Sunday, June 2, 2013

Reticulation with Liver-of-Sulphur Patina

I love the look of reticulated metal and the jewelry I've made with it, but lately I've felt the need to play with it a little more.  So I thought it would be fun to really work with the texture by using liver of sulphur on the metal and then highlighting the baubles with a high shine.  The effect is wonderful!

This ring was the first experiment with the oxidizing effects of liver of sulphur and it's quite striking.  The apricot sapphire glows with the shine of silver surrounding it, while the blackened background sets a real mood. 
In this pin, I experimented with using less patina--I sanded away a lot of the black from the surface with steel wool, while allowing it to stay deep in the grooves of the highly textured surface.  I'm intrigued by the watery feel to this piece.

I'm loving this cuff!  The overlap, sprinkled peridot gemstones, and shiny baubles are set off by the blackened background.  I think this combination has a lot of potential and I'm eagerly looking forward to continuing with this new direction. 


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