Dancing

At a recent dance weekender in Southport, ostensibly to dance modern jive/Ceroc, my interest in Argentinian Tango was re-kindled.  The teaching was superb, partners were keen to learn, of mixed ability, and most were without fixed dance partners.

It was only about 5 years ago that a dance teacher sniffed, "Sorry, we don't taken women without partners; it's too intimate to dance Tango with a stranger."  I was shocked, frankly, and then embarrassed.  I cursed myself for being unable to come up with some witty Wilde-ean retort, but in my defence I was rather caught on the back foot. I turned to modern jive/Ceroc where fixed partners are not the norm, and have had enormous fun, but still hankered after the Tango. 

I became interested again in AT when Clive James took the plunge and revealed his progress on TV. I followed Osvaldo Zotto on Youtube and marvelled at his grace and fluidity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zet-EKeo8&feature=related.  So to Southport... and now my next lesson in November where, no doubt, I shall be dancing with plenty of strangers. 

In the process I discovered a fascinating blog by a keen AT dancer (a former modern jiver, too).  He describes the Tango itself, his dance partners, and Buenos Aires with great elegance and feeling, and has included many practical tips for those intending to travel to BsAs  http://stephentwist.blogspot.com/.

Sea glass ring

Latest sea glass creation - made in April this year. 
The glass came from a beach in the North of England.  It measures almost 1" long x 3/4" and is a paler yellowy green than appears here.  Will try to improve the photo and re-load so the colours are clearer.  Sterling silver setting.

Silk Scarves

I've been making hand-painted silk scarves recently.
Like any new technique, there's a bit of a learning curve.  


If you touch silk with a spot of dye it spreads like crazy, so various methods have to be adopted to either slow its progress or contain it within a very specific area.


When all the fun stuff is completed, the scarf goes into a steamer for 3 hours to set the colours.  This is where you hope and pray that no water touches the scarf or the colours will run and it's back to square one.

The scarf above is made from Habotai 8mm silk.  The "mm" doesn't mean millimetres.  It refers instead to "momme" - a silk industry measure of weight.  "8mm" means that if measured over a 100yd length x 45" width, my silk would weigh 8lbs. I also use Pongee 5mm - lighter and more translucent than the 8mm.  In this second picture (5mm silk) you can just see the design showing through.

Both silks have a smooth finish and feel gorgeous against the skin, and I've taken to wearing them nearly all the time.  I work in an air-conditioned office and they keep the chill at bay.


Check out my site at Sula V Silver Jewellery, Silk Scarves & Textiles.  
I also have a shop on Etsy www.SulaV1.etsy.com  and a Facebook page at Hand-painted Silk Scarves 

Byzantine necklace and bracelet

Just noticed that it's been a year since I updated my blog.  I've made one or two silver items since last October but haven't been as active as I should - mainly due to the price of silver.  
This necklace and bracelet was requested by a former colleague.  It's Sterling Silver, stamped with my maker's mark and the Sheffield Assay Office hallmark.   
The necklace is of finer gauge than the bracelet as I felt it would appear less chunky, but I needn't have worried; I've seen one or two recently that wouldn't have been out of place on a ship's anchor.
The bracelet is 7.5" and the necklace 21" if memory serves me right.  I enjoyed making this, despite having to cut and link over 900 jump rings.  It would be a different matter if I were working to a deadline. 

Sea glass cabochon

I originally thought this piece of sea glass was white, but against a white background it appears slightly grey or grey/violet.  Anyway, it was such a nice, rounded shape I decided to mount it in a bezel.  My usual bezel strip wasn't deep enough so I cut a wide strip of 0.5mm sterling silver, sawed into one long edge to give it a decorative "toothy" finish, and soldered it to sterling sheet.  A silver squiggle, small silver balls and "fidget rings" finished off the pendant. 

My soldering ability was really tested on this pendant.  I started with hard, medium and easy solders in that order, but still found that seams popped open due to heat conduction.  I've read that using a rouge/methylated spirit solution painted onto previous seams will protect them... that's for next time.

I originally gave this pendant a satin finish but later polished it up to a high shine.  I think the satin gives a more lustrous feel, so after hallmarking it will probably revert.

Silver swirl and seaglass drops

Have taken a break recently due to other commitments.  This hammered swirl was lying around for some time waiting to be finished, but I wasn't quite sure what it needed.  Sometimes you just have to walk away or doodle a bit to find inspiration.  In the end I chose 3 small seaglass pebbles, and drilled and threaded them onto 1mm diam silver wires.

I've finally sourced some relatively cheap diamond-coated hand files, plus riffler files and drill bits.  I've resolved never to buy through specialist suppliers again for tools as it's almost always possible to find cheaper alternatives.  One thing I won't compromise on though, is saw blades; the cheap ones just snag and/or snap constantly.

Had an idea for a seaglass "cabochon" with fidget rings - not sure where I saw it originally, possibly on Etsy.  Thank you to whoever had the idea.  See next post...

Ammonite

I found an amazingly detailed ammonite over 30 years ago in North Yorkshire.  Using latex, I took an impression and created this pendant in .999 silver - approx 1.5 inches including bail.  Polishing and burnishing has softened the detail of the silver version, but the lines on the original are incredibly crisp.  I read somewhere that this little creature created about 13 chambers a year as it grew, and most lived around two years.  How old does this make mine?