Online Poll

Allergy to Metal

Bentiron — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:26:18 GMT

I have only had three types of metal on as jewelry, silver, gold and stainless steel. My first ring was a cast sterling and turquoise ring that a I wore for a number of years, nice ring. The next ring is my wedding band which I have had on for the past twenty-six years, good years. The stainless steel was the back of my watch band but I don't wear watches any more I have a cell phone. I just remembered a forged steel ring with a burnt linseed oil finish that I wore for two years, it didn't rust. I never had a skin issue with any of them, no rash, blister or itching but get me near a tumbleweed and watch out.

Jewelry Style?

Bentiron — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:54:19 GMT

What's that? Sometimes I wonder just what it is I making, I've been at this since I got out of the Navy and still haven't pick up on something that's me or at least that I feel is a personal statement of my jewelry making style. There are many that I tried for example Navajo inspired. I took this on because it sold well and was easy to make. I next tried a kind of geometric, hippie thing, not much there but it too sold well for a while. Then came wings and tendrils with lumps and opaque agates, nice and fun but didn't sell well at all. Then a bunch of forged and hollow wear pendent and cuffs also didn't sell very well but fun and really stretched my abilities. And now just kind of drifting trying to find a new cheap thrill in jewelry making. Maybe etching or engraving or back to casting who knows?

What kind of Jewelry do I Keep?

Bentiron — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:08:26 GMT

Well I don't personally don't keep any. Well I do have some of my mother's old costume jewelry from the 50's but being a man I just don't wear any on the other hand my wife has a whole bunch of the stuff squirreled away. She has items from childhood, middle school, high school, university, travels in Europe, single life, early marriage, birth of children, you name it and she has a piece of jewelry for it. She also has a milk crate sized container of jewelry from her mother that is from a life time of collecting. So I would say that for my wife nothing ever goes away, away just packed away. If my sons are astute enough when she passes away they should make a rather tidy sum off of the jewelry.

What Kind of Stone are You Setting?

Bentiron — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:06:24 GMT

I still use cabochons the most. I tube set some faceted stones but have never done much with prong set stones. I have not had much desire to do prong set stones on most of my work. I tend to think of faceted stones in terms of more formal forms of jewelery not the stuff I hammer out. Also I tend to think of faceted stones in terms of gold and I don't do gold either. I tend to think of faceted stones on silver as "diamond in a goat's butt" kind of thing. A friend of mine has suggested that if he's going to go to all of the trouble to make a nice setting for a faceted stone he should make it in gold and who but the very wealthy can afford that these days?

How Long?

Bentiron — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:51:06 GMT

Well some times way too long! Most of my pieces take some where between 6 and 8 hours but then I have an occasional piece that takes 20 or more to make. Some days I make a bunch of rings that nest together that take less then an hour each or bangles. My real love is the difficult ones that challenge me and take lots of time.

Planning Obsolesence

dressagewoman — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:26:50 GMT

I don't really like this poll, because I don't really want to wish anything out of existence! I chose Fax machine because I think it's basically going to have completely merged with computer technology.

A more interesting question might be, what things that inspire or are used in the creation of jewelry are likely to go away in the next decade or two? What should we be working to preserve?

Eco-friendly choices poll

Addie Kidd — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:45:53 GMT

Art Jewelry's first-ever Green issue got us here at the magazine thinking about small ways that we could change our habits to become more environmentally conscious.

On our homepage you can chime in on our green habits poll (it's at the bottom of the page). But we'd love to hear more detail about what you're doing in your studios.

What do you guys do to make your studio or jewelry more "green" or environmentally friendly?

I know I, for one, unplug all my tools/appliances (kiln, tumbler, pickle pot, etc.) whenever I'm not in my studio to save on energy trickle. It's a small thing, but even baby steps like that add up over the long run.

So what are your eco-tips?

~Addie~

My Dream Jewelry Studio

Bentiron — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:14:44 GMT

This is hard. There are times when I would like to have a more dynamic location then my home. I mean there are all of the household chores, dogs barking, boys fighting, all of the distractions of home. It would be nice to have adult jewelers to converse with but on the other hand maybe a nice secluded studio would be better, somewhere cool, it is so hot here that it just drains you. I would probably be like Dorthy and click my heels and say there is no place like home.

What is the most common Mineral?

Bentiron — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:19:45 GMT

I don't know but I thought it would be quartz (silicon?) but then the link didn't seem to work. Anybody have any luck with the link?

What me messy?

Bentiron — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:06:13 GMT

I think that I may be in need of an intervention but then again I can find most things that I use on a regular basis. Now the the things that I don't use on regular basis they might as well be on the moon. I do have a nice sized bench but as most of the work takes place on the bench pin that is often the only clear space, that or on top of the anvil otherwise there is hardly room for a bug to crawl around. I keep my most frequently use tools in various containers close at hand but as I work on a piece the pile of tools right in front of me grows in height and breadth and starts to slide towards the floor.

Magic Fingers or Memory?

Bentiron — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:53:07 GMT

Magic Fingers! Now that would be nice. No more goofs, everything perfect! But I'm thinking more along the lines of memory enhancement. You know a couple of more sticks of RAM would be nice, a faster dual core processor maybe. I don't need photographic memory. I had a friend that almost had that and all it was was trouble for him, just clutter up his mind with unnecessary images. I would go for not forgetting things, like where are my chain nose or round nose pliers, where did I put I put that disk cutter or that was a good idea, I wonder where it went, what recess of my mind did it wonder of to now? Misplacing ideas is so frustrating to me.

Fire! What do you grab? None of the above!

DennyT — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:00:28 GMT

This months' forum posed the question about what would be first thing you'd grab if you found your studio on fire. It gave possible choices such as first project made, all the precious metals, sketch book of ideas, and other things to SAVE FROM THE FIRE. No, no, no! Shame on "Art Jewelry" Wrong on all counts!. If you have time to grab precious metal out of the safe or find that first project from the archive pile you certainly have time to GRAB THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER! AND USE IT! My studio is only about 200 square feet, but I have three fire extinguishers in it. One at each door (one is an interior door and one is exterior door) and one ON the bench near the two torches I use. The two extinguishers by the doors are large class A,B.C (three types of fuel) and the third is smaller type A only extinguisher. Once a year I make a point to check out the extinuishers and refresh my mind on their use. When they get to be a couple of years old I take them out into the back yard, set a small paper fire and PRACTICE USING THEM and then replace them. If I ever have a fire, I'll know what to do. On the other hand if you have a fire on your bench caused by a torch malfunction (burst hose or something, flash back arrestor - you do have those on your torches, right?- fails, and you get an acetelene fire going in a hose or tank right next to an oxygen tank, you don't grab anything, you run like hell. I once saw a large oxygen bottle get knocked over, breaking the valve and neck off, That 200 lb bottle took off like a rocket and went through a concrete wall. We were lucky a good wind was blowing, because all that oxygen could have been a bomb. Combine that with a ruptured acetylene bottle and you indeed have a bomb going off. So you run. Any other fires, you put out. I think Art Jewelry has failed in its responsibility to remind us all of safety in the shop on this one.

-Denny T

Did you say FIRE!

Bentiron — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:23:07 GMT

That's a mean thing to ask in forum full of people who play with fire. What would I grab in a room full of things if it were to catch on fire? Most likely my bucket of hammers. Got to have my hammers but considering the state of my back it would most likely be only a couple of them as I don't think I could get the whole bucket off of the floor, either that or I would perish in the flames trying to put them out. I wonder how jewelers and other artist that live in the fire prone areas of California deal with the threat of fire and their studios. I have so many tools from my years of metal working I would be lost trying to pick just one and some are so old and not only old but dear old friends that I talk to as I work. Yes, my family thinks I'm a little south by southwest.

The @%&$# Phone!

Bentiron — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:42:41 GMT

Oh the the Blessed phone! How can we live without it? There are days I'd like to try but I have at least learned not to pay attention to it. When I'm soldering or doing a large piercing piece I hate to be interrupted so I just let the answering machine take the message and most of the time it's a telemarketer. I have also learned to take my cell phone out of my pocket and set it aside and let it take my calls. My wife has suggested that I get a Blue Tooth thing but I told her no that folk would think that it was a fake hearing aide. Even with letting the machine take the calls for you it is still such an interruption and breaks the train of though.

What time of day do you work?

Bentiron — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:57:56 GMT

I work whenever but I like late afternoon, the dogs all resting, my two sons are away and I'm alone. I would work until maybe midnight or later but my wife has to go to work early so I'm in bed by eleven. My family forbids me to do forging during prime time television so I do bead work then.

Let's discuss those Online Polls!

Addie Kidd — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:52:56 GMT

Hello all,

We've created a new forum topic just for discussing the reader polls.

It seemed that these polls have been creating some great dialogue (special thanks to Bentiron!), and we wanted to give that dialogue an arena of its own. We love hearing your feedback and opinions on our poll topics – you never know where a discussion will lead!

You can always chime in on our latest Readers' Poll, just scroll down to the bottom of our homepage. There's a new question every other Friday.

~Addie~

P.S. If you have any topics that you'd like to see queried on the poll, just start a thread in this section. Your question could be the next poll!

Jewelery Supply Poll

Bentiron — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:49:25 GMT

I buy most of my silver, soldering, beads, some tools from a small supplier about 12 miles form my home but for more sophisticated tools I need to drive over 30 miles from my home. When gas was over $4/gal I used on line suppliers more then I do now after all one does need to get out of the house once in a while. Unless one has no other alternative I am a strong advocate of using local suppliers since they can give you face to face information and sometimes you meet the nicest local fellow jewelers.

Chocolate Poll

Bentiron — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:39:15 GMT

Considering my weight problem it was a no brainer to choose jewelery. I'm considerably over my ideal weight and have been off of soda with sugar for a year now. Can't stand artificial sweetener so that only leaves jewelery. No chocolate Santa or Easter Bunny this year. Not overly successful in loosing weight, only 28 pounds, but I have made some great jewelry. So with grim determination I forge ahead or another chunk of silver and dream of the day I can have a chocolate bunny or Dove or Snickers or Girridelli's or.....

Birthstone Poll

Bentiron — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:20:16 GMT

Well I'm not sure what mine is and I don't suppose I would wear it even if I did know. My wife wears hers though. The only piece of jewelry I wear is my wedding band. Do you notice that most men just don't wear a lot of jewelry and if they do it is mostly what I call "power " jewelry. The kind of stuff that shows off their position in the hierarchies of wealth, sports, military or education. I have notice too that a lot of men after a few years of marriage shed one of the best pieces of jewelry they will ever have and that is the wedding band because it is uncomfortable but if they happen to make a good deal of money they will not hesitate to buy a fancy ring for that finger to show how they have made it in the realm of money. Funny thing men and jewelry. Me I just like to make it.

Book Poll

Bentiron — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:32:00 GMT

Can anyone every have too many books? Most likely, I guess but it sure is fun to have them. I don't think that I have any biographies except for Bernini. I learned a lot about casting bronze form that book. I have books on anthropology, archaeology, ethnic studies, museum catalogs, architecture, blacksmithing, silversmithing, casting and of course jewelry, both technique and eye candy books. I have books on geology and gemstones.I get most of my books at second hand book stores and online discounters like http://www.alibris.com/ where surplus books are very inexpensive. I have only had two classes in jewelry making but would not be able to do what I am capable of today without books.

Concerning the Polls

Bentiron — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:16:56 GMT

I like the polls. They are fun to see what folks are doing and with what but they are limited and I guess they have to be but at times I get a little frustrated with them. Like today's poll about things that we have made. Since when is a belt buckle not jewelry. Men have such limited options for wearing jewelry that when I make a set of cuff links, tie bar, ring and watch band I consider it a jewelry set for a man and include a belt buckle too. A barrette for the hair is just as much a piece of jewelry as a ring but worn in a different part of the body. Is not a stick pin a piece of jewelry, a hair pin, a nipple ring? Or is the last to personal to be called jewelry. Where is the line drawn between jewelry and none jewelry items? This would be my definition: Items worn to adorn the person of the wearer other then clothing. Is this to broad of a definition.