Crazy Freeform Prong Settings

The show season is over for me, and I have been allowing myself time to play.  It is the time of year to make gifts, and to have some fun in the studio, before deadlines begin to roll in again.

 

I have even been making some mixed media pieces, like Snow Moon, below

 

I also turn 40 next week.  I am not however dreading it, I feel pretty good and I am totally young at heart still. 

 

see?  purple hair to prove it

 

 

My best friend (since the first day of 9th grade) is taking me to NYC for an overnight Friday so we can celebrate our 40th together (her birthday was a couple weeks ago).  You see, she used to go to NYU, so us gallivanting in the city was pretty frequent in our younger years.  And though I am REALLY a country girl at heart, something about New York City just speaks to me.  I think its the fact that there is art everywhere, and a plethora of unique people.  I love the street performers, the little SOHO galleries, the fancy smanchy  shops with little dogs that sit in their mahogany beds.  I love just soaking it all in.

Here is an old pic from our early NYC days.  Oh, to be young in the 90's again

that was too funny not to post

 

What does this have to do with prong settings?  LOL!  Well, I really needed to make myself some new jewelry for our trip!  I usually make myself something special for my birthday each year, and this year, I wanted to make some cool chunky silver necklace with fossils and odd gemstones and such. 

I started with this horse tooth fossil. 

 

I loved the shape of it, but it was chunky.  I thought about bezeling it but it would hide too much of the fossil for my liking.  Plus, it would use sheet metal, which costs more then wire.

So I set out to do a prong setting.  A basic prong setting is usually a circle on wire, with the prongs soldered onto it.  You set your piece in it, and tighten the prongs.  However to make an odd sized shape piece work, it helps to go free form.

 

 

So I just started free-forming the wire, and soldering as needed as I went along.  I'd make my basic shape, and then lay my piece on it, see where the next prong needs to be, flip it over, make the prong, use a mallet to flatten it, tighten the pieces together, solder, pickle, make another prong, ect.  I even had to drill the horse tooth and feed a ball pin through it to make it hold well.

 

I think you really need to be willing to go with the flow- and allow mistakes to turn into solutions with this freeform process.  There is really no set way to do one. 

 Here is one I made for a crystal, I'd hold it up to the stone, see where another prong needed to go, and continue

 

Here is the finished piece ready to have the crystal set into it

 

finished piece back

 finished piece front

 

These two pieces were thick, and they also posed the problem that I didn't want to attach the chain from the back, so I had to attach a piece to the top of the prongs, so the chain would attach in the middle of the thickness of the piece.  Tricky.  very tricky.  I only use a butane torch and solder paste.  This has been a great test of my skills, and helped me to get even more comfortable with the flame, and where my heat is- or isn't.

Then I tried some thinner stones and cabs, and they were much easier to make a setting for.  (I always seem to try the hardest first).Each one used only one piece of wire for the backing and prongs, it just took some fancy wire work. 

 

Then they either got rings soldered on or fastened in the prongs themselves so that I could add my chunky chain.

 

Prong setting is actually pretty difficult when you have a fragile item.  You really need to get it perfectly tight, without breaking your piece.  I used 16 gauge wire for mine, so they are really firm, but also a bit hard to set.  You also need to make sure that your prongs are each set in a place that will secure your cab or stone.  Usually one on each side is what you need, but sometimes you can get away with less if they stone is irregular, and you place them just right.

 

I encourage you to try it though, because it makes the backside as pretty as the front!  It will test your wire work skills, your soldering skills, and you may even pull out some geometry and math you didn't think you'd ever need again! 

So I have a couple new pieces for myself to wear to NYC.  I will try to take pics and have an awesome blog post next week about all our adventures. 

 

I will be adding some of these to the galleries and my etsy shop after the holidays.  So be on the lookout for them!

 



Berks Bead Bazaar: Friends, Beads and Good Times

Well- Berks was great.  Though there seemed to be less foot traffic then last year, all in all, it was great time, of course.  I mean, I got to hang out with soooo many beady friends, friends I get to chat with online, but rarely get to see in person.  They make the show wonderful.

 

I was between Lisa Peters Art, and Dona Jones of Kindred Designs.  Both are very creative women I adore, and love to spend time with.  I was close to Joan Miller Porcelain, and Greg Graup as well.  I didn't get lots of pics of everyone, but I will link to a post that will have all those pics when its up. 

 

Julia and I got to the hotel friday night and had a snack at the bar.

 

 

Then we got to the hotel room and she got all her friends tucked in.

 

 

and we had some fun taking funny pics of ourselves while watching funny movies

 

 

 

Saturday monring we set up and then got some breakfast.  Julia liked that she got to drink out of a fancy glass.  You know, we don't get out too often.

 

 

The booth turned out good, and since my neighbor missed the first day, Julia got her own little spot to sell her beads.  She even made her own sign. 

 

 

I really cannot express in words how proud I am of this little gal.  Not only did she design her own beads, she made them, painted them and sealed them. I only drilled holes for her.  This was her first time selling anything.  She picked it up so quickly!!!  By the end of the day, she was writing her own receipts, talking with her customers, and making change (still a little rocky on that one, she was nervous).  Everyone was soooo kind to her, and loved encouraging her in her art.  She even had a chance to show off some of her little sculptures and pictures she draws.  She is a natural.  She is also VERY confident, and had us all laughing all day long.

 

Saturday towards the end of the show, Marsha Neal came by with her daughter Chloe.  Julia had been looking forward to them coming ALL day long.

 They were instant friends.

 

photo by marsha neal

 

Julia was even showing Chloe the ropes of selling, she will be ready to be helping Marsha by late spring.

 

So they stayed for dinner and some gab time too.  While all us chatted beads and business (Marsha, Joan Miller, Louise Mehaffey, and Patti Cahill), the girls played some pool.

 

 

Then we put pink smash in the girls hair that Lisa brought for them to try out.  Oh my gosh, were they thrilled.

 

 

 

Later that night I got to hang out with Lisa a bit. We stayed up way to late chatting.  I really look forward to the time I can spend with my online beady friends.  They are very dear to me and I always come away refreshed and encouraged by them.

 

On Sunday, Dona, my neighbor, made it in, and she promised Julia she would share her table with her.  Dona and Julia hit it off, and they just hung out together all day long.  Dona brought her a box full of super girly craft supplies that kept them both busy.  Seriously, my friends totally spoiled her, but its fine with me, she's a great kid.

 

 

I got to meet Bobbi Horst (a friend from facebook) in person on Sunday, as well as some other of my blog readers who made a long trip to come and visit Berks!!!!  Thanks so much guys!  It was really great to see you all.

 

 

I know, I know, what about the beads?  Sorry, I really had a great girls weekend with my Julia and friends.  But yes, there were beads, lots and lots of beads.

 

Here is the stash I came home with.

 

 

Of course, I shopped Lisa's booth all weekend, adding things up to the last minute.  I am VERY happy with my newest stash from her.  Here is a little close up of them.

 

 

 

This last bead is a rustic tube bead from Lisa Peters Art.  It is sooo not a shape I've ever used, but I love the look of it, and the challenge.

 

I also got some cabs from Greg Graup.  He had some new freeform cabs this year, and of course, I love the organic rustic look of them.  I also got some really great rutilated quartz cabs that I would like to use in some chunky rings.

 

 

I got these from Dona Jones. I love her sawed metal charms, and this crab was screaming to be paired with sea glass.

 

 

 

I hit Joans stash of crackle bone beads, her daggers, and got a newer highly textured one I couldn't refuse as well.

 

 

And then there were gemstones.

 

 

green garnet

 

 

muscovite

large whole pearls

and my favorite find of the entire show.....rough cut rubies

 

Oh, and remember that awesome trilobite necklace I made, well, it went home with the awesome Joan Miller.  Doesn't it look like it was made for her???

 

 

 

It was a great show, but now I am home, and wow, did that feel good.

 

 

 

 

After a good nap this after noon and some homemade soup today, I think I am ready to catch up tomorrow.  I hope to be listing beads in my shop friday (we have our tax meeting on wednesday, so we have prep to do).  I will keep you posted.  Thanks to all for your support, and for bearing with a million "getting ready for Berks" pictures.  You guys rock.