Out of the Studio

Wednesday and Thursday I was working on a pair of earrings and cabochon .  I made a special texture plate for these.  When the design worked up, the texture reminded me of some sort of beginning weaving project.  Kumihimo possibly?  The electroforming of these type of designs can take painstakingly long.  When there are raised areas that I'm painting, trying to stay on those long thin lines is no easy task and it makes the painting go that much slower.  And usually I do 2 coats of paint to guarantee a successful electroform. Without any raised areas, the painting could be a lot more free form and possibly less time consuming.  Then there's checking of the bath, agitating (the bath), removing, replacing, filtering the solution and on and on.  For the earrings, I did a textured skinner blend.  I think they have a southwestern feel to them. 

As for the cabochon, it was slow going.  The first problem was the bath.  It wanted to lean on the copper sides which would be a disaster.  I tried re-tying the wire, shortening the wire, moving the beaker, anodes, and finally pulled it out.  Then I thought of using a weight (reminded me of fishing when I was a kid).  I had these copper beads put aside to be enamelled one day and thought their weight would be helpful.  Well, it worked.  The bath began - finally.  But every time I checked it, the copper had a really matte finish to it.  So I added more brightener and more brightener.  But I did remember to take some set-up photos.  I had enclosed the cab with wire, and twisted the wire to tighten.  

And here's the result!  I used metallic paints on the cabochon - can you tell?  I might have one of my BAO friends make something with this piece. It measures 2" x 2".