Treasures That Emerge from the Depth of the Pandemic
If you’re a jeweler, confined to your home by the pandemic and by the long loneliness of the New England winter, what do you do to survive, to thrive?
For me, noticing the slogan on the T-shirt I’d hung on my jewelry studio door, “Go to Your Studio and MAKE STUFF”, I complied. I went to my studio, and I’ve barely come out since, not even, yet, to deter the weeds coming up in my garden around the spring flowers…
I signed on to an on-going series of Zoom classes with Master Jeweler, Kent Raible, known for gorgeous golden jewelry, resplendent with gems. I’ve learned to make silver tubes of all sizes and shapes (round, pear-shaped, rectangular and more) and set stones into those tubes. And I polished up my chasing and repoussé skills, two of the most versatile, subtle, and sculptural techniques used in working with metal.
An ancient method of moving metal, used by Thracian and Greek goldsmiths thousands of years ago, we find a more contemporary demonstration of these techniques in Paul Revere’s silver work, including pitchers and plates, which showcase chasing and repoussé in his three-dimensional decorative accents, many of them flowers.
How did he transform a plain metal pitcher into a glorious work of art, you ask? In chasing, a design is created on metal by hammering small punches into the metal and creating an indentation – or outline. Repoussé (RAY-pou-SAY) is when the metal is turned over, and hammered again on the reverse side within the design to give it depth. The metal is held in a pitch pot to give it a firm but moveable base during the hammering.
“Yellow Sapphire Wisdom”
Tools of the Trade
The photo included here of my newest work is of a silver pendant on a delicate chain, set with a yellow sapphire with the design created by chasing and repoussé. In the metaphysics of gems, a yellow sapphire represents wisdom, spiritual power, and astuteness. The second photo shows the tools of the trade – the pitch pot into which a piece of flat silver is set, and the punches and hammers used to, tap by tap of the hammer on the punch, put the pattern into the metal.
For more info visit Marcie’s Artisan page and see more of her work.
