Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist January - February 2017

READY FOR SOME QUIET? OR ARE YOU the type who feels let down after the commotion of the holidays, especially if you live somewhere that tends toward cold and dark at this time of year? Not to worry — I have a holiday recovery plan for everyone. One option is to burrow into your workshop, studio, garage half, or wherever it is you leave the world behind and concentrate on cutting stones, making jewelry, or doing both. If you live in a northern clime, so much the better: January and February are ideal for an indoor spot. Either way, you can retreat from all the December hoopla, reacquaint yourself with the art of focusing, and emerge refreshed. It’s also the perfect time to acquaint yourself with jewelry-related presents you may have received,…

NEXT TIME: Bill Fretz’s Shape Shifting Pendant, COVER. Riff on a design feature of this piece such as color, texture, form, value, line, space, repetition, balance, contrast, unity, or variety for your sketch. Sketch a setting for this ammolite cabochon from “Ammolite Cabochons,” page 16. DEADLINES: FEBRUARY 28, 2017 Email digital scans at 300 DPI or send photocopies of no more than three sketches per challenge, indicating the design factor that is your starting point. Sketches will not be returned. WRITE TO US ANYTIME: What do you think about what you’ve seen and read in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist? Send sketches and letters for possible print or online publication to: Karla.Rosenbusch@fwcommunity.com. Include your name, city, and state, and indicate “Your Turn” on the subject line.…

READY FOR SOME QUIET? OR ARE YOU the type who feels let down after the commotion of the holidays, especially if you live somewhere that tends toward cold and dark at this time of year? Not to worry — I have a holiday recovery plan for everyone. One option is to burrow into your workshop, studio, garage half, or wherever it is you leave the world behind and concentrate on cutting stones, making jewelry, or doing both. If you live in a northern clime, so much the better: January and February are ideal for an indoor spot. Either way, you can retreat from all the December hoopla, reacquaint yourself with the art of focusing, and emerge refreshed. It’s also the perfect time to acquaint yourself with jewelry-related presents you may…

I really enjoyed the cover article about graphite on enamel. It is a technique I have wanted to try for a while. I followed Jo Ann’s instructions; here is a photo of my project. These are Agapema dyari moths. Like the author, I used Thompson 1030 white as the base, but added gold foil and a tiny bit of red watercolor enamel to match the real moth. I am an enamelist and metalsmith who does a lot of nature-based pieces, and I spend a lot of time and effort choosing materials to obtain the closest color-match to the real animal. The graphite was the perfect gray for this moth. I wish the author had spent more time discussing firing times, as I ended up re-etching and re-drawing each moth twice,…

NEXT TIME: Bill Fretz’s Shape Shifting Pendant, COVER. Riff on a design feature of this piece such as color, texture, form, value, line, space, repetition, balance, contrast, unity, or variety for your sketch. Sketch a setting for this ammolite cabochon from “Ammolite Cabochons,” page 16. DEADLINES: FEBRUARY 28, 2017 Email digital scans at 300 DPI or send photocopies of no more than three sketches per challenge, indicating the design factor that is your starting point. Sketches will not be returned. WRITE TO US ANYTIME: What do you think about what you’ve seen and read in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist? Send sketches and letters for possible print or online publication to: Karla.Rosenbusch@fwcommunity.com. Include your name, city, and state, and indicate “Your Turn” on the subject line.…

JIM LANDON’S Emergence Pendant/Brooch Jade, cast silver, Biggs jasper “Ammolite Cabochons” Page 16 “Wire Wrapped Ammolite Pendant” Page 20 WANT TO BECOME AN LJJA CONTRIBUTOR? Contributors’ guidelines for print or online publication can be found at www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/submission BILL FRETZ’S Mountain Ring Sterling silver wire “Fluted Brass Circle Pendant” Page 24 JULIE SANFORD’S Bracelet Fordite, sterling silver “Floating Opal and Sterling Pendant” Page 30 JOHN HEUSLER, G.G.’S Sonoran Dendritic Pendant Sonoran dendritic rhyolite, sterling silver “Reticulated Silver and Variscite Ring” Page 50 ARLENE MORNICK’S Pendant Fine silver, black spinel “16 Important Facets About Setting Stones in Metal Clay” Page 46 JULIA LOWTHER’S Meow Ring Sterling silver “Measuring with Vernier Calipers” Page 42 JEFF FULKERSON’S Triple Pendant Sterling silver, fossil ivory, black jade, Sonoran Sunrise, turquoise “How to Bezel Set Cabochons with Sharp Corners” Page 38…