Before I found lampworking, I dappled a bit in metal jewelry. Just a bit mind you, and it's been ... what, 20 years or so?
It was a bit of sawing, filing and soldering, and then some swirlings of really fat wires. But it never came to much. Then one of the very last things I did before packing it all up was this copper neckpiece.
I made a pattern, cut it out and hammered it up from a flat sheet on my little anvil. I'm still kind of proud of it, all these years later, even though it is not really comfy since you can't move/turn your head freely wearing this. But the shape is nice and it has a lovely texture, and it came out quite well I think, for not knowing what I were doing.
And now I've discovered techniques that makes my heart race. Oh yes!
Anticlastic raising, Rueger folds, star folds, sinusoidal stakes ... my mind is buzzing with wonderful new words and ideas of gloriously organic shapes. Goggle 'fold forming', click for pictures and behold a world of beauty. Please do google it, you really have to see what I am going on about. Or just click here :)
I have to try this, I really do, or I'll simply burst. I have dug out my old tools from the box in the basement. I have my little anvil, I have some copper plate, I have my saw and a bunch of blades. I am sure I can anneal the copper with my lampworking torch, if I take care not to melt it ... but I am terribly short on usefull hammers, and I have no stakes either, and both are kind of vital.
ETA: Okay, so I tried to make a leaf, the simplest fold forming possible (I think), and ... I'm not going to show it. It is horrible :) I found out I really do need a hammer with the propper shape (mine is slightly rounded, but mostly flat and circular. And it's way too light for this), but hey! I found out I can anneal the copper right on the top of my kitchen stove!
Brilliant :)
And I can draw and think up what I want to do, until I can get some tools. Yay!
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