I start a new art jewelry project usually with a hand rendering. I'm not great at this but I am really only interested in the basic forms. When they look good and interesting to me, I go ahead and start working on the 3D version, often using the original drawing as a template for parts of the piece.                                                                    

            Here you see a good jump forward. I've completed the main forms for the big Amber and the attached piece that will have the accent of Amber and Amethyst. This piece was all done with hand manufacturing which is just shaping, texturing and soldering pieces of metal together. The other process I frequently use is Lost Wax Casting and a combination of both. I'll do a page on lost wax sometime.                            

  Here I am hard at work at the soldering bench.

 

   And the final piece that actually got me an award at one show. It made it on to the show poster at another. Well worth the effort.