Project # 2 from the Lexi Erickson Art Jewelry Workshop.
Our second project was a set of three sterling silver stacking rings. This gave us the opportunity to experiment more with textures and it was my first attempt to solder metal. I love to solder and prior to this experience, I had lots of soldering experience with stained glass window construction. Well, this is nothing like stained glass soldering.
I learned about the torch and how to solder these three bands. Totally new for me. We learned how to size the rings. Add a variety of textures, which this photo doesn't show very well. One was hammered, another had a bit of sawing to add furrows and the last one was left plain. We learned the importance of having a flat edge to create a butt joint. And then, the soldering. Clean up in the pickle solution (a combination of sulfuric acid and water in a mini crock pot). And then the final polishing. I was hooked with project #1, but it just kept getting better.
As promised, here is a picture of the second set of earrings from Project #1. I created a different texture on this pair and we learned about applying liver of sulpher to darken the copper. Basically the same shape as the first pair, just another technique applied.
Each project built on the skills learned in the previous project. It just became more fascinating to me.
