Amy Abrams Designs » Works in progress

I’ll Tumble For Ya!

Amy — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:41:31 +0000

I’ll tumble for ya, I’ll tumble for ya, I’ll tumble for yooooooo!

Guess what I did for over 5 hours last night and will be doing again for several hours this afternoon?

Tumbling my new jewelry components!

My partner and I bought a new magnetic centrifugal tumbler, which is supposed to tumble more quickly and efficiently than the rotary tumblers. My partner thought it might be possible that using the two tumblers consecutively might eliminate the need for wire-brushing freshly kiln-fired pieces – a tedious and sometimes hand-scraping painful necessity to creating silver clay jewelry. She tried a combination of an hour in the rotary tumbler (half- hour for pieces with stones embedded), followed by an hour in the magnetic tumbler. Her pieces came out with a mirror finish – no brushing!

So last night I brought the tumbler to my house and tried it, having prepared the night before by tumbling all my pieces in the rotary tumbler for an hour. Considering that I had 125 grams worth of pieces that could not be tumbled all at once this took several hours. I was very excited pulling the first group of pieces out of the magnetic tumbler (which I set for an hour). Sure enough, the stoneware finish was eliminated. However, my pieces were still fairly matte. So they went in the rotary tumbler again for a third tumbling. Then I tried another group of pieces, less this time, for 90 minutes. Still matte, but better. Next group – 14 pieces instead of 16 (about 20 the first group), for 90 minutes – still matte but better than the second group. Lastly (although I still have more to do) I tried 10 pieces for 100 minutes and those came out fairly shiny, but I still wouldn’t call it a mirror finish.

This morning I put in 10 more pieces and set the timer for 120 minutes. My husband is home sick for the day so I felt confident in leaving the tumbler going when I left for work. I really hope that this time I get a mirror finish but I’ll have to wait until I get home this afternoon to see.

My partner used a particular type of dish soap in the tumbler that I am going to borrow to see if the soap I’m using is a factor in not getting a mirror finish. All this tumbling is taking a ridiculous amount of time but it does eliminate the need for brushing, which I hate, so its worth it. Right?

Finishing New Work – Part II – The Tumbler’s Revenge

Amy — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:04:34 +0000

So, after spending twice as long as usual in traffic on my way home from work (and I leave early, I don’t travel during rush hour) because of the hostage situation in Downtown Silver Spring affecting all the roads in my area, I finally get home – find a notice from the Post Office that my package of findings was not delivered because it required my signature, which I specifically asked the company sending it to NOT require a signature, do my chores around the house, eat dinner and settle in for a little Brush n’ Tumble. I brushed enough silver for a couple of tumbler loads and put my first load in the tumbler. I always put it on a towel on the floor in the upstairs living (which is on a slab) to absorb any noise vibration but I usually need to adjust it a few times during the first load of the season. Sure enough, a few minutes later the thing was squeaking like crazy so I just lifted the whole thing up at an angle (like I usually do) to adjust the position of the barrel, which migrates and winds up rubbing against the mechanism – hence the squeak – and it stopped rotating! I then had to search high and low for a screw driver so that I could take it apart and see what was going on. That took 1/2 hour. Finally, I found one, took the thing apart, and found that the little rubber ring that attaches to the motor and makes it rotate had slipped off and it was an easy fix.

So, after an afternoon and evening of escalating aggravation I finally was able to tumble one load. Bleah.

That load was in the tumbler for over 2 hours and it wasn’t nearly as shiny as I would’ve expected.

Tonight I have two loads ready to go but I still have more that I have to brush – its going to be a looooooooong night…

Finishing New Work

Amy — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:18:52 +0000

Here’s some advice: When finishing your new metal clay pieces (pre-firing) be really careful. I spent all of yesterday evening sanding and filing all my new work and now, instead of 68 new pairs of earrings I have 64 and two of the new “triptych” necklaces I had planned are now single pendant necklaces. Why? Because while I was sanding and filing several pieces broke. Some of this was while I was re-drilling holes, some of it was while I was just sanding. I tend to make small earrings thin as I know that this makes the earrings light weight and more comfortable to wear, but I shoot myself in the foot sometimes because all it takes is the slightest bit of pressure and the piece, still in its “leather stage”, snaps in two.

Bummer.

Anyway, I got everything fired last night. 200 grams of clay (minus a few pieces – probably about 25 grams worth) in only 3 firings! I was impressed that I was able to fit so much onto one fire brick at one time.

And I got my least favorite part of the process over with (the sanding and filing – which I dislike because it is tedious, but also for the reason stated above).

Tonight? My second least favorite part – brushing. Then? Tumble-a-thon! Yay! I love tumbling my new pieces because when they come out of the tumbler they are so sparkly and beautiful.

Tomorrow? Actually making jewelry out of these new pieces! Whoo hoo!

Works in progress

Amy — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:10:36 +0000

Here are some terrible snaps of some of my newest work freshly made, drying and awaiting sanding and filing:

birds and butterfly necklace components

I’ve been going through a bird phase ever since last fall – I can’t help myself, I love them!

necklace components and one bracelet set

My new favorite though are these peacock feathers! I may have to keep one of them… There’s a nice deep blue sapphire in the eye of the feather on the right. I’ve also really been excited about geometric shapes lately and I did a whole series of them for necklaces and earrings. The three oval bracelet components in the lower right corner of the above photo are textured with my piped silver design as shown but on the back they are textured with the spiral texture that you see in the rectangle components to the left of them.

butterflies and flowers

geometric shapes

modern Etruscan shapes for necklace

modern embellished Etruscan shapes for necklace

These elements are finished on the other side with my piped silverwork (like the oval bracelet components).

square elements for necklace (with tanzanite)

These elements are textured with a paisley pattern on the reverse side.

I’ve also made 65 new pairs of earrings in similar motifs and I have sanded and filed over half of them (43 pairs). Tonight I hope to fire at least two loads and finish firing tomorrow. Then I will tumble everything during the rest of the week and begin making actual jewelry out of these components over the weekend.

Busy, busy, busy!

Amy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:24:14 +0000

Between selling jewelry at craft shows, helping my dad at Greenfest and getting that horrendous cold that’s been going around, I’ve definitely let the blog slide! This month is going to be even busier! I’m going to be selling my jewelry at a school fundraiser in Ashburn, VA this weekend, I’ve started a weekly belly dancing class at the YMCA, and I’m selling my jewelry for the 6th year in a row at the Garrett Park Nursery School Craft Show. Because of this and other upcoming December shows I have elected to not travel to Pittsburgh with my husband to visit his family for Thanksgiving. I am spending the weekend at home and will only take a break from jewelry making for part of the day on Thanksgiving to go to dinner with my Aunt and her family. Hopefully I’ll get plenty done!

I’ve introduced a new medium into my work – Bronzclay. I haven’t fired anything yet but I’ve made pieces of a box that I have to put together, as well as a couple of incense holders, a tiny little treasure bowl, and pieces for a bracelet. I’m planning on firing those pieces this week! I’m so excited! I’ve been planning on making Christmas and Hanukkah ornaments out of the Bronzclay so that I can have something non-jewelry related that still is in harmony with my jewelry.

Photos of the Bronzclay pieces will be put up as soon as I get them fired.

Update on new unfinished work

Amy — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:42:10 +0000

I was so busy rushing around yesterday working on these pieces.Â I finished my pre-fire refining and hustled on out to the kiln (in the rain) and did a 20 minute dry-cycle before the 30 minute firing cycle.

Here’s what the Art Clay Silver looks like after firing:

Fresh out of the kiln

See how it’s kind of frosty looking?Â That’s the surface of fine silver after it’s been fired.Â It must be brushed and burnished to finish.Â It was kind of a nightmare brushing these pieces last night because my wire brush has a lot of missing bristles.Â The task is already not the most pleasant and I highly recommend using a rubber glove to protect the fingers of the hand that is holding the piece that you are brushing.Â Anyway, after about 90 minutes of brushing this is what the pieces looked like before burnishing:

my new work after brushing but before burnishing

I don’t use a burnishing tool for finishing – too much labor!Â I just throw a grouping of stuff into my rotary tumbler – I have one that’s pretty quiet and I just leave everything in there (in this case about 25 grams) for an hour or so.Â Here are some of my “finished” unfinished pieces.

tumbled art clay silver components some set with peridot and blue zircon

more tumbled art clay silver components, earrings set with garnets

tumbled art clay silver components

more tumbled art clay silver, necklace set with a pear cut tanzanite

two necklace components, one set with blue zircon

triptych necklace, set with blue zircon

These will be components that I will make into earrings and necklaces.Â Some of the earrings I will just put on a pair of earwires and leave them plain, others I will wrap a pretty gemstone briolette to the bottom.

Tonight I have a mini-show at a parents meeting at a local school (just in time for Mother’s Day).Â I hope I can finish some of these pieces beforehand!

A snapshot of some works in progress

Amy — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:27:08 +0000

Here are some pieces that I started last night.Â I used all of one 25 gram package or Art Clay Silver.

Unfinished Art Clay Silver pieces

The whimsical-looking flowers are the only pieces from a commercial mold.Â The pendant with the blue stone (blue zircon, my favorite gemstone) and the lotus blossoms (pictured to the right) are both made from molds that I made of vintage jewelry components.Â The round piece below that you can’t tell is a really cool Egyptian Revival motiff is made from a mold of a vintage button.Â All the other pieces, which will either be earrings or small charms for my amulet necklaces, are made from molds of Victorian-era buttons that my partner and I made.Â The pair with the garnets set in are a custom order for a marketing consultant that my my Dad’s company (that I work for – Abrams Design Build) is working with.

Next step:Â sanding and filing to prepare for firing.