YOJ09-51 Marquise Series: Pendant 5

Marquise Series:  Pendant 5 (2009)
Sterling silver, fine silver, Swarovski crystal
Constructed, cold-joined, nalbinding
L 6.5 cm x W 1.3 cm

This pendant is made of two “recycled” pieces from Bracelet 3, which didn’t match the other links.  Initially I only added the Swarovskis as embellishment, but the pendant looked unbalanced.  So I decided to add some viking knitting – nalbinding – and create a ribbon-like effect.  The work involved in adding the nalbinding bumps this up from production piece to a “couture” One of a Kind or Limited Edition.

I’m not completely satisfied with how it turned out, but I’m also not able to define what is bothering me about it.   It might just be that it doesn’t work as a pendant.  The design would certainly make a fabulous pair of earrings.  Comments are welcome!

YOJ09-13 Kaleidoscope Pendant

Kaleidoscope Pendant (2009)
Fine Silver, sterling silver, Swarovski crystal
L 5.5 cm x W 4.7 cm x H 1.0 cm
Cold-connected, formed

For the first time this session, my entry is one day late.  It proved to be much more challenging to construct, as I kept changing my mind about what I wanted it to look like.

This piece also doubles as my entry for the Etsy Wire Artisan Guild‘s April theme “Kaleidoscope”.  The technique is drawn from a tutorial written by Perri Jackson, a friend and very talented wire artist who makes very intricate pieces from very thin gauge wire.  Ever since Perri asked me to test the tutorial for her, I’ve been mulling over an idea in my head for a piece that adapts the technique.  I’m not ready for that project yet, but “Kaleidoscope” is an intermediate step.

Perri’s blog features more of her spectacular work, and is well worth the visit.

More photos:

YOJ09-04 Swarovski Pendant

This has been a busy week.  I’ve been juggling a bunch of different projects, trying to wrap some up, get ahead on others.  I’ve made some progress in my quest to figure out how to incorporate felting for a bonsai.  Unfortunately, the avenue I’m following at the moment is very labour intensive.

Years ago, an acquaintance at the Gem & Mineral Club of Scarborough named Frank Hoffman commented that if you’re going to go to the effort of making a piece of jewellery, you should make it out of karat gold.  His reasoning was that for the same labour you would be able to charge a much higher price, because of the perceived value of the gold.  For this felted bonsai, I’m starting to think he made a good point.

Anyways… I made a pair of earrings this week, which are being given away as a birthday present, but I didn’t want to post those.  So… here it is, Sunday night, and I need to post something.

About a year ago, a lady on CWJ, Nancy Van Tassell, was selling off some Swarovski gems.  I bought a bunch.  They’ve been sitting in my stash ever since.  Recently, when I was cleaning up my bench, I discovered them again.  So… with the clock ticking down, I decided to try my hand at a pendant.  Since the gem has a deep back, I had to figure out how to set it without ending up with the point sticking out too much.  I also didn’t want the pendant to look really heavy.  So, the solution was to make an openworked bezel.  It turned out okay, but I think it would have looked better in a thinner gauge of wire.

My eyesight is going…  *gloom*… and I’m tired… and the pendant took forever to make… but hey, at least I got a piece done.