Art Bridge Ring and Bracelet

Materials:

square silver wire
torch
pliers
soldering iron
solder
hammer
thin-gauge wire
double-sided tape
crushed coral
2-part epoxy
packing tape
toothpick
colored dyes
resin
patina

Steps:

1. Start with a sketch.

2. Using square metal wire, make the metal frames. Cut pieces. Heat metal with torch, shape into desired "V" shape using hands and pliers.

3. Solder two V’s at bottom.

4. To make leafy part of bottom, use thin-gauge wire. Shape it by sticking to drawing with double-sided tape until satisfied with leaf-shape design.

5. For the bridge: Hammer square wire into shape, bending the arc for the bottom. Make two.

6. Casting with resin: Mix crushed coral into two-part epoxy, using a blob on a piece of paper.

7. On a piece of packing tape on the table, mash coral resin into bridge frames. Let set for a few hours.

8. Form bridge walkway with tape, sticking two bridges together. Mash resin into walkway with toothpick.

9. For V part, create a cast for resin with packing tape along the sides, wire leaf shapes will stick to resin.

10. Mix the base resin with color (purpley-green) and fill V cast with resin. Let set.

11. Paint other colors of resin on top of base color in V and let set.

12. File hardened resin if it gets on the metal.

13. Glue bridge to V with 5-minute epoxy. Let set.

14. To make a stand: Using more square wire, cut pieces to size. Bend and solder wire to fit the ring; hammer leaves.

15. Oxidize finished stand by painting with a chemical that turns metal black.

Art Bracelet

Materials:

rectangular silver wire
square rubber tubing
soldering iron
solder wire
metal clasp
drill
rotary polishing tool
thin-gauge wire
small coral stones
2-part epoxy

Steps:

1. From 1-foot length of rectangular wire, cut two long and two short pieces to form rectangle box.

2. Cut two small lengths of square tubing. File the ends of all pieces.

3. Solder everything together in a rectangle; two end pieces tilt down to accommodate curve of the wrist.

4. Cut two more small lengths of square tubing. Solder clasps onto these small pieces.

5. Drill holes in ends of rectangle for wire. Clean up metal and add nice finish with rotary polishing tool.

6. Feed thin-gauge wire through hole in rectangle. String coral stones on wire like a puzzle. Feed other end of wire through other hole, bend it flat.

7. Glue rubber wristband into end box with two-part epoxy. Glue clasp ends on.

8. Drill hole through rubber ends and metal boxes at main piece and at clasp ends.

9. Add a piece of wire through each rubber/box hole (4).

E-mail: hilaryhachey@netzero.net