Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry
by Stephanie Lee
List Price:
Our Price: $9.79
You Save: $13.20 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephanie LeeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-02-27
ISBN: 1600610196
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: North Light Books
Book Reviews of Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry
Book Review: Lovely and Creative Book Shows You How to Make Found-Art Jewelry
Summary: 5 Stars
What is "Found-Art Jewelry"? The author of this jewelry design book, Stephanie Lee, defines it as, "repurposing found objects into earthy and semi-refined pieces of jewelry".
She further goes on to explain that the contrast between the new and the old combine to create "interest and intrigue".
In her hands, this is the case.
I was delighted at the attractive presentation of this book and the elegant manner in which the author presents her appealing projects. For example, I wanted to jump, fearlessly!, into "Bird Nest Ring and Earrings". This is a completely clear way of demonstrating Stephanie's concept of the combination of earthy and semi-refined. You will understand what I mean when you view the bird nest ring, with its sturdy hammered base of sterling, and the "nest" tenderly holding teal colored wired pearl "eggs". Accompanying it is the second project, the swinging sweet yet rustic bird nest earrings. These also wired using sterling. Both projects utilize blackening solution to patina the copper which creates the bundled nests holding the eggs made of pearls.
If you take these projects apart, they are easy to do. It is great to have an author who shows you how, however, and also who truly makes things you want to bother to make!
Another really pretty project which I liked as well, was her "A -Mighty - Wind" cuff. We must note here that the author has a love of Spinal Tap movies, and spin offs, as well as a sly sense of humor, OR she doesn't, but either way it doesn't matter. Except to movie buffs like me! The project is great; very assertive yet balanced with some delicate aspects at the same time. You can see that the sweet tiny charms are meant to represent the sounds a wind chime would make: a bird, wired stones, a hammered charm made of brass which is stamped with XOX, all drawn together on a cuff made of a hammered and flattened sterling spoon stamped with the words "A Mighty Rushing Wind". You must anneal, you must drill, you must stamp and you must patina, yet it is all worth learning from this excellent teacher, if you like the look of hand made, really stunning jewelry.
I am trying to explain by describing this project how thorough this book is, when you take a typical project apart step by step.
I would say that when you are done working with this book, you might want start all over and learn a new technique almost instantly.
Other projects I liked of Stephanie's were her Encased-Stone ring, an assertive, old looking "power ring" (of LOTR times?) if I ever saw one. It has a fine, highly matrixed center stone of either green turquoise or possibly gaspeite(?--hard to say!)and you need to solder this piece.
I also liked the Time-Capsule Ring. It is really gorgeous.
I thought the writing was very fine throughout Semiprecious Salvage. I enjoyed it.
I would try this book if you are willing and open to a bit of hard work in the area of stone-cold connecting and blaze bonding(as the author put it). Every single project is pretty. Give it a try!
Summary of Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry
Embark on an expeditioner's journey back in time to uncover tattered silk, faceted stones and other forgotten items, and learn how to give them new life as a pendant, ring or brooch. Found objects can be beautiful both for the unique, unexpected look they add to your work and for the stories we imagine them to tell. In the pages of Semiprecious Salvage, you will discover the excitement of reclaiming remnants of the past and reinterpreting their beauty in wearable works of mixed-media art.
Step-by-step instructions guide you through the basics of wirework and creating basic jewelry findings, then encourage you to don your boots and get digging as you mix and match elements to create one-of-a-kind treasures. You'll learn to:
- Age modern "flashy" objects to create the distressed look of pieces with a past
- Combine jewelry elements with new and vintage fabrics for a soft, romantic touch
- Master the use of a soldering iron and a propane torch in crafting metal jewelry
- Incorporate plaster and resin into your work for added depth and intrigue
Reinvent your artwork with your own Semiprecious Salvage and start sharing the stories of your own found objects today.
Mixed Media Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Mixed Media Books
The Mosaic Artist's Handbook (Artist's Handbook Series)Barron's Educational Series; Published: 2006-03-01; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $1.12
Price in other shops:
Light and Shade (Barron's Art Handbooks)by Parramon's Editorial Team
Barron's Educational Series; Published: 2000-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.95
Cynthia Hart's Victoriana Calendar 2010by Cynthia Hart
Workman Publishing Company; Published: 2009-07-30; Calendar; Book
Best price: $13.59
Price in other shops:
Roman Signer (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon))by Gerhard Mack, Paula van den Bosch, Jeremy Millar
Phaidon Press; Published: 2006-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.67
Price in other shops:
Egon Schieleby Simon Wilson
Phaidon Press; Published: 1993-09-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.87
Price in other shops:
Dyeing and Screen-Printing on Textiles (Printmaking Handbook S.)by Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor
A&C Black; Published: 2003-04-30; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Teach Yourself VISUALLY Collage and Altered Art (Teach Yourself VISUALLY Consumer)by Roni Johnson
Visual; Published: 2009-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Understanding Alternative Media (Issues in Cultural and Media Studies)by Olga Bailey, Bart Cammaerts, Nico Carpentier
Open University Press; Published: 2007-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.82
Price in other shops:
Postsecret: Anonymous Confessions of Ordinary Lives (Vintage)Vintage Books USA; Published: 2006-02-14; Paperback; Book
From Margin to Center: The Spaces of Installation Artby Julie H. Reiss
The MIT Press; Published: 2001-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.82
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Soldering Made Simple: Easy techniques for the kitchen-table jewelerby Joe Silvera
Kalmbach Books; Published: 2010-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.40
Price in other shops:
Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories: A Crafter's Guide to Fashioning Necklaces, Earrings, Bracelets & Moreby Lisa Bluhm
Sterling Publishing; Lark/Chapelle; Published: 2007-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.75
Price in other shops:
1,000 Steampunk Creations: Neo-Victorian Fashion, Gear, and Art (1000 Series)by Dr. Grymm, Barbe Saint John
Quarry Books; Published: 2011-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.60
Price in other shops:
Mixed Metal Mania: Solder, rivet, hammer, and wire exceptional jewelryby Kim St. Jean
Kalmbach Books; Published: 2011-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.79
Price in other shops:
Amulets and Talismans: Simple Techniques for Creating Meaningful Jewelryby Robert Dancik
North Light Books; Published: 2009-08-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.17
Price in other shops:
A Charming Exchange: 25 Jewelry Projects To Create & Shareby Kelly Snelling, Ruth Rae
North Light Books; Published: 2008-07-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.15
Price in other shops:
Steampunkery: Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Projectsby Christi Friesen
Don't Eat Any Bugs Productions; Published: 2010-01-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.79
Price in other shops:
Steampunk Emporium: Creating Fantastical Jewelry, Devices and Oddments from Assorted Cogs, Gears and Curiosby Jema "Emilly Ladybird" Hewitt
North Light Books; Published: 2011-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.98
Price in other shops:
Steampunk Style Jewelry: Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earringsby Jean Campbell
Creative Publishing international; Published: 2010-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
Rejuvenated Jewels: New Designs from Vintage Treasuresby Amy Hanna
Quarry Books; Published: 2010-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: