Playtime

by Patty Lakinsmith

Lately I've been a little too caught up with To Do List items, and my creative soul has been famished. In addition to polishing up some decidedly rusty lampworking skills, I've been having some playtime in my studio and have been making all kinds of bead caps using copper and brass. Nothing fancy, just good old soldering, punching and dapping, and you know what? I found it very difficult to stop. I tried all sorts of things - some just didn't work out at all (like trying to solder a fine silver bezel onto a brass back), and others may work out eventually.

I had no real agenda with most of these (that's the point of play, right?), and found myself almost hypnotized by the flame, and the predictable changes that solder goes through as it heats and finally melts. There's also something soothing about repetitive tasks while your mind is busy working out other issues in the background.

I'm love love LOVing the richness of copper and brass as its rendered by the flame, and captured with renaissance wax. It just looks as if it has a story to tell.

I found an interesting read on the value of creative play, that makes me think I should try harder to get some of this into my normal routine. Here are the main points from the article:

1. Play can inspire you to think differently.
2. Play can bring you peace and joy, stress reduction, and ultimately increased longevity.
3. Play can increase your creativity and enhance your energy levels.
4. Play can let you experiment without fear of negative consequences.
5. Play can make you a person that others enjoy being around.

I can certainly attest to most of these benefits. My husband knows when I've been away from the studio too long, and (bless his heart, 'cuz I can get super cranky) will encourage me to get my fix. It would seem that adults in creative professions like architecture can attest to this idea too.

When is the last time you played just for the fun of it? Is it hard for you to play without a specific goal in mind?

A Lampwork Bead Maker's Dalliance

OK, now that I've got your attention, what I meant was pertaining to my playtime with metal. Since I'm a glass bead maker who also makes jewelry, from time to time I have to drag myself away from the torch to make components to go in my finished pieces. I am by no means a 100% DIY gal, but I much prefer to make my own parts when I have the time and the skill. In the past this has been limited somewhat to PMC and wire work, including fusing fine silver (which I dearly love), but lately I've been drawn to other metals like brass and copper. I love the look of a nice, aged patina, and (shhh! don't tell) I've been coveting Missficklemedia's patina tutorial for a while now.

Part of it might be because of the company I keep - Cyndie Smith does wonderful, organic work with all kinds of great metals, and Mary Jane's creativity and affinity for many materials inspires me. The other cool thing is that metals like brass and copper are a lot less expensive than silver is these days (but if you're reading this blog you probably already knew that).

So, I've spent some time on a new playground, and thought I'd share my results. On the left is how the brass blanks look when you get them. Kind of boring and useless, huh? The rest are finished components - some embellished with fine silver bead caps and rings, and some just textured and dapped. I got the great color by heating the elements to red hot with my butane torch, then dropping them into liver of sulphur (I mix mine from dried chunks). Once I wiped off the patina on the raised parts with my polishing pads the texture was more pronounced and the finish was great. These have been tumbled as well. Some have been brushed with a brass wire brush as well.

Bead caps are a girl's best friend, and these made using brass discs, a metal punch, a texturing hammer, a dapping block, and liver of sulphur are just what I need. They'll look great when paired with a contrasting metal (e.g. silver) smaller cap and then cored for a finished look.

UFO component made by soldering two dapped and punched discs together.
A couple of large jump rings through the two discs and you're off on another jewelry adventure.

So there you have it. A quick summary of my day at the playground. Next time maybe I'll go down the slide too!