Silver, Copper & Natural Stones

​Today Sanny Bijvoet from Bussum is coming for a workshop. She likes to work with robust natural stones and design silver pendants with this. The example what she sent me in advance, gives me a picture of her intentions.

I secretly prepared myself for a day of experimenting. Not every stone can be heated, we may only have to design the pendant and later fix the stone in it.

Sanny also wants to work with copper clay today, so we take some extra time for that. Her friend Carlos comes along. His hobby is photography, so today he can capture Sanny in her activities on film.
 
The final result is disappointing. The silver pendant has shrunk too much and does not fit around the rhinestone. The adjustments and finishing even cause two fractions, making the pendant completely unusable. Very unfortunate.

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The copper charms have been successful and have a nice fragile appearance. Sanny used shells and made molds. With the help of these molds, the charms are designed from copper clay.
 
Well and then the workshop day is over. We agree that I will provide two natural stones with a silver suspension system. I may possibly also fire the stones. Personally I believe this doesn’t work out well. Sanny wants to see what the result is. We are going to experience it, does everything come out of the kiln okay?

In the end I choose to design the custom pendants out of the silverclay and fire them without the rhinestone and amethyst. The estimate of the expected shrinkage has been successful and the pendants fit neatly around the gems.

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Fine, even this day has been brought to a successful conclusion, admittedly.
Sanny, thank you for the confidence and success with your business!