Friday, April 11, 2014

New Handmade Jewlery!

Lotus Om with Spirals
 I'm very excited to present some new jewelry pieces I've been working on.

I've spent the last couple of months learning some new skills and experimenting with new materials and techniques that would allow me to bring some new jewelry designs to life.

These pieces feature my original art designs etched into copper and hand-antiqued with colorful metal inks.  


The central pendants are backed by a layer of polymer clay, which gives them a nice weight and a smooth, non-tarnishing surface against the skin.  I sign each piece by etching my initials into the clay.

Hammered wire spiral accents and sparkling iridescent glass beads complete each piece.  

Necklaces connect at the back with a barrel clasp that screws together. 

Triple Lotus Om with Spirals

Celtic Om with Spirals









































These One-of-a-Kind pieces are now available at my Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/cristinamcallister?ref=l2-shopheader-name

This whole Working with Metal thing is new territory for me...I think I'm in love!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Art Inspiration of the Day; 4/2/2014



http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/phantasma-gloria
Check out the incredible glowing fantasyscape created by EchoPark (Los Angles) resident and artist Randlett Lawrence.  So beautiful!
 Link:

Spirit Inspration of the Day; 4/2/2014


Posted at Abbots Pizza Company Venice Ca.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

More Etching Tests


So, the electro-etching thing wasn't working for me.  It was just taking way too long and I wasn't getting the results I was going for.  I also realized that even when using a saline solution instead of an acid, I'd still have to dispose of the used etchant as hazardous waste, because of the metal salts dissolved in it.  So basically, as far as I can tell, there's no way to etch without having to deal with disposing of hazardous chemicals. So I decided to just go ahead and get some ferric chloride, which is what most folks use.

This stuff requires a bit more care when handling, as it stains anything it touches (except metal, which it eats instead!), can burn pinholes in fabric and can give you a mild acid burn if you get it on your skin.  If you do (which I did; wearing protective gloves doesn't do much good when you get the stuff inside the glove!), you can just neutralize the acid with baking soda and scrub up with soap and water, so it's not a huge deal.  You do NOT want to get it in your eyes or ingest it, though. I think I can manage to avoid that.

Well, the results are MUCH better than I was getting with the electro setup.  The test piece was in the ferric chloride solution for an hour and 40mins, and got me a nice, deep etch.  All of those photos are of the same piece - taken at different angles with/without flash. I LOVE how the light plays over the metal!!!

I then played around with some torch pantina'ing, which gave me a bunch of colors in the recesses - reds and yellows and even some blue/green hues.  Then I ran out of butane for my torch, so I'll continue my exploration of that as soon as I can find my extra can of butane.  :P

And when I get my spiffy Renaissance Wax sealer (hopefully tomorrow), I'll see what it looks like with the finish on it and all buffed out.  I should also be getting my jewelers saw later this week, and then I can start cutting the pieces out and actually making a finished pendant. 

Yay!  Getting closer!

Spirit Inspiration of the Day; April Fools Day, 2014


Art Inspiration of the Day; April Fools Day, 2014

http://hellobaby.deviantart.com/

A gorgeous take on the Tarot's Fool card by Hellobaby.
See more art here: http://hellobaby.deviantart.com/

Inital Etching Tests


Not as deep an etch as I would like, and it took forever, but I'm starting to see a glimmer of what I'm after!