When Beauty Comes From Ugly

My workshop is the warmest part of my house, and when I started this blog, I imagined myself working away through the dark cold days of winter, and having this comfortable and easy way to show off my latest creations.

What I am realizing is that although most of my creative process happens in the winter, a lot of the work I am really excited about exists largely in my own imagination, and until it passes through the greasy grimy process of finishing, it isn't something anyone but another jeweler would be able to get excited about.

The delay between getting my work from my minds eye, into the eye of my camera is because I hate polishing.

I don't polish my jewelry in my workshop, because that would get waxy dust all over all the many small tools, gemstones and metals I work with, which are already next to impossible to keep dusted and organized. I can't polish stuff outside because the wheel regularly grabs whatever I am trying to finish, and flings it to some far corner of the room. Even in a small indoor room it sometimes takes more than a week to find it. If I tried to do this outside, the permanent losses would be substantial.  

So,  I polish stuff in my living room. I mean, what better place to cover with a fine dust of greasy brown polishing compound?

I try and schedule this to happen at a time no one else needs to use the living room, and when no house guests are sleeping on the couch.

Before polishing, I cover up everything that I can, including myself.

It usually takes a couple days as things need to be polished, scrubbed off, examined, and polished again before they are properly finished, and sometimes a third polishing is needed.

But the rewards come.

I was really excited by the patterning I created on the sterling silver in these earrings I just finished.

 The round dark looking stones are amethyst and they are a deep rich purple when the light can pass through them. ( A hole is cut out of the silver at the back of the stone, so the light passing through can show the stones colour .)

These 2 pairs of earrings were created through a process of layering, fusion, hammering, rolling, more layering more fusion more hammering and more rolling. 

Pretty!

Now I just need to clean up my living room!