A Couple More Concave Ideas

I realized I didn't post a couple of photos from the pieces I was making when I was experimenting with the concave concept.  So, here are some earrings and some pins along the concave theme.

For the pins, the background piece is textured to provide both contrast and interest to the pieces.  I used different techniques for each of the concave rectangles.  The blue one is an ikat stack, the brown one from a mokume gane sheet, and the gold and cayene pin was made using the imbedded lace mokume gane technique I talked about in my last post.  It's amazing how different - yet the same - the pieces look using different techniques for the curved section.

These earrings have a really long dangling wire holding the 2 concave pieces at the bottom.  I also embellished with crystal rounds and gold-filled beads to add some interest.  You can't see it in the photo, but the inside of the curved pieces has designs from canes or stacks.

Lace and Metal Leaf Mokume Gane

How did it get to be March?  We've had an unusually warm month so far, which has been helpful as we help our puppy adapt to a different toileting regime.  She had a wonderful time visiting with the folks at our February workshop and can't wait to see them all again.
At that workshop, we experimented with using thick lace pieces to impress a design into the clay.  We used the type of lace that makes lovely trim, rather than flat lace that is often used for sleeves or as an overlay on another fabric.  We also incorporated composite metal leaf as the top layer of our thin clay stacks.  This meant that, after impressing the lace design, we skimmed off parts of the metal leaf and the design of the lace came through.

Here are photos of sections of two sheets I made. The polymer sheets are eventually rolled out on a #3 or #4 on an Atlas machine, so you end up with a very flexible sheet with the metal leaf imbedded into the clay.  Adding a good backing would allow one to make lovely jewelry pieces.  However, I also think these sheets would be great as a cover for small paper mache' or cardboard boxes, or other items you would like to cover.  It was a fun and interesting process, and the sheets people made in class were simply lovely.