Thursday, January 29, 2009

I'm a texture girl

From way back. It affects a lot of things - from the food I eat to the clothes I wear, and yes, to the jewelry I make. :) Texture can make or break things for me. I don't like corn tortillas, instead I favor flour ones, because I don't like the texture of corn tortillas.

While I make do make jewelry that is 'smooth' and more sleek - I LOVE texture! Texture can add so much to a piece - character, depth, visual interest. And there are so many ways to GET texture. From expensive rolling mills, to inexpensive options like a nail and hammer.

I surfed back through my blog and pulled some photos of pieces with textures:




This piece was textured by hammering the sterling onto concrete - in the driveway. LOVE the effect. :)








The rolling mill was used to texture the sterling in these earrings. The metal was run through the mill with window screening.



More window screening







This pendant was given texture with a quasi-fold forming technique. The granules also add a layer of texture.







Corrugation was used here to provide texture to the sterling - a nice offset to the smooth copper.







This pendant shows some chasing all around the bezel, on the wire.




More chasing...........this one using a 'professional' chasing tool.











This was done using nails and screws, etc. I did a tutorial showing how to modify nails etc to complete this pendant.





Etching can provide texture either in terms of a 'scene' or just a random pattern.








The two pieces to the left are samples of reticulation. (using heat - torch - to create texture) The earrings have an added layer of texture as holes were drilled and then the metal was run through the mill to elongate the holes.



These final earrings combine reticulation, chasing, and roller mill printing.







These are just some of the things I do with texture. I'm interested in hearing other people's favorite texturing techniques - what do you like to do?

6 comments:

  1. These are fab Janice, it's really interesting seeing the different effects! I love the corrugated one.
    Maz :)

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  2. They're all gorgeous! I love texture, too, and I'm picking about the things I eat because of it. I like to use "found" sufaces for texture, and different types of hammers and tools. Texture is a fun and inexpensive way to add interest to a piece, and I rarely make anything without it.

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  3. Janice - they are all brilliant! The first one (hammered on concrete) - are those stones 'bead set' into the sterling? Its something I want to try (...I've bought a book!) - what size and what type are the purple gemstones - and also what guage silver sheet did you use (roughly!)?

    I absolutely adore the piece that you have used the 'professional' chasing tool on. Love that look.

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  4. Thanks all!!

    Vicky - they are bead set. Practice - as you can see they all have a different number of beads!! lol. One has like 6, another 4 and one I think really only has 3. They are rubies. Tiny....maybe 2.25ish..? I don't know what gauge, it may be umm, 20 gauge. I soldered it to the copper to get the extra depth. I like the scenic pendants, but don't do them that often. Don't know why...

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  5. ohh, you meant the other one - I call it 'snakeskin'. Just simple repetition, but the effect really works!

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