I'm attracted to the textural subtlety that my "silk" Fretz hammer produces when I hammer metal with it... I wasn't sure about it when I first ordered it a few years ago, but I always love the results when I use it. My inspiration this week is Subtlety in Textures and Colors:
One of my very favorite "subtle" gemstone to use is Labradorite. See the hint of purple on the top left gemstone? And the hint of green flash on the top right one? (seen in both the picture above and just below)... the purple (especially) makes me go ga-ga lol
I love to chase the "flash" of Labradorite, depending on the direction that the stones are cut, and how the light hits it, you get these gorgeous colors, it's like opening a present on your birthday :)
You can also see some beautiful flashes of blue in the larger bottom gemstones... yummy!
And look at the "Silk" texture on the bottom hoops... I love how the look changes depending on the angle and how the light hits the copper (above and below):
This is the hammer that I've used.
It looks funky a bit, and it's not a cheap tool,
but the results are subtle and pretty darn cool, if you ask me :)
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| Silk Texture Fretz Hammer at RioGrande |
Of course, I had to mix my metals again... I've left the copper and sterling silver au naturel, because so many love their metals bright, but I can oxidize them if a buyer prefers the antique look.
The rich warm hues in the copper are perfect for Fall.
These earrings are listed HERE on my NatLJ.com website :)
So, what about you??
Do you have a favorite subtle touch that you like to use when you make
(or 'see' when you buy) jewelry?
Do you have favorite textures that you tend to be more attracted to?
I'd love to hear about it!
Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!
Nathalie Lesage
Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist
I also love labradorite, and prefer texture of all sorts as opposed to smooth in my stones and metal. Your earrings are beauties!
ReplyDeleteI love the subtle texture on them - they look so very rustic
ReplyDeleteLaboradites are one of my favorite stones to work with. I have paired them with opals, garnet, peridot, pearls (snow white, maroon, teal), apatite, amethyst, aquamarine and aqua aura. Laboradite surprised me by looking fantastic with copper findings. I got some square beads that were half-silvered (I wish I could find more); some had flashes of pink and green and I made them into a gorgeous three strand necklace with laboradites and three shades of Sworovski pink beads. Another strand I got that day (did I mention I crave more of them?) were half silvered with yellow flashes. I strung that set with same sized laboradites. I love that stone!
ReplyDeleteOhhh that all sounds really lovely Susan! It's amazing all the combinations we can do with this gemstone. I paired it with white pearls and gold earlier this summer for some earrings and it looks fabulous :)
DeletePretty! And very unique. Great texture!
ReplyDeleteThese are great Nathalie! I never really think about pairing Laboradite with copper, but I love how you did it!
ReplyDeleteThese are so great!! I love copper and Labradorite is one of my favorite stones. So cool and creative how you put them together!! LOVE!!
ReplyDeleteLove that texture! What a cool hammer. Fabulous earrings all round!
ReplyDeleteWonderful texture! And labs are one of my favorite stones too--LOVE them here with the mixed metals. I like them with brass as well--there's something about the cool gray stones that often have a flash of gold, together with the warm brass.
ReplyDelete