March 2015 Soldering and Fusing Theme for SRAJD Jewelry Design Challenge

Before we begin with March, congrats to Rain Hannah for being the randomly chosen winner of all the February submissions.

Rain, here is a list of the prizes accumulated so far.  Select your gift from here.  Just msg or email me with your selection choice.

And now.... Our theme for March 2015 was “Soldering and Fusing”.  Click on each artist's name to see more of their work.

Here are the beautiful offerings of the SRAJD members… 

Kim Forrer: I learned to fuse in the dark so I could get a better feel of the colors the metal was turning. But I continue to fuse in the dark because I love seeing the cool colors....and that perfect moment when your metal looks like mercury. This piece is fine silver that I hand forged and fused into links. I added a white pearl dangle for a touch of elegant femininity.

Darlene Orlowski: I fused the ring using 12 gauge fine silver. I hammered and textured the ring with triskele stampings. I finished the earrings with a cone shaped Connemara Marble bead with sterling wire.

Lindsey Keats: This necklace and earring set is composed of artisan lampwork beads, beautiful rutile quartz onion briolettes and Czech glass accent beads, all wrapped with buffed oxidized sterling silver.
            This set reminds me of water lilies on a spring pond, when everything is fresh and green after a dreary west coast winter.
            The lampwork is from Blue Heeler glass and everything else was wrapped, soldered, hammered by me. The wire, chain and findings are all sterling silver, with a few big fine silver headpins thrown in. 

Mary Rembach: Sterling Silver Circles Necklace - 18 Gauge 11mm fine silver jump rings fused and tumbled, then joined with 18 gauge 3mm jump rings.

Shelley Cole Kuduk (Charlotte): I have named my piece “Rainbows of Light”. I have taken flat lampwork beads, these by the talented Jane Harter and used traditional stained glass methods, in this case The Tiffany foiled glass method of foiling each piece of glass and for the assembly of the piece I have soldered it together with a soldering iron used on the traditional wood board. I used wood so that I might nail the items to the board so they should stay within the pattern and not move when being soldered. The finished piece if completed with a hand made chain featuring Jane’s beads, and the piece is liberally sprinkled with Swarovski crystals.

Barbara Swinton: I wanted to do something with a minimalist look to start practicing my soldering, and like the look of mixed metals. This set combines sterling discs with a brushed finish and red brass which I textured with my new cross peen hammer. Sweat soldering with a micro torch is about as basic as soldering can get, but getting things to stay centered is still a challenge for me. Added a simple sterling bail soldered only on the back... Looking forward to advancement:)

Michele Dodge: I was inspired by this beautiful freeform malachite cabochon, cut by local lapidary artist Ed Orekar. The stone itself dictated the shape of my finished pendant, and the start of spring inspired my leafy motif, front and back. The techniques involved include soldering and saw-piercing sterling silver.

Tina Richter: This pendant was actually going to start out as a butterfly. As the main part of the body was in the pickle pot I started playing with the swirls. Before I knew it they were all soldered together in became this pendant. As for the butterfly well lets just say landed on my bench for now.
            This is 18 gauge sterling silver wire and the stones are Green mountain jade and black onyx.

Laura Bracken: This is an “end of day bracelet”.  I took copper and silver scraps leftover from my workbench and fused them into an abstract collage.  Then I soldered that onto a cuff I formed out of thick copper wire.

Laura Bracken: To make this pendant I used a jeweler’s saw to cut out the petroglyph (cave painting) shape then soldered it onto a disk I’d run through the rolling mill (for texture).  The final step was riveting a bail at the top.

We hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these wonderful creations. Make sure to check out the other monthly challenges. 

If you’d like to get in on the action, join the SRAJD organization. If you’re already an active member, submit your jewelry challenge piece here for the current month .