progress report

Spent two and a half hours last night filing the metal base for the pendant, to fit it to the crystal in size and shape was/is really difficult. I'm wondering if there are any clever studio tips-n-tricks for suchlike? (the fitting that is, filing just plain takes time, no problem with that) there is rather a lot more to do, but this is a good beginning.

My goal for the year is to continue studio work, despite very little in the way of commissioned pieces, and to use what scraps and supplies I have, since the metal market is sky-high right now, with no relief in sight (sigh) This piece will use a small scrap of silver, and the best of the crystals that J and I dug up years decades ago on a trip through Herkimer (breaking rocks in the hot sun) I'm pretty excited to be trying new techniques for the first time in a quite a while. More pictures as progress happens, tomorrow is "soldering day"...

Got the opening to a pretty good fit, with the crystal set fairly deeply into the metal:

cross-section, showing how the crystal is will be set through the metal


the setting will allow light to pass through the stone