Casts and Magazines.

Well, my cast pieces arrived yesterday! Of course, they are all ugly and white and need a lot of filing/sanding/polishing, but now I can get going on that. I will try to remember to take pictures as I finish them to show a bit of the process. The pile of rings I photographed today are just some of the pieces that came back...and unfortunately point and shoot cameras hate me so that is the only picture that came out in focus.

I have 3 or 4 pieces I'm considering making molds from, though I'm still undecided. The far right and far left are being considered for just that.

The polisher will (hopefully) be ordered today...I keep forgetting/putting it off. I have my hands full with getting the pieces ready to go IN the polisher at the moment, so waiting another week or so won't delay much.

I will put all the finished pieces (sans the ones to be sent back out for molds) on etsy. I am actually hoping a few don't sell until I buy a torch and can add stones to them. If they DO sell before I have that chance, I suppose I can't complain too much.

I am looking to subscribe to a jewelry magazine. I like that they offer projects so I can teach myself something new and they are full of new techniques and inspiration if I get stuck. I picked one up at JoAnn Fabrics of all places, called "Art Jewelry." Overall I've really been impressed with it: business articles, interviews with jewelers, a few different projects to try out, and they have metal clay how-tos as well (something I have the materials to get started with, but haven't yet tried).

The other I'm considering is Lapidary Journal, now called "Jewelry Artist." This was one we had a lot of back issues of in college and I remember liking what it had to offer. It too had projects, interviews, various articles, etc. I think they will both have valuable information, I'm just not sure which will be more beneficial/interesting to me.

And speaking of metal clay...I'm finding out all sorts of interesting things about it. I can actually set stones into the clay before firing, for example. Not all stones can withstand the heat of the kiln, but it opens up a lot of opportunities none the less!