Multi-Technique Enameled Pendant
by Cynthia Alderdice & Lois Mansfield
Opening Photo: Jim Lawson
Combine metal clay, cloisonné, etching,
stone setting, and chain making in one design.
Part 1 of 2.
Download
the PDF project
Our design, called “Alchemic Synthesis,” combines cloisonné enamel
with textured 22K gold sheet, metal clay, the design and creation of custom etching
plates, keumboo, and setting faceted and cabochon gemstones.
It was created to
explore and combine several advanced and specialized jewelry making techniques
into a beautiful but challenging piece.
In the first part of the project, we’ll
create the etching plates, etch them, and create the textured metal clay pendant
backing. After firing, we’ll use the “tear away” technique — developed
by Celie Fago for metal clay surface design — to transfer the same texture
to gold. Our original designs for the etching and tear-away plates were developed
on the computer, and we used Adobe Illustrator to create positive and negative
images, but you could use any imaging soft-ware to do the same thing. The etching
plates were used to im-press patterns on the PMC base. Additional texture was
achieved by traditional roll printing in a mill.
In June 2009 Jewelry Artist, in the second part
of this project, we’ll create the cloisonné, fabricate the pendant,
and create the handmade chain for the necklace. We like the way the colorful
cloisonné enameling enhances the overall design. |
