I have put away the metal clay for awhile and have resisted firing up the kiln until the hottest days of Summer are behind us. I also have a load of Cone 6 porcelain to do but I think that one is going to have to wait for the fall. In the meantime, I am taking a pottery glazing and surface design class (more on that later) and and continuing my work with cloth and fiber in the coolness of my basement workshop. I have been screen printing on fabric and here are some of the results
The idea is to combine this fabric with other elements and make some wearable jewelry.
Here is some fabric I sewed around welting with the idea of making a multi-strand necklace.
Here’s the necklace I came up with. I wrapped the solid color ropes with some reclaimed silk yarn that I love. I don’t have enough of it to make anything but a few strands of it adds a lot of interest. I am not sure if I like the copper rings and the dangle. The colors are right but the shapes might not work.
I am looking for something other than welting to fill the cloth. I tried nylon-filled rope, but it’s tricky to shape. The necklace has to drape the right way and nylon fiber can be stiff and uncooperative.
I am also looking at various closures. I am not that fond of lobster clasps for necklaces. They can be fiddly to open and close. I think a secure hook of some kind would make getting in and out of the necklace much easier. And it would be easy to make.
The necklace happens to be made from recycled materials. The fabric came from old clothes and remnant bins, the wire is stripped electrical wire, the yarn is reclaimed from a hat I bought in a thrift shop and the chain is from a trash-picked necklace. The only “new” part of it (aside from the Czech beads I have had for years) are the crimp ends holding the ropes.
Ornamento 