Monday, February 11, 2013

Tools of the Trade: Texturing and Design in Jewelry

Today I'm going to continue my tools of the trade series and share something else I use to create the jewelry you see in Valerie Tyler Designs.  These are some examples of my design punches I use for texturing (also known as chasing / repousse tools) These are very similar to stamps, and in fact I often use steel stamps as well to create the textures in my work. Texturing metal is probably my favorite process I employ in my studio.  There is something gratifying about applying force and seeing metal transformed into something very different from a smooth surface.  I tend to like how a lot of the textures I use mimic natural surfaces like birch bark or small pebbles in a stream. 


Using tools like the ones above I can create pieces like these completely by hand:
Shield Necklace





Pebbles Teardrop Earrings

Sometimes similar textures are created using rolling mills but I tend to prefer the control of creating each mark by hand. 



3 comments:

  1. How interesting and I adore the earrings pattern. It's beautiful. Kisses

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  2. I love your pendant, and the pebble stamped earrings are really cool. I love the look of stamped metal, and your textured stamps are awesome.
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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