Understanding Jumprings in Jewelry Making

In my exploration and experience with jewelry-making, I've had to research things to gain an understanding of terminology and engineering of jewelry design. One thing that I encountered in my beginning days of exploration was the need for jumprings. You simply can't create a piece of jewelry without jumprings. Any time you want to connect two things together, you need one. They come in all different sizes, diameters and thicknesses. I was a little lost and overwhelmed at first. What size do I get? And, hey, what do all these numbers mean?

The majority of jumprings in my jewelry design happen to be in your 3mm to 8mm diameter range, but they go from 2mm all the way up to 20mm. One would assume that the lower the number, the smaller the ring and when dealing with diameter, you would be right.

However, with thickness, it's just the opposite. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the ring. Generally, in my jewelry design, I'll use 22-gauge, which is very thin and flexible, all the way up to 16-gauge, which is very sturdy and thick. I like 16-gauge a lot, especially when you get into the bigger-diameter rings. It's tough and stands up to a bit of yanking and tugging and, because it's a bit thicker, you get a beautiful shine off the metal. My designs are all sterling silver, but the same would hold true for any shiny metal, I suppose. My average, most-used jumprings are 3mm/22-gauge, 5mm/18-gauge, and 8mm/16-gauge. Definitely a pattern as to the diameter versus gauge. If you want sturdy rings, the smaller the diameter number, the larger the gauge number. Thicker rings are definitely better when dealing with chainmaille designs (something I've always wanted to do, but I don't think I have the patience for it) and thinner rings are great for delicate, flowy designs.

Just my little tidbit of information to anyone out there who is going through what I went through in trying to understand the "mystery" of jumpring measurements. Have fun!

The Value of Art

So how does an artist price one's art? Should it be priced differently than a one-of-a-kind component-assembled piece of jewelry that was designed by an artist? Obviously, a print is less expensive than an original. So where do you start with pricing? Well, you obviously need to make back at least what the materials cost you to make it. Right? And, there should be some compensation for the labor as well. But, does it stop there? The artist had to come up with a design or an idea. Shouldn't they also be compensated for that? Does a one-of-a-kind jewelry design also count as an original? I think so. If there will never be another pair of earrings like that, then, yeah, it's an original. Then, there's the actual execution of that design or idea, the creative process of sculpting or drawing and the quality of craftmanship. That should certainly be accounted for, too, shouldn't it? Then, there's marketing costs, advertising, listing fees, etc. Then comes packaging, like pretty boxes and ribbons and shipping materials, not to mention the actual cost of shipping.

I've recently been re-evaluating my prices for my silver and sculpted art jewelry. I didn't realize how many pieces actually go into these designs. When I thought of cost of materials, I really just concentrated on the focal pieces of each item, for example, larger Swarovski crystal drops. But once I started analyzing each individual component of my jewelry designs, I realized there could be up to 32 sterling silver jumprings in a pair of earrings or 25 inches of sterling silver chain for a necklace, which really adds up, but I wasn't accounting for it. Just seeing the total cost of the materials, not even including labor, design, packaging and all the other things mentioned above, was a true eye-opener for me as to whether or not I was making any profit from my labors of love.

So I started thinking of the "value" of art. What kind of value can you place on the creation of something unique and individual just for the sake of it being one of a kind? Do people care if the jewelry they wear or the art they hang on their wall is one of a kind? I would hope that many consumers would want something unique, something that's not mass produced. Something different. Should value be placed on the fact that an item is individually crafted with love and care and not by a machine that doesn't give a rat's ass what the finished piece looks like? What value can you place on the personal nature of buying a piece of art from somebody that has created it with their own hands. How about being able to speak directly to that person if necessary? You can't talk to the factory worker that put together that pair of earrings or the necklace you got from Claire's or Macy's or any other chain store. There has to be value in excellent customer service.

But what IS that value? So far, I've been doing it by gut. I think of the time I invested and all the other happy stuff and I think, "What would I be content with accepting for this piece? What price would be fair to my client? Would I pay that much for this?" Above all, I want to be fair, but, of course, I want to be compensated for my art. So WHAT IS THE VALUE???? What is the actual number that you can plug into these little segregated categories of creation? I'm not sure there's any set algorithm or formula you can use to figure it out. I think it's got to feel right for the artist as an individual. But each area needs to be thought about and taken into consideration. Some people may agree with you and be willing to pay it and some may not. Just be happy with the price and be fair.

So after evaluating my cost of materials, I brought some items' prices down and others I brought up. In some cases, I was only making 98 cents after only minusing material costs! Yikes. but I feel more comfortable with my prices after the process, though, it was long and drawn out. If I would have kept track of all this stuff from the beginning, it would have been less tedious. But now I've got a system implemented and it should be easier from here on out. I'm in the process of creating a database app that allows me to track all this stuff.

So remember, my fellow artists, to take these things into account when you're pricing your art and/or designs. And don't sell yourselves short. Really evaluate the cost of materials. You might be shocked at how the little things add up.

I'd love to get any feedback or comments regarding this. Let me know what you think.

Calling all Artists!

So I've decided that I'm going to host a Featured Guest Artist page on my web site, with pictures of the artist's work on my home page and then a link to an internal page with a bio and maybe a little interview, a pic of the artist and of course a link to their web site. I love to support my fellow artists and this is a great opportunity to do that. I know how hard it is to get exposure and get your art out there into the world.

If you're interested in being a Featured Guest Artist on my web site, drop me a line and let me know why. Be sure to include a link to your web site and some pics of your work. I'd love to see what you've got!

My first featured guest artist is Christopher Longenecker. Check him out! He's got some really cool color infrared photographs of Cleveland, Ohio.

I got listed in a treasury!

YAY! Smoking Man with Fractal Art Background from my Big-headed Man Series got listed in an Etsy treasury entitled weird WEIRD artwork - And that means -- FANTASTIC, CREATIVE and COOL! I'm honored to be listed.

So thanks to aweebug for putting that together! I especially like this little bugger named Earl.



In fact, I really dig dancesippydance's style altogether. Very cool stuff. So props to you, too, Dance!

Anyone can Collect Art

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Man, I would love to own some really cool one-of-a-kind art, but it's so expensive, I can't afford it"?

Me, too. Especially when it's a big, sprawling, wall piece, and, of course, if it's been created by a well-known artist. But what I'm discovering is that you don't have to buy those well-known artist pieces to be an art collector. Who cares if no one knows who the artist is. If the piece speaks to you, then that's all that matters. Lesser-known artists sell their work for a less expensive price, and that's how they start to get more well-known.

There is also the option of artist trading cards, also known as ACEOs, which is an acronym for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals". These pieces are little lovelies of fine art in miniature, most of them no larger then 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Because they're smaller, the price is smaller, I guess (though, I've seen some amazing works where you can tell a lot of talent went into it). It's a great way to collect art, without the big price tag. Some people keep them in a book and other people frame them. They're not limited to 2-dimensional images, either. There are sculpture art cards as well. If you haven't yet, check them out. It's a pretty cool concept. They usually sell for around $10.00 to $15.00, but I've seen some up in the $100 range as well. I just discovered this art card site and thought it was pretty cool. They have an ENORMOUS amount of art cards for sale. You should be able to find something that meets your artistic style there, whatever that may be.

So if you always wanted to collect art, but didn't think you could afford it, think again. Support a lesser-known artist whose work you absolutely love or maybe be able to afford a tiny piece from your favorite well-known artist. And if you don't have a favorite artist (One of mine - Derek Hess), well, you should get one. You might even find a particular artist whose work seems to emulate your mind, thought process and emotions, as if a lot of their work was done specifically for you.

Sparkles and Tassels and Dangly Bits

I've discovered that I like tassels. I mean, I've always known it, I suppose, simply because a lot of my jewelry designs tend to dangle and flow like tassels.

I don't think they make enough clothing with tassels or dangly bits...and sparkly things...oh, yes, let's not forget about sparkles. Sparkles and tassels and dangly bits...how lovely. It's all so sexy, don't you think? The way that chain drapes around a neck and one crystal falls, catching the light, dripping oh, so delicately down into the cleavage teasingly. I love jewelry. All of it, feminine, masculine. Masculine jewelry can be equally as sexy...a thick, solid, heavy ring, with heft and balance, or a worn-in leather wristband with a piece of frosted beach glass hanging from it.

May I digress for a moment? Okay...I shall:

I would love to make leather cuffs. Awesome cuffs, like this:

I wish I knew how and also had the tools and materials to do so. There are SO many things I want to dabble in. Each area of art and/or jewelrymaking requires a new investment, however, and when you're an out of work starving artist, you just can't do all those things you want. It's sad, but true.

But, if I were allowed to dream, I would love to just have access at any time to the knowledge of experts in the field, who could come to my house and give me all my tools (or just let me rent them to see if I like them first) and teach me wonderful techniques and it wouldn't cost me anything, but my time. And, while I'm dreaming, they'd all bring chocolates and banana bread with them...and cheesecake...and money...in fact, they would pay me to learn from them. Yeah...that would be cool.

The Best Seasoning in the Whole World!

I know this has nothing to do with my art diary, but I had to share my favorite seasoning with the world. It's McCormick's Roasted Garlic & Bell Pepper Seasoning Blend. It is the finest and most delicious seasoning ever! That is, if you like yummy!

Here are the ingredients:

GARLIC, RED BELL PEPPERS, SALT, ROASTED GARLIC, SUGAR, RED PEPPER, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR (MILK), AND EXTRACTIVES OF TURMERIC AND ANNATTO (FOR COLOR).

It's absolutely fabulous on eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, mixed in with ground beef, cottage cheese...pretty much anything that needs flavor without a tremendous amount of salt. Don't get me wrong. I love my salt (and this has some), but this just seems to have the perfect amount of flavor for everything. So get some. It's good.

My Jewelry Packaging

So let's just say that you were to purchase a piece of jewelry from my store. I'd like to walk you through a sample of what your experience might be like from your point of view when you receive your wonderful item in the mail. Your thoughts may be something similar to the following:



I walk to my mailbox, in quiet anticipation, hoping that today is the day when my fabulous jewelry will arrive. Wait. I see a yellow, bubble envelope. Could this be it? Oh, joy! It's from a Kish in Cleveland, Ohio, and it feels like there's a gift box inside! I carelessly rip open the envelope because with all this bubble wrap and cardboard, I know I can't possibly damage anything. I pull out a lovely, shiny, black box with a ribbon tied around it.


I delicately untie the ribbon. One simple, satiny pull is all it takes. Now I can see the image on the box. Ah, yes, the Screaming Man. A trademark of the artist. But let's get to the good stuff. I open the lid.



Oh, lovely. Some business cards that I can pass out to my friends because I'll want to tell them where I got this fabulous jewelry when they compliment me on it.


And there she is, waiting patiently for me to notice her. My beautiful piece, still tucked away in her temporary bed, snug like a bug in a rug. I lift the handmade card from the box, so that I may remove her ribbon dress to get a better look.


Oh, the card is so pretty. The back is reinforced with a black cardstock. Very sturdy. And such a pretty design on the front. The artist obviously made this card specifically for this piece. The name is even written on the card as well as the artist's signature. I'll have to go back to her store when I want to get a gift for someone. This packaging is so nice!


So that's it. This is merely a sample of packaging, mind you. The cards are definitely made to complement the piece and no card is ever the same. I hope you enjoyed this little journey through what I imagine your experience would be like. Now go buy something, so you can experience it for real!

My Very Own Web Site!

I took some time off for a little while to finally get my very own web site up and running. I'm a programmer by trade (artist for life), so I've been able to do it all on my own, from database creation to web site development in .NET. I'm really excited about it. And you wouldn't think it about me, but I went with pink. Hmmmm....pink. Not really my style, but it seemed to fit somehow. So check it out and buy something! Feel free to let me know what you think. I'm always looking to improve. And since I got laid off recently, if anyone is interested in having me develop a web site, let me know! I'm just throwing that out there. ;-)

http://www.shannonkishartist.com

A Sale...YAY!

I finally sold this pair of earrings on Etsy!

I made them so long ago. They had like nine different people favorite them, but nobody wanted to buy them at $18.00. Then I raised the price to $23.00 and someone bought them. Interesting. Do people think if they pay more for something that it must be better? It seems silly, but I know of a couple different scenarios where this has proven to be true. For example, I have this friend who is a photographer, http://www.justinkphotography.com. When he first started his business, he didn't charge quite as much as other photographers and business was slower, but as soon as he raised his rates, he started getting more jobs. It could just be coincidental that business started picking up around the same time he raised his rates, but there seems to be some correlation. I suppose it depends on your target audience.

My First Moldmaking/Casting Experience

So I decided to make latex rubber molds of some of my big-headed sculpture wallhangings (as discussed in a previous post). My experience was arduous, time-consuming and only produced so-so results. I had three sculptures to work with. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and I did all three at the same time, instead of doing one whole process for an individual sculpture, so I could learn from my mistakes. Note to self: "Don't be impatient."

I also didn't take photographs of the process, which I'm a little sorry about, but what are you gonna do? Note to self: "Start taking pics of process."

But, alas, I have photos of my finished products, both the molds as well as the first castings.




















These are a couple of the latex rubber portions of the molds
after they were pulled off of the original piece. There's some strange fungus or mold growing in the rubber, which really sucks. I think it's because I left the rubber mold in the mother mold before the plaster used for the mother was completely dry. Lesson learned.

Here are a couple of the mother molds.
















And here are the rubber molds sitting in the mother molds.




















Here are the castings sitting next to their originals. Some of the pieces broke off when I first peeled off the rubber. I've already glued them back onto the original pieces in these pics. There were some impossible undercuts where rubber got totally underneath and connected back to the top. Another lesson learned. Make sure you fill in undercuts as much as possible without losing detail. Because I didn't do this, my castings didn't turn out so well in those areas. The most noticeable was in the piece with the curlies on the face. There were some areas where the plaster didn't get all the way into the rubber mold because of the curly details or improper pouring.





















All in all, they didn't turn out too badly. I've since returned to the rubber molds where the undercuts connected and cut them with scissors, so, hopefully, it won't happen on the next casting. I'm going to try painting them before I try more castings, just to see how much they absorb the paint, et cetera, to make sure I know the proper technique for next time. All in all, the exercise was informative and definitely a learning experience. The amount of detail you get with the latex rubber is really quite amazing. I'll report more as I keep learning.

Until then...I'm gonna go have a shmoke and a pancake.

Custom Wedding Party Jewelry

Here's some custom jewelry I did for someone for their wedding party.

A lesson from an old sketch

I was looking through an old sketch book the other night and I saw this sketch I had done that looked kinda cool. Here's the scrap:


But it was interesting to think about what I was trying to get across at the time I drew it. I was trying not to be so normal, maybe a little more surreal. Just get really bizarre where anything is possible. So the product was this weird mutated alien creature with an oversized extra-jointed arm, no face and a head on a long neck coming out of his shoulder. It looked kind of like a comic book style villian's henchman.


So, the lesson I gleaned from going back and looking at an old sketch: Don't put things where you expect them to be and don't limit yourself into thinking they have to be proportionate or symmetrical. Just, generally, be more creative.


So it inspired me to incorporate that way of thinking into a pendant I made out of Sculpey. Here's what I came up with:



I think the end result looks rather lovely and unexpected, but I still need to let my creativity go a little more.

Latex Rubber Mold Making

So I'm trying to learn how to make molds of my big-headed men sculptures and it's REALLY time-consuming. Given the fact that my faces have lots of curves and more than a few undercuts, I decided to go the latex rubber in a mother mold route. I got a couple of books and read up on it, but some things are left unsaid. These are the situations where it would be cool to take a class or know somebody else that has done it so I could get some advice. I'm wondering, once I finish putting on the rubber (about an 1/8 of a inch thick, which is approximately 20 coats of rubber, the first ten being 100% rubber and the next ten a 2:1 ratio of rubber to paste maker)--but, I digress--so, as I said, I'm wondering if I've still got some undercuts after the rubber application, am I able to make my mother mold out of plaster at this point? Won't I become interlocked? I think I need to have no undercuts at all to be able to do this. Is there some sort of filler I can use to remove the undercuts? Woe is me...I need to do more research. I'm now into my third or fourth week on this stupid project. I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it.

Soldering jump-rings revisited

So I believe I'm really getting a design down for soldering these pendants. Instead of placing the jump-rings on a perpindicular plane, I'm now soldering only one on a parallel plane. I then attach another jump-ring to the soldered jumpring and then I have a charm. I'm so pleased! I'll post a pic soon.

Newfound Wisdom

So I think I figured out the soldering of the jump-rings. Cut a piece of copper foil in half and attach the jump-ring to the piece with it. AND USE FLUX!!! I think that's what did me in last time. I forgot to add flux because I had already used it on the piece for the initial soldering. Instead of doing the jump-rings last, as I had in the past, I soldered them first. It made a huge difference. Now I can make memory glass pendants! YAY!

Learning to Solder

Learning to solder is relatively easy. You have a soldering gun, copper foil, flux and the pieces you're going to solder. I'm learning to solder to make jewelry, pendants specifically for right now, to incorporate my Big-headed men into art for your body. I find it useful to use a vise when working with these small pieces. For my purposes, I'm using the following items:

Soldering Gun (I use a Weller 8200 family)
Silver-Gleem solder

Copper foil
Flux
Microscope slides (cut in half with a glass cutter)
Mini-pic of one of my big-headed menO-rings to attach to pendant so you can hang it on a necklace

Clean your pieces well. I've had issues with dust in the glass and if you don't catch it immediately, you're pretty screwed.

Attach the foil to pretty much anyplace you're going to want the finished metal (solder). For my purposes, I just placed my pic between the two panes of glass and added the copper foil (which has an adhesive back) around the perimeter of the glass pieces. So you get what looks like a copper framed mini-pic.

I then lightly apply flux to all of the copper foil (brush it on with a paint brush).

I then put my piece in a vise, and heat my gun, placing the solder against the tip of the gun and (once the solder starts to melt), gently gliding the solder and the gun along the edge of the copper foil. Solder hardens super fast. It's like it's melted, then snap your fingers and it's not. You have to work fast, but if you mess up, you can always just reheat the solder on the piece with the gun and it will instantly melt and harden again. It's pretty cool actually. But I've discovered you can't do it TOO frequently because your solder gun tip will melt if you use it for too long AND your solder on your piece will start to yellow because it's getting burned. AND it can end up being a globby, burry mess. In these cases (when it gets burry) I'll sand it with some sandpaper, which scratches your metal, but it actually gives it a pretty cool effect. So, if you want something perfectly shiny, obviously, don't do this. You'll just have to get really good with your soldering so you don't need to go back over it.

So that's basically it for the initial soldering process. Where I've been having issues is getting the o-rings onto the top of the piece. You need a third hand it seems. I still haven't discovered a concrete way to do this, but what is sort of working is to put a globule of the solder where you want the o-ring to be, let it harden, then using the gun in one hand and the o-ring in some tweezers or jewelry pliers in the other, place the o-ring on the globule of solder and place the gun tip inside the o-ring. The heat will melt the globule and the o-ring will "drop" into the melted solder. Quickly remove the heat and hold the o-ring for a moment until the solder rehardens. It's not perfect, but I think I just need more practice with it.

So that's that. Here's my first finished piece (that turned out decent).

Time to sell, sell, sell!

Well, it's official. I've been partially laid-off from my "real" job as a programmer...the one that pays the bills. So I've got to start promoting my art with a vengeance. I've got my ETSY site and this blog and I'm on TalentDatabase.com (http://www.talentdatabase.com/channels/1-Art/profiles/1190201-alphagrl). But I've got to get out into the physical world (oy!) and pass out cards, talk to some art galleries, shops, sign up for some art festivals and such. I need advice! How do I make money selling my art? What are fair prices? Can I make enough to pay my bills and support my family? Now's the time to move, I suppose, but it's pretty darn scary making a change this big. Maybe we should sell our house and become gypsies...hmmmmm

I can't believe I'm a blogger!

This is my very first blog. I'm a little nervous. Do people really give a crap about what I have to say? Read it or don't, I suppose.