Guess Who Has Started Metalsmithing?

Me, That’s Who!

My First Finished Pendant!

For a long time now, ever since I began selling my woven wire pendants actually, people have asked for “smaller,” “simpler” and/or “silver” designs. I’ve been so often told “I really love your work, but do you have something that is…(insert one of those words?”).

As an artists working with a specific set of materials, it’s been painful. At the start, wire weaving was new to me and I was truly enjoying the creative experience. I understood why someone wanted “not copper,” and I made woven sterling wire pieces hoping to accommodate them, but it hurt when I knew what they meant was “not wire weaving.”

Eventually I, too, began to understand why wire weaving wasn’t as attractive as a pendant set in a simple metalsmithed setting. What drove it home for me was when I read, somewhere on an internet discussion forum, that “wire weaving is for those who don’t know how to work as a metalsmith.”

Ouch!

At heart, I knew this was true to a large extent. Metalsmithing requires more tools, a stable space to work, and instruction at a more committed level than wire weaving, even if one goes the route of being self-taught. It is a larger investment that many who are just starting out are leary of taking on. You need a torch, for crying out loud! That’s like having a pet dragon! And if you go on You Tube and look up “Silversmithing,” you’re almost assured to see someone with a fairly extensive studio bench which includes a professional level torch.

You might hear someone say “you can get buy with a hand held torch from (they’ll probably say Harbor Freight), but when I read that, that little voice in MY head responded with “Yeah right. Go Big, or Go Home!”

It was disheartening, because I believed that voice for quite a while.

As well, my studio space back home in New York is fairly new, and each spring when I return, I’m not sure if I’ll have it for the rest of the season. I’m looking at that possibility again in another two months, in fact.

To me, it seemed implausible to work with metalsmithing tools in the way I have been doing my cabochon crafting. That is, part time in a true studio, and part time on the road where I stow everything away in my van and haul it out to work in a municipal park or on public lands.

For sure, it HAS been a pain to work on my lapidary like this. Sometimes I dream about finding a “real home” to live in again, just to be able to work until any hour of the night, get in a few hours and leave my project knowing I’ll come back in a few hours. Not having to pack things ALL away after a session!

But, I’ve done it. And I’m going to do it with metalsmithing. And I’ve started buying my tools! Including this beauty….

The pendant in the image at the top of this post is my first finished work. It includes one of my own cabochons, and I’m please with the results. I know that down the road I will look at it and find myself smiling at my inability to see just how crudely crafted it is. At least, I had BETTER be able to see a pretty good jump in my skill level and design sense!

The first cabochon I cut, in a class setting, vs one I cut with a few years experience in the craft

I had been wanting to learn metalsmithing for a few years, and had planned to spend a season at the rock club I belong to in Quartzsite doing just that. It was in the winter of 2020 when I told myself “Next year, you come back and learn to silversmith.”

We all know what happened in the months following the winter of 2020. Covid happened. And there was no way I was going to sit in a crowded room full of cowboy types who understood the concept of a masked man during the wild west but not the pandemic.In fact, the club specifically stated that, though shop forepersons could require masks be worn during their shifts, the club would not require it in general, nor would the be mandating any safety measures regarding distancing or sanitizing surfaces. “You’re on your own” was the exact wording, as I recall.

The next year(2021/22), the virus was raging in it’s 3rd or 4th round, and people were passing it around like a joint at Woodstock. Now, in 2023, it’s STILL with us. My brother in law has it(again) as I type this post(and, he’s been through the series of vaccinations).

But, I decided that we’d gotten to the point that, if I got iCovid, I’d likely not die. That was my bigger concern; that I’d die out on the road and my dog would end up either left alone in the van as I succumbed, or be put in a shelter when I entered a hospital.

Okay – I took a seriously negative digression there…. Back to metalsmithing!

I finally got a session in at the club and got my pendant to the point I was ready to place the stone, burnish the bezel, and polish the finished work. I did that the next week and was SO happy. I knew I was on my way.

Then, I came down to Tucson to see the big gems shows. I figured I’d go back to Quartzsite afterward and really throw myself into learning the craft. But, there was a small issue…..

I found myself, a few days ago, waking up to a feeling of drudgery about going back to Quartzsite for the rest of the season. If you’ve spent more than an afternoon in Quartzsite, you can empathize. The town is not fast-paced and well-stock with modern conveniences, to put it nicely. The internet signal is slow to non-existent. The library is the only place you can sit inside and work on online marketing. Publicly available electricity is rarer than water in the desert. The restaurants…what can I say but “Bless their hearts.(if you catch my drift).

Quartzsite, AZ: A town that had it’s Hey Day a few decades ago

And yet, I soldiered through several seasons at Quartzsite enduring these things and telling myself it was the price I paid to get my work done.

Well, this time, when I had that despondent feeling, a little voice in my head said “I bet there is somewhere in Tucson you can learn smithing at a relatively low cost.”

It takes me a while to come up with solutions at times

I asked on a Facebook Group that I’d just joined, and got some suggestions. Great ones, for someone actually living in the area, and with a few hundred dollars to drop for a series of classes or workshops. I figured there was a lapidary club, and so I googled. There was a lapidary club in Tucson! And, they have a metalsmithing shop!

I hightailed it down there and joined the next day. Saturday I’ll go for their monthly meeting, to get a feel for things, and work in the lapidary shop afterwards.(the lapidary shop is very well appointed, with Genies, a Titan, several Poly Arbors, saw to cut slabs for member use, and even a vacuum stabilization chamber, for use in stabilizing stones like turquoise, that are difficult to work with when not bolstered by the stabilization process.

My hope is that Tuesday will be my first instructional class in metalcraft. Hopefully, I’ll be getting four weekly sessions with instruction, and studio time in between, before I begin traveling back towards the northeast for the warmer months. If that happens, I feel I’ll be confident enough to proceed on my own. If not…I’ll proceed on my own with less confidence.

Look for sterling silver pendants to come in the Talisman Too Galleries in a few months(maybe sooner). And, if you don’t yet follow me on Instagram, you’ll want to if you have interest in my journey. You can find my Instagram profile at https://www.instagram.com/talismantoo/!

Meanwhile – which of the cabochons in my shop do YOU think would look good as a pendant?

Talisman Too News for Spring 2021

A year ago, the Covid-19 virus was barely on the radar for most of us. Even as the reality of what we were facing began to sink in, I don’t think most of us expected to be still living with the virus as a primary concern.

I’ve been fortunate to have fared well during this period. One thing in my favor is that I am a person who relishes solitude. Most of the things I like to do are best done alone, particularly when it comes to my small business. So, while I am definitely looking forward to things like going to a movie, gathering with friends for potluck dinners, visits with family members, I haven’t felt the terrible longing that so many have endured.

You may know that I travel cross country during the winter month; something I’ve done every year since 2010, save for the 2013/2014 season. One thing that HAS changed is my vehicle! Meet Ramses!

Ram Promaster in Desert with Saguarra

Last spring, my old van Penney, a1990 Ford E-150, got me back to New York – BARELY – and that’s not an understatement. I knew that was her last cross country ride, and began saving for a new vehicle in earnest. That’s another example of my faring better than many with this pandemic. I was able to put my first stimulus check completely aside for use as a down payment.

I had to take out a loan, and that was something I’d never done before. Looking back, it al went fine, but during the process, I was a nervous wreck. It’s a big difference, having a vehicle that I’ll be paying more than $300/month for the next five year, over a $1200 one paid for and done.

But, since it IS my home for five months a year, I’m getting off much easier than almost any other person who pays rent or has a mortgage. And, it’s been just a pleasure, to have a reliable vehicle that gets up and over the mountains without me rocking back and forth in the drivers seat in an uncontrollable urge to “help” on the steep! Plus – the room!!!!

The interior has not been finished yet. I ran out of time and cash before hitting the road in November, so I’m not going to show the interior. This summer, back in New York, I’ll be dedicating my efforts to getting Ramses in “Picture Perfect” shape. Or, perfect for me, anyway. An Instagram #VanLife Influencer, I’m not. But, if you WOULD like to follow my Instagram feed, you’ll see my day to day goings on, places I’ve traveled to,and insight into the creative process in my jewelry. Also doggy pics!, and how I personally deal with van living.

What I AM is an artisan jewelry maker! And if you recall, last spring I invested in machinery to cut and polish my own cabochons. When I got back to NY, the electricity which was hoped to go in over the winter, had not happened. But, because of Covid, my place of work was not open, and I took over the trailhead booth(which had solar power), and worked for tow months, nearly daily, on crafting cabochons.

Eventually, we reopened, and there went my studio. I was still hoping for electricity to come to my cabin, but it never did, and now it’s not looking likely, at least for a while. So, I went from mid-May until about a week ago, without firing up my machines.

I had plenty of stones to work with, and so was focused on jewelry-making. Here are a few of the pieces I created during that period, all with stones I cut myself. You’ll be able to click the images to get to the listing in my Etsy shop, so you can read about the piece if you’d like.

Caldera Paint Jasper Pendant
Tiffany STone Designer Cabochon Pendant

I’ve also been on an earring making microbinge. Here’s a link to the Earrings section of my shop, and I’ll be adding more as soon as I can photograph and edit images.

As of late February, I’m in Quartzsite, Arizona, mainly due to my ability to polug my lapidary equipment in and work. In a week or so, I will move on, and begin a slowed down journey toward my home in New York. I’ll be heading north toward either Sedona or…should I veer more westerly and head to souther Utah? I haven’t yet decided!

What’s New for the New Year?

I expect to be doing a lot of wire weaving work in the next few months – reason being that it has finally “clicked” for me, and instead of being frustrated by all but the most simple of efforts, I am getting really excited to be making some more elaborate pieces.

Sodalite Semiprecious Gemstone Pendant with Wire Frame

Sodalite Bead Pendant Framed with Copper Woven Wire and Antiqued for a Rich Patina

You can see more images of the work, and purchase if you’d like, through my Etsy shop. This piece was made following a tutorial, but now I feel confident that I can actually branch off on my own and come up with designs without following a step by step process.  In fact, this afternoon I will be working in weaving a frame for a beautiful Fire Agate that I recently purchased.

I’m also making new earrings almost daily, and have been traveling this last month and stopping at bead shops along the way.  Here are a few pieces that have come out of recent bead binges! Click on the images to be directed to the item in my shop.

Swarovski Crystal Pearls with Vintaj Bead Caps

Pearly Beads, from Swarovski, topped with pretty Vintaj bead caps

Another pair of earrings recently made – simple and casual.  A little bit of metal manipulation to halter these pretty Dove Gray Czech Glass beads.

Czech Glass Beaded Drop Earring

Pretty drops of Czech Glass in Dove Gray Sway from Antiqued Brass Rings

Next is another dagger-style drop design, pinched with a delicate bail.  Something a little bit unexpected!

Iridescent Earrings Black Tie Gala Dressing

Iridescent Glass Twists, Suspended from a Delicate Bail

 

Feel free to browse both my Talisman Too and Talisman Studios Shops, to see what else has been done since your last visit, and “Favorite the shops to see new additions when you log on to your own home page at Etsy!