Headpin + Wire Chain Tutorial

Trying out new ways to use murrini headpins is fun. I've been thinking about different ways to use them as part of a chain. Here's one of those ideas, plus a tutorial so you can try it too. 

Flush cut 1.5" sections of 14g wire. I used sterling silver, but feel free to use your metal of choice. 

Using a chasing hammer, begin to hammer each end flat, flipping the wire over so hammering occurs equally on both sides of both ends. 

Hammer the center section to slightly flatten it. The ends should flare out more than the center. 

You can leave it as the hammer texture, but I chose to use a different stamping tool on each segment to create a different texture. 

To check the texture, color with a sharpie, then use steel wool to remove the high spots. I will patina later, but once the headpin is added, you cannot alter the texture. So I want to make sure I'm happy with it first. 

Once you know you're happy with the texture, make a dot where you want to add holes to each end and then punch the holes with your tool of choice. 

Take the headpin you're going to use, and bend the wire 90 degrees as close to the glass as possible. 

Slide the hammered link into the bend of the headpin. I tried to hold it in the smallest portion of the link (in the center). 

The next part is very fiddley and difficult to photograph while performing the action. Wrap the wire as tight as possible one time around the link while holding the glass on the flat surface of the link. 

Next, wrap the copper wire around the base of the glass, between the glass and the wire. This helps to snug and stabilize. 

Once you've wrapped the wire around the base of the glass, wrap the wire around the link tightly a couple times next to the glass (again, to help stabilize and snug in place). Then wrap in a more loose organic fashion up one side of the link, leaving space for a spiral. 

Depending on the size spiral you want, cut off any excess wire. I left about 1/2"-3/4" length. 

Take chain nose pliers and holding the end of the wire, create a spiral with the wire. When creating more than one link to the chain, you may want to pay attention to spiral direction being the opposite on each side. It's personal preference. 

The photo below does a better job of showing how the wire is wrapped onto the link and around the base of the glass. 

Here's the (almost) finished piece with a special pendant I got from Staci Louise Smith 1.5 years ago. I still needs to finish the clasp, give it a bath in liver of sulphur, and a massage in the tumbler (removing the pendant first!). I can hardly wait to wear it. 

3 Steps For Teaching A Successful Jewelry Class

At Bead Fest, this year, I had the opportunity to assist both Staci Smith in her class, "Painted Polymer Fossil Talisman" and Genea Crivello-Knable in her class, "Wooly Wire One-Oh-Fun".  I also took a class from AJE team member, Jenny Davis-Reazor, called "Mixed Media Amulets".   

Genea's Wooly Wire Class!

I spent the last dozen or so years of my public school teaching career mentoring teachers and college students as we worked together to improve instructional practices.  What I learned from assisting in these two jewelry classes and being a student in Jenny's class, is that teaching is teaching, no matter what the topic. The same qualities of good instruction apply whether you are teaching a 4th grader to divide 3 digit numbers or whether your are showing how to create a bail using Wooly Wire.  The content changes, but most of the same instructional techniques apply.

Staci provided a variety of examples to help guide her students to their "destination".

 Here are my observations from these classes, which will help any teacher:

• Follow this instructional sequence: "I do it.  We do it. You do it."  So what this means is that if I was teaching how to make an ear wire, I would gather the class around me, and do the first step or 2 of making an ear wire, while talking them through the process, as they observe, (I do it).  Next I'd send them back to their tables and once again talk them through it, while I demonstrated and they did each step with me (We do it.).  Later, if I sensed that they were ready, I'd let them make the other ear wire on their own, as I circulated and assisted those who were in need of extra help, (You-the student-do it.).  Whenever I saw this sequence at work in the 3 jewelry classes, I saw successful students.
• Have plenty of examples available for students to use as guide posts.  If there is only one desired outcome, then all the examples should be the same, but place the examples on various student tables, so they can refer to them.  If there are a variety of possible outcomes, as in Staci's or Jenny's pendants, then offer a variety of examples for students to refer to.  Being able to see examples helps guide the process.  It's like having a destination on a map. If you don't have a clear, readily assessable destination, you'll be lost.
• Break the process down into small steps. Remember your students have no, or limited experience, in this new technique. I can make an ear wire in about 1 minute, without giving it much thought.  But if I were to teach my neighbor how to make one, do you think she could do it if I explained the whole thing at once and then said, "OK, go for it!".  It takes practice, but you've got to learn to think like a beginner.  First my neighbor would have to learn to cut the wire, with flush cuts on each side.  Heck, she probably doesn't even know the term "flush cut".  So I'd have to back up and explain how each side of the cutter works and what a flush cut is and why it is important.  See what I mean about breaking down the steps?  So explain a little bit (how and why to make a flush cut), ask if anyone has any questions, have the students do it with guidance and then move on to the next step.  After a while you'll get a sense for how much info your class can take in at one time.

Jenny explains some of the basic properties of working with polymer clay, as the first step in our pendant making.

Jenny is a former public school teacher so she has lots of experience and training in teaching.   But Staci and Genea also had very successful, happy students, who were proud of their new creations! So you can be a jewelry, or jewelry component, teacher too!  If you have ever considered sharing your jewelry skills, you might find that these guidelines are helpful.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

Silvered Ivory Stringer on black and opal glass

Hello friends!

I am excited to be writing my first post for Art Jewelry Elements. Today I wanted to share my discoveries about glass with you. While being inspired by my friend, Staci Smith and Karen Totten, I dove into some ideas on making my glass look more like stones and water. 

One of my favorite organic "glass tools" I like to use is, silvered Ivory. Silvered Ivory is Dark Ivory glass rolled in pure silver leaf and pulled into tiny "stringers" of glass for embellishing beads. Silvered Ivory stringer, or SIS, gives beads a gorgeous organic look to them.

 

Here is a simple set of spacers demonstrating the look of SIS. See the beaitful organic bands that line the bead? Dark Ivory glass on it's own "webbs" or "curdles" giving it a beautiful organic look. When you add silver not only does it react with the Ivory glass, but it reacts with the beads base as well! 

I am always excited to sit down at my lampwork table and create because I tend to learn new things every time I sit down. So what is it that I learned? 

 

First off, all glass is different. Each color has it's own chemical make up that may cause it to react differently with different glasses. In the photo you can see that I used SIS on a base of Tuxedo black. You will notice the pretty webbing, but if you look at the edges of the band of SIS you will see that it doesn't spread! Hmmm, how very curious!

I did the same band of SIS on a base of effetre Black and look at the different results! See how the band of SIS is very "webbed" and "frazzly". Cool huh?!

So how does this work with Opal glass? Well I was in a watery mood so I chose a wonderful selection of opal glasses from Creaiton is Messy. 

 

I chose some wonderful soft blues, sea foam greens, teal green, teal blue, and capri blue. You may recognize these beads from my latest Etsy shop update from this week ;)

 

I took the newest Limited Run glass, Moana for a test drive with my SIS to see how it looked. You will notice from the picture that when I used the SIS it did that pretty webbing, but it didn't spread like it does on the effetre black. Hmmm.... On the right you will see that I did get the glass to spread, just how I like! So how did I do it? Well I kinda manipulated the glass to do what I wanted. I used a band of regular Dark Ivory glass first. I melted in the Dark Ivory and let it spread onto the surface.  I then added a line of SIS, and let that melt into the surface on top of the Dark Ivory. VOILA! Just the look I wanted! 

BUT.... I did learn some things on the way.... 

 

Here you can see Kryptonite and the new Messy color, Poseidon.  If you look at Poseidon, you will notice that the glass struck to a hazy opaque. Dang! So how did that happen? From working with the glass I have learned that this tends to happen from "striking" the glass(heating and cooling the glass multiple times). Over heating will also give you the same results of struck glass! In working with these glasses several times  I have also noticed that my propane tank needs to have 5psi of pressure and my oxygen valve (I use an oxygen concentrator) needs to be opened all the way. It seems that a slight dip in propane pressure allows the glass to strike easily as well.

So how the heck do you keep the glass opaly? Well here is what I did. I made my bead like normal, but when I applied the Dark Ivory, I kept my bead hot(not letting it cool past an orange glow). I then applied and melted in the Dark Ivory, let it spread slightly, and then applied the SIS on top. This is one of those glass tricks that you have to have just the right amount of heat. 

Well I hope you have enjoyed learning about silvered ivory and how to design with it on glass.

Thanks for stopping by!

xo Genea