Silversmithing Deux

This is a photo of Minnehaha Creek.  Yes, named after the Indian women in The Song of Hiawatha by Longfellow.  You have to cross this creek and these falls to get to a place just outside of DC called Glen Echo Park. 


Now, this crossing really is walking over a foot bridge, so not any real work.  But on the other side is a magical place: Glen Echo Park.  

 Glen Echo Park was established in 1891, and became an amusement park for DC residents--only it was segregated like much was in the South.  It had a pool, bumper cars, and a carousel.  There were once trolleys from Georgetown out to Glen Echo (the tracks are still there on some streets in Georgetown-- a pain to drive on, really). In 1971, it was turned over to the National Park Service and became an artist colony.  Today, one can take all sorts of arts and craft classes: photography, pottery, painting, calligraphy, and--the class that I took-- silver smithing.

creating my pendent, and some of the tools I used

Because the mother-in-law/mother is a silversmith and she has made all sorts of beautiful things, including our wedding bands, I wanted to see more about this craft.  I signed up for a class with the artist in residence, Blair.  She showed us how to bend, twist, solder, clean, stamp, polish, dap, anneal, saw, drill, texture, sheer, file, hammer, roll, and shape various bits of silver and cooper. 


We had two gauges of silver wire in varying lengths, from which I made a bracelet, a ring, and a set of earrings.  We had two small sheets (1 in x 2 in) of silver and cooper, from which I made a pendent and matching set of earrings.

It was an all day class and it flew by.  At the end of it, I got the basics down of silversmithing.  It made me even more impressed with the pieces of jewellery or serving ware we have from Sylvia.  And: I am hooked.  I have signed up for the follow-up class, which is silversmithing with natural stones. (It isn't for several weeks, so don't look for my silver & stone creations just yet.)

I am nowhere near as good as Blair, the teacher, who has been smithing for 25 years, nor can I touch the talent of Sylvia, at the trade for at least 6 decades.  I need to learn how to solder better and using some the tools was a challenge for me as they work better for right-handed people.  Regardless, it is exciting to see how how your initial thought for a piece changed as you "listen" to what the silver is telling you.  Twist one way, but not the other.  Cut this corner, but saw that. 

Before a massively busy week, it was a way to concrete on art in a way that I haven't been able to in recent years.  Plus, I have already gotten compliments on my pieces and the exclamations of surprise and astonishment when I say that "I made that silver bracelet" make it even more fun.