Art Jewelry magazine Editors' Blog : videos

Heard about anvil shooting yet?? You've got to watch this video!

Addie Kidd — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:22:00 GMT

A quick hello here from the Art Jewelry magazine headquarters.

So I came across this video the other day, and absolutely had to share it with you. You won't believe what this guy can do with an old jeweler's anvil! The gentleman in the video, Gay Wilkinson from Missouri, is apparently a World Champion Anvil Shooter. Who knew there were such things?!?

Video: How to Shoot an Anvil 200 Feet in the Air.

To sum up the video:

Put a whole bunch of gun powder beneath a heavy (think 100 lbs [45 kilos]), traditional blacksmith's anvil.
Using a fuse, ignite the powder. When the powder explodes, the anvil launches high into the sky.
Run.

My "inner giggling adolescent" got such a kick out of this video. I think my favorite part (besides the obvious explosion), was the aftermath - I was fascinated to see how deeply the anvil's impact embedded it in the ground.

Of course, I don't recommend trying this at home. As cool as this "sport" is to watch, I'm glad I have the distance of YouTube and the internet to protect me. I may just be a bit too much of a fraidy-cat to hang out in that field while they're shooting off anvils. Even with safety gear, how exactly do you predict where a flying anvil is going to land?

And if you just can't get enough anvil shooting, here's another video link. It's an anvil-launching montage!

Take care, and have an explosive Tuesday!

~Addie~

[Via Kottke]

Check out Art Jewelry's new free wirework project (it's a necklace and earrings!), metal clay template, enameling how-to videos, and more!

Kristin Sutter — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:23:00 GMT

Last Friday was Web-update day here in the Art Jewelry offices. We put a bunch of new content on the site, including a new free project for subscribers, new videos, a template for making "3 Surprising Ways to Integrate Polymer clay and Metal clay" from our September 2009 issue, a packing checklist to reference as you're getting ready to go sell your jewelry at art fairs and/or craft shows, and more.

Check out our new subscriber-exclusive project, "Wire Celtic Knot Necklace" by Irina Miech. I think the layered figure-8 links she shows you how to make for the necklace's chain are simple, clever, and beautiful. (Not a subscriber? Click here to remedy that situation -- it'll save you money compared to buying the issues on the newsstand. Money you can then use to further feed your jewelry-making habit.)

Our beautiful cover piece for the September 2009 issue is Cindy Silas' domed metal clay and polymer clay pendant. You'll find instructions on how to make the project "3 Surprising Ways to Integrate Polymer clay and Metal clay" on page 56. Subscribers can click here to download the metal clay dome template from page 58 so they don't have to cut up their magazine.

If you sell your work at art fairs or craft shows, Business Savvy columnist Marlene Richey's packing checklist is a must have. Subscribers can download the free PDF, which is an excerpt from Marlene's award-winning book, Profiting by Design: A Jewelry Maker's Guide to Business Success, available from MJSA Press.

Enamel-lovers will be happy to know that we've now posted videos on four methods for doing sgraffito enameling. For a great sgraffito project, check out "Scribble into Enamels — Sgraffito Revealed" from our July 2009 issue. Also, don't forget to check out our new video on using a tumbler to polish metal.

Did you know that you can always check out our "What's New?" box on the Art Jewelry homepage to see the latest content we've added? Even if the home page isn't the first place you visit on our Web site, make sure to check back there so you don't miss any of the great extras we add regularly. And speaking of great extras that we add regularly, be sure to watch for "Tour the Art Jewelry Web site" in our November 2009 issue. We'll show you how to navigate the site so you get the maximum benefit out of being a registered user and/or subscriber.

Enjoy!

—Kristin

We know you love bronze clay, but have you tried copper clay yet??

Addie Kidd — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:37:00 GMT

Silver clay has been around for over a decade now. Can you believe it??

Bronze clay was publicly introduced last year with great excitement.

Well wait no more. The next phase is here – copper clay!

(Shown at left is a photo of bronze clay next to silver clay - the contrast in each clay's quantity illustrates the vast price difference.)

The makers of BronzClay are in the final testing stages of a formulation of copper metal clay, with tentative plans to release it around spring time of this year.

But you don't have to wait until then to play with copper clay. There's another version of copper clay out on the market right now!

Hadar Jacobson, jewelry maker, author, and Art Jewelry magazine contributor, has been making her own copper and bronze metal clay for a number of years now. And she's just recently started selling her clay to the public.

Her clay comes in powdered form. It stores easily and you only make what you need – just add distilled water to mix up a batch. You can purchase powdered copper clay and bronze clay here.

Visit our Featured Videos page to check out Hadar's video – she'll show you how easy it is to mix your own copper or bronze clay.

As she describes on her Web site (click the history section), Hadar originally had inconsistent firing results with her clays.

But that all changed when Bill Struve (the creator of BronzClay) revealed his unique firing technique: immersing a clay object in activated carbon (shown at right) and firing it in a kiln. The carbon helps to prevent oxygen from getting in the way of the clay's sintering process.

If you're craving more about alternative clays:

Here at Art Jewelry, Jill, and I got to test bronze clay and its unique firing process before it was available to the public. You can read the article about it entitled "Now Entering the Bronze Age" in the July 2008 issue of Art Jewelry magazine.

And check out this blog post about bronze clay to see the adorable snail Jill made, named BC. He's so cute!

Here are some of Hadar's projects from the pages of Art Jewelry magazine:

March 2005: Learn how to make Bountiful Baskets, metal clay earrings. Click here for the download-able project.
September 2005: Learn tips and trips for working with metal clay. Click here for the download-able article.
July 2005: Learn how to make a metal clay pendant. Click here for the download-able project.
July 2006: Learn how to make a metal clay link bracelet. Click here for the download-able project.
March 2007: Learn how to use metal clay and screen to make earrings. Click here for the download-able project.

And if you do get any copper clay, be sure to post photos of your work in the Show Us Your Work section of our forums. Or if you're a subscriber, post some photos in the Metal Clay section of our Subscriber Gallery.

I can't wait to see what you create!

~Addie~

Special thanks to Elaine Luther and her blog, All Things Metal Clay for the link.

Video gives sneak peek inside Ford Forlano studios and how they make polymer clay art jewelry

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:26:00 GMT

If you like polymer clay jewelry, chances are you've seen work by Ford Forlano; that is Steve Ford and David Forlano, with Maryanne Petrus-Gilbert doing metalwork. We first featured Ford Forlano's work in "A Rarefied Medium," an article by Ronna Weltman (September 2006) about A-list polymer clay jewelry. If you've never seen their work, prepare for a treat. For me, Ford Forlano pieces never disappoint. The texture, the shape, the color — the pieces are always exciting and elegant. When I'm feeling creative, I tend to work better on my own. So it was really interesting to learn more about the team's collaboration in this video.

It shares not only great images of their studios and finished pieces, but also a bit about their history and how they continue to work together. Check it out!

—Kristin

New Video! Learn how to make lavender-oil paste for metal clay.

Katie Streeter — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:47:00 GMT

If you work with metal clay, you probably use oil paste to join fired pieces of metal clay before refiring. In our newest video, Jill Erickson demonstrates the process for making oil paste at home using lavender oil, metal clay slip, and distilled water. This is a great way to reclaim low-shrink-formula metal clay filings. Even if you aren't usually a do-it-yourselfer, you'll want to keep this formula in mind for the next time you run out of commercial paste and can't wait for the mail man to drop of your latest order of supplies. Click here to watch the video; or check out the print version.

Don't forget, we love hearing from our readers (and viewers), so let us know what you think of our videos. And if you have a suggestion for a video we don't offer, let us know that, too!

—Katie

New Videos! Learn how to add a liver of sulfur patina to metal and how to refill a handheld butane torch

Katie Streeter — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:08:00 GMT

We've just posted two new videos on our Web site. In the first video, Associate Editor Jill Erickson teaches you how to add a liver of sulfur patina to metal and metal clay. In the second video, Jill shows you how to refill a handheld butane torch with butane fuel.

If you'd like to see a how-to video on a topic we haven't covered yet, send us an e-mail to let us know.

Also new online this week is an article by Associate Editor Kristin Sutter about the charm bracelet raffle at the 2008 PMC Conference. Over $12,000 was raised for charity through the raffle. Check out the PMC Conference Web site to view images from this year's conference and to see the charm bracelets.

—Katie

Video interview with Robert Dancik: jeweler, sculptor, and originator of Faux Bone

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:54:00 GMT

At the 2008 Bead&Button Show in June, Senior Editor/Online Linda Augsburg was able to catch a few minutes with Robert Dancik to talk to him about how he got started making jewelry, where he's taking the craft, and how he uses Faux Bone. To watch the video, click here. If you're interested in learning how you can incorporate Faux Bone into your work, check out Robert's article, "Chart Your Own Mixed-Media Odyssey," page 28, in the September 2008 issue of Art Jewelry. The article will teach you how to make this bangle:

If this project inspires you to make a piece of jewelry, we'd love to see what you've come up with! Just post it in the Show Us Your Work thread in the Art Jewelry forum.

Art Jewelry magazine now has a YouTube channel!

Addie Kidd — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:21:00 GMT

Last week, I shared our newest videos with you folks – the 3-part series on Setting a Cabochon in a Bezel. They've been quite popular. Apparently there are a lot of people out in the jewelry world wanting to learn how to bezel-set a stone, and looking for a video to teach them.

Well, we hear you loud and clear! We understand that reading about an action or technique just isn't quite enough sometimes. (Though if you do want to read about it, we're a touch partial to our little publication. *wink*) Every once in a while it's easier to just watch someone do whatever it is you're aching to learn.

So we've opened our own YouTube channel. Yes, we've decided to spread our tutorial wings past our own Web site, and share some jewelry-making instructions with the YouTube community at large.

We've posted some of our most popular videos on our new Art Jewelry Magazine Channel page:

http://www.youtube.com/artjewelrymag

So, check 'em out and make comments. We'd love to hear about what you enjoy about the videos, what else you'd like to learn, and even about how you're applying these techniques in your own designs.

And keep an eye out for new videos in the future. We'll be unveiling some new videos this week and next month!

~Addie~

How to set a Cabochon in a Bezel: NEW 3-part instructional video series on www.artjewelrymag.com

Addie Kidd — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:16:00 GMT

Happy Thursday everyone!

As this blog's headline might suggest, we've posted three new videos on our Web site.

Check them out here, or click on the "Videos" tab along the top of our Web site.

You don't need to be a subscriber to view them, but you do have to be a registered user – meaning you've got a screenname and password.
It's free to sign up. And once you've got your screenname, you can watch all our videos and also comment on our blog here to let us know how we've done.

These are the first of a number of videos that Jill Erickson and I made in our Art Jewelry workroom a few weeks ago. (As you can see from these clips, I picked a pretty glowing labradorite, one of my favorite stones, to set.)

I hope you find them helpful. Jill and I sure had fun making them.

Stay tuned for more videos in the upcoming weeks, including metal clay tips and techniques from Jill, and a 5-part series I taped on making and soldering a bezel.

Have fun metalsmithing!

~Addie~

P.S. A big thanks goes out to our camera man Keith for getting those nice clear closeups. And another thanks to Roger, Robert, and Dave, the guys over in our Production department who polished all that raw footage up into concise videos.