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exploring patinain wire , meta l,

and glass jewelry

KERRY BOGERT

Rusticwrappings


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Carefree and fanciful; organic and natural; timeless andpossible; passionate and sensibleevoking a romantic ren-

dezvous set against a backdrop of a western sunset . . .

These are just a few of the images and emotions I hope

you'll experience as you flip through the pages of this book.

Isn't it amazing how jewelry can sum up a multitude of

ideas all at once? Being able to express yourself in such

a way can be a really powerful thing. Throughout my cre-

ative career, I have had the opportunity to explore several

modes of self-expression. I sew, I knit, I paint, and I write.

I always, always, find myself coming back to jewelry as my

favorite means of communicating what is in my heart. As

I bend, twist, hammer, snip, and otherwise manipulate wire,

I capture in a necklace, bracelet, or earrings, things that can

sometimes be hard to say with words. It allows me to share

with the world who I am and what I hope to be.

Most of the time, my jewelry uses bright and bold colors

and shiny silver to evoke feelings of joy, fun, play, and youth-

fulness. However, in this book we will be exploring a more

settled, earthly, organic, and wistful style of design that

takes inspiration from life, love, nature and the elements,

times gone by, and the hope of things to come.

One of the ways to create this thoughtful mood is to play

with color. Copper roofs have amazing color, for example. So

do old bronze sculptures. How could that be re-created on the

surface of jewelry without leaving it in the rain for 100 years?

How do you create rustic jewelry using methods that go be-

yond simply oxidizing, incorporating a wide variety of colors?

Its not as hard as you may think. I can't tell you how

completely amazed I was the day I discovered that I could

spritz a little salt water on metal floating in the fumes of

ammonia to get the prettiest blue patina I had ever seen.

I have to thank Linda and Opie O'Brien's Metal Craft Discov-

ery Workshop(North Light Books, 2005) for introducing me

to many of the patina methods I explore in this book. I used

their techniques as a springboard into my own methods that

I'll be sharing with you. I know you are going to love being a

studio color scientist as much as I do!

I am also excited to be including another technique in

these pages: wire embroidery. Using wire to embroider on

metal started as a what if idea while browsing the sewing

section of my local bookstore. I was flipping through the

pages of Embroidered Effects (Chronicle Books, 2009), by

Jenny Hart, when I started to see visions of piercing metal

and wire turned floss. Weaving wire in and out as I would a

needle and thread has busted open a world of possibilities

for me. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it

is to add these new layers to your repertoire of skills.

As always, in these pages you will find not only the ba-

sics of jewelry making, but careful step-by-step guidance in

how to work new techniques. This book also offers color tips

and insights with you to kick-start palettes. I have had many

conversations with students who tell me they fear color and

often find themselves in a color rut. Fear is the last emotion

that we would want to evoke in a jewelry design, so prepare

to be inspired!

I can't wait to get started! So grab your pliers and lets

get twisting . . .

kerry

introduction


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Fill a small resealable container with

sawdust.

Pour a liberal amount of white vinegar

on the sawdust and mix with your

fingers. Not all the dust needs to be

soaked, but it should start to come

together almost like a paste.

Bury your metal in the saturated saw-

dust and seal the container. Allow to

set overnight.

Note:If you can create a green-house environment by putting the

sealed conta iner in d irect sunlight, you

can greatly speed up the process. The

intense heat helps hasten the patina

development.

Remove the metal components from

the sawdust and let air-dry. Once

dry, use a soft bristle brush to gently

remove any sawdust stuck to the

surface of the metal. Dont concern

yourself with removing every single

piece of sawdust. When the patina

is sealed, the remnants add to the

texture of the surface and aged feel

of the piece.

Where ammonia turns most metals blue,vinegar takes

them to a lovely place where green grows. Unlike ammonia,

however, the fumes dont cause the effect; you cant simply

soak a piece in vinegar to get the look, either. You need some-

thing to hold the moisture of the vinegar and let it wick down

onto the metal. I have experimented with several mediums

to see which works best for this. By far, I have had the most

success with sawdust. The fine shavings of wood leave behind

an almost crystalline sheen to the surface of the metal that

reminds me of the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz.

vinegarpatina

directions

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3

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Vinegar creates an enchanted dimensional look on

brass (left) and copper (right).


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mountainbride

Special occasions often spark the creation of a

future heirloom that will be passed down for

generations. Wrapped in the warmth of love, this

Baroque-inspired design has all the drama of velvet

drapes and the softness of snowcapped mountains.

Although this piece was created in a modern studio,

the style gives it a feeling of age and history.

TECHNIQUES

coiling

jump rings

wrapped loops

simple loops

claspspatina

TOOLS

round-nose pliers

chain-nose pliers

wire cutters

" mandrel

coiling tool

chasing hammer

bench block

polishing cloth

ammoniacotton balls

resealable bag

alcohol ink (color shown: cranberry)

craft mat

sealant

paintbrush

MATERIALS

16 g brass wire

20 g brass wire

1820 clear glass head pins

Lampwork head pins by

Anne Lichtenstein

Finshed size: 18' ' (45.5 cm)

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While out on an unexpected afternoon stroll, your

feet move one in front of the other and your thoughts

may wander and drift to far-off places. It is too easy to

forget to let our thoughts wander when life is so full of

stresses, though. Let this embroidered cuff be a reminder

just to let go and see where your mind roams.

TECHNIQUES

embroidery

wrapped loops

clasps

oxidizing

TOOLS

chain-nose pliersround-nose pliers

wire cutters

punch pliers

alphabet stamps

utility hammer

liver of sulfur

polishing cloth

MATERIALS

20 g sterling silver wire

20 g " (1.3mm) sterling silverstrip

24 g colored copper wire (colorturquoise)

4 round lampworked beads

Lampwork beads by Kerry Bogert

Finshed size: 7.5' ' (19 cm)

wonderwhile youwander

6 Rusticwrappings


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Rusticwrappings 7

Moroccan Archways

Sprockets in Pockets

Spice Trader

The Mariner


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