I really enjoyed this portion of the project. I haven’t had an assignment yet that really used everything that I had learned about working with metal, so it was nice to incorporate many different techniques into one piece. I feel that learning how to execute hinges and clasps in a piece will be an invaluable lesson that I will definitely use in the future. If I were to go back and do it all again, naturally, there are some things that I would have done differently.
First, I would have not stressed so much about the etching. I would have prepared a few more pieces of metal to actually be placed in the etching solution, because once I took them out some had air bubbles and portions that did not react properly. This left me with only one front piece and two back pieces for forming. Once I was forming the pieces, I realized that somehow, while I was printing the designs onto the PNP blue paper, they were smaller than my die. This was made very clear and I wanted to cry right there. I decided that it wasn’t as big a deal as I was making it and pressed on... literally.
I had chased at least 10 forms for different samples, which all went fine, but somehow these two forms were the hardest to get flat. Once I did, I cut them out and finally saw a 3-D version of my design, which fit together perfectly. It was nice to finally see it, but I still had a lot of work to do. I cut and soldered an internal frame for the back piece, which was as challenging as I had expected, but I got it done.
Then came time to pierce out the very intricate filigree design for the front. This took me a lot longer than I had anticipated, and was a lot harder to do since the piece had already been formed. I have never cut metal that wasn’t completely flat, so this was an experience. I used a very small blade and had to go slow because the swirls would bend up and down with the saw blade.
After about three hours of sawing, I prepared the components for the hinge. Filing the cradles on my 3-D form seemed to be much easier than on the flat sheets of metal. Getting the knuckles to actually solder to the piece turned out to be a different story. I spent all of one day trying to get them to stick, but they were not cooperating. First I tried laying the pieces flat and setting the knuckles between them, like I had done for the sample. After five or six tries of no luck, I glued the pieces, stood them up in between two bricks, and set the knuckles on top. I tried this a few times then decided to solder each side separately. This took a few tries on each side but I finally got it. I think my problem was not heating the whole piece evenly, which seems silly for all the time that I wasted on it. But, once I got that to work everything else seemed like a piece of cake. Somewhere in the process of soldering the hinge, I melted some of the swirls that I had so painstakingly pierced out. If I had an extra day and an extra sheet of metal etched, I would have made a new piece, but I had to move forward, which still bothers me.
I had the clasp to do next, which at this point I still didn’t know how I wanted to make it. I threw around a couple of different designs in my head, incorporating the swirls and really making it a design element. In the end, I didn’t want it taking away from the intricacy of the swirls or making the front of the piece too much. I attached the wire and soldered it together (which took a few tries because it melted the first couple of times) and I just bent the sides in to catch the ball. I felt that the shape made by the wire reflected the shape of the top of the pendant, which is why I didn’t worry too much about changing it.
The chain was an element that I really had trouble deciding what I wanted it to be. I knew that I wanted to play with the juxtaposition of delicate intricacy and solid metal in the pendant, but I didn’t know how I wanted to achieve that. I decided to go with two thin links, connected by one thicker link. I made the larger links ovals to make it more interesting than just circles and it really changed the whole look of the chain, which I liked. I still don’t know if I love the chain with this pendant, but I like the pieces separately. I think the purple patina brings it together but it’s still not totally cohesive.
There are definitely a few little imperfections that bother me with this piece, but I am incredibly happy with that I was able to accomplish with never done die forming, etching, hinges, or clasps.
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