Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The Pear and The Apple



"The Pear and the Apple".... A new design for this year..... Individually cut pieces of Sterling Silver and Copper.... measured, shaped, hammered, textured, assembled...


A few pears have been carefully laid out on the soldering board... ready for the next step in the process...

Some tools hanging from the edge of a can... the red gauge of my acetylene "B" tank can be seen in the lower right corner...


My trusty torch beginning its job... This part of the process is the most painstaking, exacting and time-consuming... and nerve wracking...


detail of The Apple


The phrase I often utter, while this is taking place ..."please, don't walk heavy by my table"...
if the pieces get jiggled and move out of place... I have to set them up, all over again... and that has happened many times... and oh, sometimes I accidentally knock the tray myself and the little pieces go flying...


detail of The Pear


....Also the light in the room has to be just right... I have to watch carefully to see when the silver starts to flow... and take the heat away immediately when it seems enough... if I linger too long I melt the whole piece...

...believe me I have melted my share by glancing away for just a moment...

..All the steps of creating a finished piece are not shown here in this entry.. I will post them while working on different designs in the future... they are the messy stages such as the acid bath, the antiquing, drilling, more hammering, and polishing...





The finished... " Pear and Apple"...


Our Logo can be seen on our card above... There is a meaning to it... you will find it on my sidebar.

This design is Limited Production... $25.00 pr .... more Whimsical Designs here

Available... if interested in DESIDERATUM Art Jewelry, please contact me, Thank-You.

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20 comments:

Sharon said...

That is so cool! I LOVE this post....seeing some of the steps in the process and how amazingly they are transformed from beginning to end.....until they come alive. And, I've been wondering about your logo so I can't wait to read your post about that!!!

sandy said...

Wow, fascinating and really enjoyed seeing this. Yes..looking forward too to read about your logo.

s

Gwen Buchanan said...

thanks Sharon and Sandy, This was suppose to be a short simple post but it ended up growing...
it's been happening a lot lately...

Anet said...

Love the new design! It's so great to see how you do your work. I have done a little silver soldering a long time ago, but I remember it well.... Do you sell at shops or just art fairs? I love your logo. can't wait to hear about it.

Gwen Buchanan said...

hey thanks Anet, we used to sell at craft fairs and farmers markets all the time but since moving to the coast we have only gone to 2 regularly... we mostly sell at shops now... thanks for asking...

William Evertson said...

I love your description of detail work. What love love goes into these pieces! Looking away for a second can spoil an art work. Perhaps the person looking doesn't see it, but the artist does. I guess it's not brain surgery, but it sure feels like it when you are in creative mode.

Ruth said...

Thank you so much for posting the whole thing and telling us what you do. More, more! It is fascinating, and the process seems exquisite to me, from my side of the table. So the pair includes the "pear and the apple"? I love that, if so. Hammered metals are one of the beautiful things of the world. It's such a privilege to watch this craft here. I love your logo too, yes waiting to hear about it.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Bill, Thanks for your comments.. you always have a unique way of seeing things...

Gwen Buchanan said...

Well that was really stupid of me... not making that clear... I need an editor... yes you have put the mystery together...

thanks for asking about that Ruth...

This line of our jewelry are mostly all mis-matched designs... such as this "Pear and Apple". some others are "Cat and Mouse", little People, Bird and Flower...

Anonymous said...

Your work is quite beautiful, you must know...

I also wanted to thank you for the nice comment you left on my birds blog. So many people never heard of Guinea Hens. And you came up with the flying up on the roof parts that I forgot about. I posted another on my abestown.blogspot.com blog.

Ruth said...

Well it wasn't stupid of you. I thought it was stupid of me, since you showed them together and put them together in a phrase. Even the words "pear and apple" just sound sweet together. It's a great idea to have those pairs in a set!

L.L. Barkat said...

Love the detailed shot of the apple!

Jazz said...

I love these. Where can I get them?

Sherrie said...

Lovely! It's so neat to see how something I know nothing about is made. Are your pieces available anywhere in Saint John? (We're going to be there for a few days the week after next... maybe I could take you some soap gifts? I need to picture a bar of my soap in the same house as that gorgeous door!)

Gwen Buchanan said...

thanks Abe and L.L. for checking out my jewelry process
... . Abe I just love Guinea hens... They originated in Africa didn't they... they have such strong characters.. and colors!!

Ruth. and Jazz every year we go through a design phase in Jan. and add a few more pairs to our collections.. it always surprises me when people come and tell me they have several different pairs and they mix and match them to suit what ever they are doing that day.. It is fun to hear stories about them from customers...
also jazz, we sell in boutiques and gallery shops in most provinces across Canada and we ship to customers ourselves...

Sherrie,thanks.. we sell in a couple shops in Saint John... one is at Beckwith & Co. in the Saint John City and they are also available at Handworks on King st..
yes... making soap is something I have never tried...so I really appreciate the talent it takes to create something so functional and beautiful as your soaps.... we are located about 45 min. from Saint John farther up the coast towards the Fundy Trail.....

Ruth said...

That is a great idea for customers to mix and match their sets!

Gina said...

A really fascinating process and the results are so beautiful.. love the logo design too. Gx

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Gina, how's the weather down your way .. do you have winter ?

ArtPropelled said...

Isn't blogging great? I love the creative buzz in the studios of bloggers all over the world. It's a privelege being able to peek into your process,Gwen. Thanks for sharing.

Your apple and pear design is so simple, yet effective and very beautiful. The way you mismatch the designs is charming too.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you so much Robyn,
I love to steal peeks into others studios too.. they always inspire me and send me off with fresh visions...