FMP First Day Back 13th April

First Day Back   13th April

Back to college and that means back to work. With only four weeks till the deadline for handing in our work to be marked, every day has to count. I started the day sorting out what I was going to make my jewellery out of. This is a difficult matter because the silver I was thinking of using has to be heated in very high temperatures and that is something that I might not be able to do with the equipment I have. So I have to go back and see what I could use. I was thinking of using copper and heating it to give it a different colour, or I could use aluminium. Both can be easily cut and moulded to follow my design I wanted to create.

After considering the different metal options that I could use for my jewellery, I thought about how I could achieve the designs I wanted. I very much wanted to make the locket more of a three dimensional object than flat, as someone's personality is never just straight forward or flat. As I wanted the front of my locket to be raised, I have to try out some different techniques to achieve this. One way is to place the copper between some wood and then use a metal stamp to hammer out a raised section for the front of my locket. I have to be careful with my design as it is very small and detailed. I didn't want to risk it breaking while I hammer out the copper.

Once I sorted out how I will make my test piece, I could then use the rest of the drawing section to finish my design sheet. I had planned out one of my sheets last Friday so that I could have one done before the end of this week. With all the layout sorted and the images printed, the only thing I had to do was the background. I wanted it to have more of a textured look to it, but also a light transparency too. I remembered being shown a way to transfer a pattern or design from a printed picture earlier this year, so I knew I could do it with a little bit of effort.

I carefully placed the printed picture onto the paper and rubbed the paint thinner onto the back, then I carefully pressed on the picture to rub the ink off of the picture and onto the design sheet. Covering most of the page in this way took me the rest of the lesson. Once I was done, it gave a nice textured look and a older feel to the paper as well.

After a break I could start on making the wooden frame I have to use for tapping out the copper. After cutting the wood, I then had to drill holes in both of them so that the copper could be secure when I'm hammering it. I had to be careful to measure the centre and where the screws will fit. Placing masking tape round it to fix both together, I could then drill the holes to guide the screws in. Having done that, the copper then had to be heated so that it would be softer and easier to mould.

The workshop closed so I have to finish off the rest tomorrow. I can start hammering the copper into my design.