I’m so excited about my ‘Opal01‘ pendant commission, that I want to share some more photographs of it.
Oh please, do indulge me!
all ready to give to my lovely friend; image not to be reproduced without permission
It still amazes me how weird the opals and weave look when they’re scanned…
scanned; image not to be reproduced without permission
One of my most beautiful friends was admiring my ‘Oh Opal!‘ pieces … and while we were talking about which ones she liked and why, we decided that instead of her needing to choose between two of those she liked, we would collaborate to make a pendant especially for her.
Yes, my very first commission!
From the many opals I own, she selected what I would consider the most gorgeous of them all: I call it Opal01, as it was the first opal I bought (all my opals are named in the order they came to my collection). I had intended for it to be in the ‘Oh Opal!‘ exhibition, however I didn’t like how the setting eventuated.
This opal is simply stunning! It is from Mintabie, South Australia. I bought it on eBay, and remember when it arrived I couldn’t believe its beauty.
We worked together to design the scale and proportion of the pendant, and the colouring of the weave.
nearly there; image not to be reproduced without permission
I am so excited about the final result!
‘Opal01’ pendant; image not to be reproduced without permission
So many thanks to my beautiful friend for her trust in me – I couldn’t dream of a more lovely collaborative process, nor a more wonderful patron and model for my jewellery!
I’ve been making quite a bit recently, at least compared to my relatively part-time making history.
I find that I’m more productive if I’m working on two pieces at a time – I can tinker with one while the other is in the pickle, etc. I think this is more efficient than making two pieces in succession.
Most of what I’ve been making has been for others – Lord Coconut, Studio 20/17, and two commissions (that I’m SO excited about, and will share more about soon).
So, while I was working on one of my recent commissions (again, SO excited!), I put together a sweet little pendant using one of the delightful opals in my stash.
Opal06 pendant; image not to be reproduced without permission
It’s always nice to interleave making for others with something that’s just for fun.
I love how spooky opal look when they’re scanned!
Opal06, scanned; image not to be reproduced without permission
I’ve made it into the studio and have finished a piece that I started when I was working on the ‘Oh Opal!‘ exhibition.
This is quite a different opal to the others I’ve made into pieces so far. Opal03 is entirely opaque and in earthen colours, with a very slight streak of dark blood-red through the edge of the top (sadly not visible in this image). I liked this opal for these reasons, as it was such a contrast to the disco-tastic opal stereotype.
‘Opal03’ brooch; image not to be reproduced without permission
It is of similar construction to the other pieces, though I seemed to me it befitted a brooch more than a pendant.
The images may not show it well, but the paper colours are so beautiful and subtle.
In terms of scale, the opal is 21 * 17mm.
‘Opal03’ brooch back; image not to be reproduced without permission
It may only just be visible in the above image, but in-between the paper-weave and perspex is lots of fine silver lemel … like a snow-dome! This was a little boo-boo. I momentarily forgot that I hadn’t yet filed the bezel down to the right height yet, and popped the opal in to set it. Oh oh, I did such a super job with a snug bezel that for the life of me (and Julia, my studio-buddy) it wouldn’t budge out. My only option was to file down the bezel with the setting already attached to the paper and perspex – and so, silver filings fell all around and got stuck under the paper. It’s a shame, as I liked the sharp view of the paper weave under the perspex – but we live and learn!
This is one of the few pieces I’ve made for myself for ages. Feels good to finish it.
Melbourne Jeweller 