Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Found object necklace

Okay, so I fudged a little bit. I love the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" little Japanese girls. Most of the other objects are found objects. I put together different pieces of chain that I had left over from various things that I no longer wear. You can also go to somewhere like Hobby Lobby or Michaels and get a chain for about $2-3. I used different jump rings to attach the objects to the chain. I used a Dremel to cut the folding rulers into small pieces and for drilling the hole into the ruler piece. A Dremel is an artist's friend. I don't know how many times I have used it for when I do assemblage. Just be careful because it is a tool that can do a lot of damage to your body if not used correctly. If you are going to do this, then make sure you try it on often to see if you like the placement of your objects. Do not put the objects too high up on either side. I took the wheels and the axles off of the little cars before drilling a hole and attaching. Oh, the patina on the metal objects. Some of them looked too new, so I put them in some salt and vinegar potato chips. If you love metals like I do, then you should take a look at Linda and Opie O'Brien's new book, Metal Craft Discover Workshop...I got the salt and vinegar potato chip thing from them. I sanded the little metal pieces. I then crunched up a bag of salt and potato chips. I put the metal in a salt water solution and then put the metal in a plastic bowl. Cover the metal with the chips. Mist well with water, cover, and let sit for several days. You get the best patina and aging without having to leave it outside or running it over with a car (one of my friends does that). The metal rings and washers looked brand new before I put them in the chip thingie. You may want to do it in small batches because picking out the chips was kind of a pain in my butt. Make sure you rinse it well to get the salt and chips off of the pieces. If you are allergic to mold like I am, then you will also want to make sure you scrub off any mold that might be on the metal due to the moldy, wet chips. I am actually very happy with this piece. Now I will have to make another one for a friend who is an asian fan. After that will be the companion bracelet to this necklace...maybe.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

To avoid the mold problem, you can also rust things with equal parts bleach and vinegar, ala Claudine Hellmuth.

Sally said...

that is gorgeous, Belinda!!