'when we quit thinking primarily about ourselves
and our own self-preservation,
we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.'
~ joseph campbell
change is in the air, confidence is growing and excitement is overwhelming at times... i decided it was time to stop wanting to try etching metal & to just do it after reading a blog the other day... these are small 18 ga. copper blanks... i used the book 'semi-precious salvage: creating found art jewelry' by stephanie lee as a guide... here i have used a rubber stamp & permanent ink to mark the blanks... they were allowed to completely dry...
the book recommended leaving the metal in the etchant for a couple of hours... so i left them in for 2.5... i had a vintaj blank - that got eaten up, disintegrated... & a larger blank that didn't etch as much... but i didn't put it back in because i wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like... then i took the little guys out... i really love the molten look they took on... very cool... but also very sharp in areas...
these are post oxidizing... i only had steel wool to work with and some small files... but i love the contrast... i do believe that i will need to get a dremel tool for brightening the raised areas and some sandpaper to help out with the smoothing...
when you want to grow, when you want to become 'more', it's a feeling that pulls at you... it can come into conflict with what you 'have' to do... but somehow it works out... and anytime you grow in one way, it seems to spill over into other ways... i thank lisa at lucid moon studio for so openly sharing her information and experimentation with this... it's always funny to me how the universe works... this was my next step, and as i was looking through the new posts this weekend, there it was!
ooh - just remembered i have a buffing and sanding sponge... going to try that...
ooh - just remembered i have a buffing and sanding sponge... going to try that...
how and what are you transforming?
That looks cool. So all you did was stamp it with permanent ink and throw it in the etching stuff and they came out all raised like that? Wow! if it is that easy I will really have to try it!
ReplyDeleteLovely job! What a wonderful result to your experiment. I think these should give you a huge confidence boost (although with your spectacular work you should have no fear of failure my dear!)
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about buying that book and I guess I will, now that you tested this out for me...thanks! Great job...love the results!
ReplyDeleteYour first pieces turned out wonderfully! I love etching - although it can be unpredictable. And Semiprecious Salvage is not only extremely helpful, but also inspiring.
ReplyDeletemy goodness!! those are simply gorgeous!!! the colors, the textures, the prints!! i'm drooling here!!
ReplyDeleteYou've gotta love unpredictable - all sorts of great things flow from the results!
ReplyDeleteHave my acid, glycerine, demineralised water, nitrile gloves, bicarbonate of soda and all I need is a new toner cartridge so I can transfer the designs and I'm off!
Results to be proud of!! I love the jewelry you make.
ReplyDeleteCreative juices flow, ideas sprout like weeds. Always faster than I can follow through with plans to try new things. However, I have made a commitment to slow down and learn more new things. I just ordered a metal stamp set for an idea I have so I guess I will see where that takes me.
Sometimes I wish I could take the last 15 years back and start this phase of my life over, but know what I do now about the universe. It would be interesting to be able to compare both places in time and see how they would, if they would, be different.
I love these! I have etchant in the studio and between you and Lisa I am feeling inspired. Thank you so much for showing all of the steps. These came out really well. Bravo!!!!
ReplyDeletewow - thanks so very much! i had fun doing it and just realized (duh) that drawing on blanks with sharpies may yield some interesting results! my daughter wants to do a fingerprint... think that could be cool too!
ReplyDeleteYou got some great results with your experiment. They look awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention! I'm glad you tried it. They came out great! I think I left mine in for a shorter period, like a little over an hour because I was impatient! I like the deeper etch that you achieved though. I also tumbled mine in a rock tumbler with steel shot for a few hours to get rid of the rough edges. It's a lot easier than sanding for hours! What should we experiment with next? :)
ReplyDeleteThese are great ... and will look wonderful in your dynamite jewelry creations! I had seen Lisa's blog and her great examples. I'm glad you mentioned her contribution.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Maire! I may be buying charms from you soon! :) thanks for sharing your results! They are really wonderful!
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