Well, it's been epic lol. Probably the most involved piece I've ever made, but I think it's been worth it. I've used lots of different techniques and it's taken a lot of time and patience..especially soldering each and every link of the chain :)
I started out with a sheet of thick 18 gauge solid copper sheet, onto which I drew the design I had made. Crows and ravens are my favourite birds, and after a bit of research, I realised that ravens have pointed tails and crows have flat tails, so I decided to make a raven design which I thought would have a more flowing silhouette.
Cutting thick copper into an intricate design is not as easy as it looks and I'm not even going to think about how many saw blades I broke :) But after I had cut out the design (and an extra piece which would hang beneath for a nice bit of movement) I had to choose which stones to use. I decided on thirteen!!! A lovely mix of colours from the 5 garnets, 2 turquoise, 1 citrine, 2 amethysts, 2 green onyx, and 1 lapis lazuli.
So I made thirteen bezels from fine silver sheet.....
...and then I etched the surface of the copper. This involves applying a resist to the areas you want to remain untouched and then suspending the copper in an etching solution which 'eats' away the areas of bare copper. I wanted an 'organic' design so used a resist which would also be affected by the etch, but at a slower, more uneven rate. Etching takes time, and you have to check regularly that the 'bite' isn't getting too deep. When you're happy with how it looks, you have to neutralise the etch to stop any more reaction.
When the etch had been neutralised and the metal pickled, which involves cleaning the metal in a mild acid solution, the bezels were ready for soldering. I had to be careful not to melt any of the fine silver bezels as I soldered each one, as the size of the copper bird meant the whole piece had to get quite hot. And then to make the chain.....
Because I wanted the chain to be strong and robust, I chose to solder each and every link. So I made a LOT of links from solid copper wire, and soldered them together.
I also wanted an interesting chain, to be a part of the overall design of the pendant, not just simply the thing it hangs from, so I shaped each and every link after it was soldered. I attached the chain to the pendant with soldered silver rings, and attached the bottom piece of the pendant to the raven. Then it was time to set the stones! This took some doing....setting thirteen stones takes a bit of time, and because I wanted each one to have extra sparkle, I faceted each and every bezel. This means I added angles to each bezel so that light would reflect from each surface, rather than the bezel being smooth and flat, as is usual.
After oxidising, burnishing and waxing, it was done! An epic journey, but one I am looking forward to repeating. This is a one-off design, so I won't make another the same, but I've got plenty of other ideas on the boil lol.
