{"id":163,"date":"2021-01-19T02:48:31","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T02:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michelelukowski.com\/?p=163"},"modified":"2021-01-19T02:53:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T02:53:14","slug":"returning-to-the-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michelelukowski.com\/?p=163","title":{"rendered":"Returning to the Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It has been about 4 years since I have made any work for sale. I have made a few gifts, and spent time organizing and cleaning, but I have not dedicated time to the studio; there have been other projects and other priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I am happy to say that I have finished my first piece for sale today, and it has been a journey. Getting back on the horse, so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pendant, “Unbroken” is fabricated from sterling silver sheet and incorporates chasing and repousse, with a boulder opal below. The fabrication required multiple soldering steps with holding pieces at funny angles and lots of problem solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first piece I was working on this year I ruined by being over-confidant in my soldering skills that have been hardly used in the last few years. So, solder jumped into the chased background when I over-heated the pieces trying to solder on a backing. I am going to share a photo, so that you can gasp in horror. I may have been a bit grumpy and torched them until they fused, just for spite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So before I soldered anything on “Unbroken”, I practices a bit and found a jar of iron oxide (yellow ochre) and reminded myself to slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when I had everything assembled and was ready to set the stone, I dropped my piece of labradorite on the concrete floor of my studio and it broke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was rather discouraged because I was really looking forward to finishing this piece. Instead of giving up. I unsoldered the original bezel portion and started looking through my stones to find a replacement for the labradorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I saw the piece of boulder opal. It was a broken cab that broke while I was setting it. And it was just what I needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n