Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Learning New Skills

Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers!!
I've been learning a new skill, making chainmaille jewelry. Oh boy, it is challenging! But the rewards are so nice and somehow almost addictively satisfying. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe the puzzle-solving that is involved in order to figure out how to put these things together. Maybe just that the results are so beautiful. Whatever it is, I feel myself being drawn in a little more with each piece I complete!
Of course my 'maille' is not going to look quite like the pieces that other people make. I love the beautifully polished and perfect pieces out there. The chainmaillers I've met do incredible work!
But my pieces are something you would dig out of an ancient ruins, so I use dark annealed steel in a heavy gauge. This is rugged stuff. It's hard on the hands because it is thick and stiff. It polishes to a nice pewter color, with a nice dull sheen. The ends of the links are never going to be perfectly smooth and perfectly seamed together just because of the nature of this wire. I like that rugged look so it suits me perfectly.
Here are the pieces I've made so far. I'd love to hear feedback! Always feel free to leave comments!!

A bit of European 4-1 in this necklace


Spiral Bracelet


A 'unit' of Scherzo in the first pair of earrings.


The second pair is just links, my way.


My variation of Helm.

8 comments:

  1. great good stuff! i told you how much i love the first pair of earrings, and the spiral bracelet reminds me of relics from Atlantis.

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  2. Oh thank you for saying that!!!!!!! It's JUST what I want to make - relics!!!! :D

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  3. They look great! All the piece maintain your unique style as well. Great job!!!

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  4. Thank you Candy!!! :D What a wonderful thing to say!

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  5. These certainly do not look like the works of a beginner. Most excellent job!

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  6. I love chainmaile even though I have only done a couple of pieces, I could see myself getting very hooked on it. Your pieces are great. I love your use of Annealed Steel, it's a great choice!

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  7. Thank you Cindy! I love steel!!! :D

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