The price of silver

I was going to buy some silver metal clay this past week to top up my supply. I haven't bought any in about 6 months. At that time, the price of silver was $19 per oz.   When I went onto the usual website where I buy metal clay, the price was just so off-putting. Silver metal clay prices are directly influenced by the silver price and today the price of silver has increased to $34 per oz.  So in 6 months, the price of silver has nearly doubled.  When I started working in metal clay in 2005, the silver price was $7 per oz.

Data from http://silverprice.org/silver-price-history.html

I actually left the website open on my laptop for a week, trying to adjust to the change in price before I pressed the "buy" button.  In the end, I checked what I already had in my studio and decided not to buy any more.

It has really made me stop and think about what I am doing.  While I was away in Mexico over December and January, I got to try lots of other different media.... and loved it - so with these silver prices, I think I'm going to focus more time on things other than silver for a while. 

I've been wanting to have some time to work more on my aluminum techniques...and also other types of clay, so this seems like the perfect time for this.  I'll obviously continue with silver clay and have a few commission to do...but I'll make sure that I make time for other materials too.

How is this silver price increase affecting you and your work or your buying of jewelry?

The joys of dyeing

I bought some new aluminum dyes recently so was making a couple up this morning.  The turquoise was different from the others as you had to combine a couple of chemicals with it...so I started making it up, but then had trouble opening the little sachet.  As there was liquid in it - that made it stick closed so I was fiddling and .....

Yes, unlike the other dyes, I have now found out that the turquoise is actually excellent at dyeing skin!!!  None of the other dyes have ever stained my skin but this one is an expert at it! These photos are taken after I've been washing, scrubbing, trying acetone etc etc!! 

I guess I'll just have to wear turquoise today if I go out so that at least I match my fingers!! Who needs rings when you can just dye your fingers - much more eye catching, don't you think???

Hmmm.... Maybe gloves next time :=D

Yearning for color

 

I'm all ready to start more experimenting with colored anodized aluminum (or colour anodised aluminium).  I tried a couple of simple pieces recently, shown here (the round pair I made for our recent merry go round challenge). 

There is quite a  process involved with coloring anodized aluminum which I'll explain briefly.  When aluminum is exposed to the atmosphere, an inert film forms on it's surface as a protective layer again corrosion.  This layer is chemically bonded to the metal's surface.  When aluminum is anodized by placing in a bath of acid with an electric current, this oxide layer is artificially created - much thicker and more consistent than the one formed naturally.  The surface takes on an appearance similar to a honeycomb with microscopic pores.  These pores readily absorb inks and dyes, if they have the correct particle size, which allows for decorative coloring.  After coloring, the aluminum is sealed which closes the pores and the color becomes trapped in the metal and so is actually part of the metal.  It is therefore resistant to rubbing, abrasion, solvents etc...and as aluminum is light weight, it makes it perfect for jewelry.

As you can imagine there is quite a bit of fiddling in the whole process. So far I've just done some simple earrings but I'm hoping later this month I can dedicate some more time to experimenting.

I just love the colors you can get with aluminum - so vibrant and fresh. Yes - very different from my usual style...but who knows where this will lead?

Here are some I made earlier in the year.

I'd welcome your thoughts and comments......

Merry Go Round - Photo Inspiration Challenge

It''s time for another ride on the merry-go-round! Jump on and join a group of 9 artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

This month's topic is a photo challenge.  We all submitted a photo and then we voted on the one we found most inspiring.  Our challenge was then to create something inspired by the photo. 

Here is the photo that got the most votes:

The colors seemed such an important part of the photo so I decided to not use silver but get back to doing some anodized aluminum or anodised aluminium - depending where you live!

Here are the earrings that I made - inspired by the photo:

I think they capture the "happy"  and "fun" style of the photo too.

They are very slightly domed so circles, on circles, on circles..

I hope you'll check out how the happy water balloon photo inspired the other merriers by clicking on the links below.  We live in many different places around the world which means different time zones so some may post later than others.

Thanks for looking.

Alison at Tweed Delights - http://idreamoftweed.blogspot.com
Mitsy at ArtMind - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.blogspot.com
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com  
Fabienne at Easterya Jewellery Creations - http://easterya.blogspot.com
Mariana at Florcita - http://www.florcita.eu/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com
Lily at Lily Pang Art and Design - http://lilypangart.blogspot.com