Fire and Copper

 Before the enamel was added

After sprinkling enamel powder and setting the metal on fire with a torch!

Believe it or not, I've finally taken my jewelry making skills to the next level. I've starting taking metal smithing classes. I do not say this with glee because, I was not looking forward to giving up an evening of Netflix. You see, it has been my habit to watch a different movie every night (at least until the fall premiers of my favorite t.v. shows start). But due to an overwhelming amount of request to solder and repair jewelry, I had no choice but to take the classes. I told myself that maybe this could be a wonderful place to meet a great guy or maybe even my future husband. So I prettied up and with my mind in a positive state, I headed off to class. When I arrived, I held my breath and opened the door full of expectation only to experience a severe case of disappointment. Nothing in this class but a bunch of gray haired grannies, gosh darn it!

So far I'm learning that working with metal is a lot of work. You cut, you sand and then you set it on fire with a gas torch! Not fun! Now, I must tell you that I have a fear of fire and gas leaks. When I was a teenager, I watched flames leap from the grill and singe the front of my mom's Afro and eyebrows. So I guess you can see why I'm not  feeling that hissing torch, but my instructor tells me that my anxiety will decrease the more I use it. Hasn't happened yet.

So this week I learned how to enamel copper. Check out these cool copper domes I made. I haven't figured out what to do with them yet. Stay tuned for the final results!