Deconstructed Reconstructed Retreat Friday – Part 2

I worked on two other necklaces on Friday, although neither was finished that day. The first one started with an old ampere meter, a lizard brooch, (both of which came from a stash Jen brought to share) and a tassel provided by Jen. I was able to pry the back of the meter off, which allowed me to punch holes at the top and bottom. I used wire and beads to hang the tassel from the bottom of the meter. I removed the pin back from the brooch and attached the lizard to the meter with apoxy sculpt.

I brought another beaded link out of the top of the meter, with a faceted opalescent crystal and a green square bead. My upper component was a hinged metal piece to which I attached a wooden block with the letter “e”.

In order to attach this to the beaded link on the meter, I shaped a piece of copper wire to thread through the hinge, curled the ends, then place a paddle ended copper wire through the curled ends. Jen calls this a trapeze connection. It worked perfectly.

To finish, I created a messy copper wire bail around the top of the upper component and strung it from a black leather cord. I finished the ends with a spiral link and a hammered hook.

My third necklace began with a piece of driftwood, a smashed penny, a resin piece “speak”, a metal moon (deconstructed jewelry part) and an owl button. I began by drilling holes in either side of the driftwood. I drew a bead on the end of two pieces of bronze wire, then attached them to the driftwood with beads and finished with wrapped loops. I used metal stamps to impress the word “softly” onto the smooth side of the smashed penny.

I added some fiber beads and some crystal beads as I linked parts together. I didn’t like the silver color of the moon, so I changed it using gilder’s paste.

The owl button was the wrong color and I wanted to make more owls, so I made a mold of the button. When the mold was ready, I poured in some resin. That had to cure overnight. The next morning I painted the owl with black acrylic and highlighted with gilder’s paste. I do love that product.

I finished the necklace with more torn silk fibers and a hammered wire clasp.

Both of these are fun to wear. I could have spent all my time making jewelry, but Jen had collage and assemblage to teach us too. So much more to come.