being  match for my necklaces… thanks to Sarah Bernzott at the Irritable Pelican Gallery for the suggestion. They’re made of hammered sterling silver plate with hot-forged nickel on copper trim, riveted together with a small piece of sterling silver wire. Accent beads on the earwires are blue topaz and peridot. I always use gold-filled earwires, as some folks are allergic to cheaper wires.

For many years, I was an artist-blacksmith and the editor for The Hammer’s Blow by ABANA. While I enjoyed the work very much, blacksmithing takes a toll on the body. The coal smoke was starting to exacerbate my childhood asthma, and making enough money to support a family was always elusive. But I also did a little jewelry on the side.

Jump ahead fifteen years, and we all find ourselves sheltering in place from the COVID pandemic. I’ve finally found time to address that big case of unfinished jewelry materials. While I have a small collection of semi-precious gemstones and quite a bit of low-grade opal rough, setting stones takes a lot of time. The resulting jewelry is a LOT more expensive than, say, a pair of pure silver forged earrings.

These are comparatively fast to create and a lot of fun. I use my blacksmithing experience to forge different surface treatments on simple geometric shapes. I like squares, triangles, and something I call “wings,” which are like triangles with a curved edge. Rectangles are usually reserved for necklaces, but that’s a shape that I like too.

In addition to pure silver, I also like to work in sterling and nickel on copper. Nickel gives a very durable, high-luster finish, sometimes almost a “dark and shiny” look. Sterling is useful for strength and light weight, but of course it will need to be cleaned occasionally.

If you see something that you like, feel free to contact me… most of these are for sale, though some are already sold. Prices for earrings are in the $30-$45 range, necklaces start at about $45 (with no chain) and go up from there. Plan on spending at least $120 for a solid natural opal, but of course, prices can go significantly higher depending on the stone.

Here’s a look at a black-capped chickadee that I completed recently. We have a number of these little guys that visit our feeder. In real life, the eyes are almost invisible… perhaps I should darkened the reflection a touch. But I’ve ruined more paintings by adding just that one more little touch. I’d also like to refine the feathers just a little bit, but again, I wanted to quit while I was more or less ahead.

Here is a practice painting that I did, with special thanks to Keith Whitelock’s Watercolor Workshop. These are a series of videos that Keith has been kind enough to post on YouTube, and I just followed along (starting and stopping the video frequently). He’s a good teacher, even though some of the paintings I’ve done have varied in terms of the end result. I like to use these videos as a morale booster… when I’ve painted a complete boner, I’ll toss it in the recycling bin, fire up one of his videos, and paint along with Keith. I always learn something useful.