So I did another etched piece today for Project 4 in Semiprecious Salvage. The original project calls for a doll’s hand as the dangly from the bottom of the etched metal and dutifully I grabbed one from my stash – actually NOT bisque but some composite plastic stuff from ’40s/’50s dollies. It had shattered …erm… disintegrated more like and I really loved the jagged edges. I sloshed on some quin gold/black (ACTUALLY it wasn’t black but dirty pthalo’y turquoise’y black water from my dirty brushes container!) drying with a heat gun to adhere to the hand. LOVE how this turned out! Though I chose not to use it for this project.
Hand I didn`t use
Apologies for such a lousy photo. I can’t seem to take my picture out of a paper bag these days! The wee heart charm has “xox” engraved into it and wrapped with rusty wire.
I ended up using a little ballerina from my Hannah Grey stash. I cut off the base and painted her within an inch of her life, drilled a hole in the top of her head (causing her head to fall off I might add. Doh!) glued in a loop of silver wire.
I tried using duct tape as a resist and absolutely adore how it turned out. Truth be told, I’m still pretty smitten with the whole etching process. You can see the unetched sections on the top – uneven because of two widths of duct tape – and left hand side which sorta looks like a reflection in this photo but is actually the metal. I did the text etching but don’t have ready access to a copier and simply used some sheets of print grabbed from the recycle bin. Again, it looks nubbier, not very text like but there are a number of spots that in reality show up well. Because I didn’t create my own text, this is backwards and NOT white text on black background. Hey! Improvisation is key in these sort of book work-throughs.
Project 4 - Found Evidence
I added a star stamp over top and really love the juxtaposition of the two. The beads were things I had kicking around and cut them shorter to create more of a dangly than necklace. I’m pretty pleased with the results.
Oh! Jewelry people! Question! Why oh why am I having such a hard time creating wraps with the silver wire I have? Not the right gauge? Not the right type of silver wire? I’m okay with the rusty wire I have which IS harder. But this silver stuff? Oy vei! It keeps snapping as I wrap. Help!
Hi Jen, I love all the projects you have posted from Stephanie's book. I was excited to try some of her stuff after buying the book, but now I am REALLY eager to give it a try! I live in the boonies of BC and I'm having trouble finding a source for the pcb etchant solution. Could you please share with me where you found yours? (I'm hoping for an online Canadian source.)
Thanks,
Debbie
your work thru S.L.'s book is too impressive. I finally finished my first project and it was a bit of a minor disaster. But I learned from it! One of my favorite creatures, Felix, is from S.L.'s plaster class. I enjoyed her teaching very much.
Hope my 2nd project turns out better.
Thanks for the challenge, michele
http://eyembellishments.com/art-projects/collage-…
Oh the horror. I misnamed one of my children, The creature from Stephanie Lee's plaster class is Pedro, not Felix. oops.
http://eyembellishments.com/albums/all/creatures/
I'm cracking up about the confusion of misnamed children.
When you have enough of them they all start to look alike. 
You're etching it turning out BEAUTIFULLY!!! I love seeing what you are concocting!!
I need a drill!! A heatgun. And lots of other tools. I need space! Oh you make me want to..never mind. Just want to say the little hand is adorable.
I don't know why your wire is snapping. It shouldn't, so maybe it's the wire. I use 18 gauge wire from the bead store…
thanks for all the inspiration!
Hey Jen, I don't think your wire is sterling because it wouldn't snap if it was. I've used some base metal head pins before that snapped every time I tried to do a wrap. Very brittle. Where did you get your wire?
About that silver wire. It sounds like you are using work-hardened wire — 2 solutions. If you have a torch, loosely coil it, heat it and then pickle it, which will cause the wire to get softer. Otherwise, the next batch of wire you buy, ask for "full-soft." Think of it this way: the particles that compose the metal are like little plates that have spaces between them. When the metal is work hardened (or has been pulled through a wire mill), those spaces get compressed, and the metal is stiff and springy. When the metal is heated to a certain temperature, everything expands and the metal gets soft. Also, to avoid breaking the wire, use something like Tool Magic on your pliars, and avoid really thin round nose pliars altogether, because if you clamp down on the metal too much it actually acts rather like a scissors, creating a dent, which can then start a break in the wire. Hope this helps.
Hey Jen, I am so glad to subscribe to your blog. I love the way you so NON preciously outline your semi precious work style.
When you are in the flow, you do just grab what ever lies close. Now I know what to do with the 1000 tiny bisque doll parts I bought on eBay.
cheers,
grrl+dog
I love that little doll's hand. Just found your blog and will definitely scroll through the archives to get some inspiration.
Have a super week!!
Hi Jen – a better sterling wire is known as dead soft sterling. German sterling is copper wire plated with silver and is not as supple and the plating is not as long lasting for jewelry and it is stiffer. You can also wrap your pliers with a bit of duct tape and that will help keep the pliers from messing up your wire.
I just found your blog and am blown away by your work. I would like to link you to my blog if that's ok with you.
Mary