Brand new creative adventure

As a never bored, always hungry for creative challenges artist I jumped on yet another journey and explored the new techniques in jewellery making. I  love silver and I chose it as my basic material in my new collection. The collection revolves around the eye theme. The title ‘I have seen…’ is an invitation for reflecting on our past experiences and the contrasting beauty of Life. Every pendant has its own statement. Every pendant is part of me and serves as a ticket to Nibyniebo – my imaginary heaven when all my creations exists in their as is forms.

The joy of mixing new with well known techniques

The true challenge was to work with Art Clay Silver – a very special material  that is a form of sterling silver before it is fired. Despite all the similarities that Art Clay has with polymer clay – it was hard to start working with it. When you know the value of every gram, you become fearful of mistakes. And there are plenty of unknown things. I didn’t know how to shape it and not lose moisture. I didn’t know how to prevent losing material on my fingers and all over the desk. It got wet and sticky. It got dried and cracked. And I persisted and tried.

Then I learned how to finish the pieces. I bought a few sanding tools. I learned about oxidizing. I was walking around the garden and sanding tiny pendants with eyes. My favourite type of finish turned out to be matte (sometimes mixed with glossy detail and obligatory black oxidized lines). And the finish of the piece determines the whole effect and plays a role of artist’s signature.

The last part was stitching the final piece. Although there are just about 5 to 10 holes – it is crucial to plan every stitch. For that reason I often stitched a single pendant a few times. I chose a Madeira 100% silk thread as one of the best quality products on the market. The thread is strong, and beautifully twisted. For my first collection I used red – the color of love, power and energy. Hope to explore other colors in future collections.

Thoughts and feelings

The first 30 grams of precious Art Clay Silver turned to be pendant collection.  The one I’m very proud of. I couldn’t hoped for more as for my beginning. The feeling of the final piece, its texture and contrasting black-red-silver colors makes me fall in love with them. Although I see a lot of things to improve and learn I believe the collection to be lovable and tempting. I hope  to make more when the time is right.

If you love them just as me – think of buying one for yourself. This way you will allow me to afford new batch of Art Clay Silver and develope my skills and realise my ideas for new sterling silver collections. Here is the link to my shop.

You can also visit my instagram to see photos of the collection.