A-HA!!

I was a participant in Lori Anderson's annual Bead Soup Blog Party this year - for the first time - and had a kind of "a-ha" moment in the course of making up my "soup" pieces. Among the many (many!) things my fabulous partner Michelle Beuttner sent me were two great pairs of hand-made copper earwires.

I used the ones at the top (with the extra swirls) to make one of my "soup" pieces and was really struck by the difference those big swirls made to the overall design.

I have always preferred using handmade earwires in my pieces, but I confess that I have stuck primarily to three simple basic styles: a simple flattened loop; a ball-end silver earwire; and a classic kidney shape. My thinking was that I didn't really want the earwires to compete with the design of the earrings.

But the bead soup process - working with components that someone else chooses for me - forced me to work outside my usual comfort zone, and I realized that the earwires ARE part of the design of the earring. ("I coulda had a V-8!") It was one of those things I knew, but didn't really know I knew - or, at least, I had never consciously considered. This a-ha moment sent me back to my workbench to start experimenting with different styles of earwires for my earrings.

What about you? Have you had any a-ha design moments recently??

Until next time!

Variation On A Theme...

And what would that theme be....yes. it's earrings of course. While I was making my entries for our AJE challenge last week I got to thinking that If I was going to make a pair of earrings every week for the whole of the year and exhibit them next to those of all the other talented designers; then maybe I need to find ways to change it up a bit and keep things interesting. I was fiddling about with some of my bronze headpins at the time and decided to have a go at adapting the process I use for those to make earring charms with integral ear wires.  

Here you can see the charms at the green ware stage with the wires inserted into the clay. They're still quite fragile at this point so sanding and filing up has to be done very carefully.

After drilling, firing and a good clean-up and tumble this is how they looked - a good tug on the wires with pliers to make sure the pieces are fully fused and then on to the next step.

.

This was simply a case of forming the wires in the same way as as would usually do (great ear wire tutorial here) - I use looping pliers but a pen or any other round object can be used as a form. I chose kidney shaped wires but wishbone and round wires are just as easy to do.

After trimming the wires to the correct length I hammered them to harden the metal and prevent them from becoming misshapen. I used 22g /.71mm bronze wire which is finer than I would use for silver or copper wires and those I would normally tumble to harden but, bronze wire is harder and more tensile so I find that hammering alone is enough.

After that it was just a case of adding lots of pretties to turn the charms into earrings...

Green patina on charms, enameled flower buds from Gardanne beads,

 copper headpins and seed bead accents.

Periwinkle patina on charms, periwinkle enameled bead caps by SueBeads 

and vintage cultured pearls.

Premium Czech glass beads and Vintaj bead caps

If you like this look but don't use metal clay, the same effect can be achieved by soldering wires to metal charms. I'll be continuing to look for other ways to add a twist to my earring designs so if you have any clever ideas you're willing to share, please do - all inspiration is gratefully received.

Lesley
The Gossiping Goddess

Saturday Share: Ear wires...with a twist!

With the AJE Earring Challenge in full swing, I decided to post about ear wires.  As artists, we work hard to create beautiful designs. After coming up with a unique design, putting in time and effort to execute an intricate and artistic pair of earrings, why not finish them with your own ear wires!

There are many great, free ear wire tutorials out there...I will link to a few at the end of the post.  Today,though, I wanted to share my own take on basic ear wires and show you a technique and some additional options for making them unique and a cohesive part of your design, rather than a stagnant required component that is just added at the end!

I prefer using sterling wire exclusively for earrings that I sell or gift.  I realize there are viable and beautiful options, but sterling just seems right for me ;)

Materials needed:
20 gauge sterling wire, half hard - 4 inches
Round nose pliers
Bail-making pliers, or sharpie pen
Planishing hammer
steel block or anvil
flush cutters
26-24 gauge dead soft wire, 2-3 inches (optional)

• Start by cutting 2 2-inch pieces of 20g half-hard wire.  File both ends to get rid on any burs. 
• Hammer the tip of the wire to flatten and harden. 
• Grasp the flattened tip with your round nose pliers and create a loop. 
• Position your bail-making pliers or sharpie/pen right against the underside of the loop and rap the wire around.  You may have to re-position to go all the way around.  

• Make a small bend about a ¼ inch from the end of the remaining tail.
• Hammer the curve gently to work harden.

These are now ready to use...gently open the loop to the side, attach your earring component and close back to position....just like closing jump rings, move it back and forth to work harden and position as close to the back wire as possible.

Now, if you want to take the extra step and make the earwires a cohesive part of your design, you can embellish them in lots of ways.  

Use your scraps of 24-26g dead soft wire and wrap the neck of the earwire as shown. I like to use copper, especially if the overall design is copper.  Often, I add a small bead then attach the wire on one side of the bead, wrap a few times, then wrap over the bead, and wrap an equal number of times on that side.  Always press the ends firmly against the earwire so they don't snag.  File to smooth.

Other options include balling one end of the wire in your torch before making the loop. Sometimes I hammer the ball to flatten it.  Another style I use sometimes is to make the intial loop, then create a 2nd larger loop.  Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities abound.  Change up the shape by using different sized/shaped mandrels, etc!

One of my favorite sources for other styles of earwires and other lovely unique components is Handcrafted Wire Findings by Denise Peck and Jane Dickerson.  I used their instructions to create these kidney ear wires.

As I mentioned before, there are many other free earwire tutorials out there...something for everyone!  Here are a few of my favorites...

from Deryn Mentock
from Jewelry Making Daily - make perfectly matched pairs!
from McFarland Designs - these are fun!
from our own Joanne Tinley!

I like to sit down with a bunch of wire and just have an ear wire making session, rather than 1 pair at a time...practice, practice, practice!  Now, go on...go make some earwires!


Melissa Meman
Melismatic Art Jewelry
Art. Life. Love.