Steel Wire Jewelry

Brenda Schweder came to the South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild three weeks ago to teach us about making jewelry with steel wire. The look of steel is great and let's not talk about the price. Five pounds of 16g annealed steel wire at Home Depot costs only $ 5.98 (they called it Rebar Wire - don't try to be fancy and ask for Steel Wire..lol).

Steel Wire is hard (similar to bronze), you have to have a good breakfast before taking that class. You feel very creative because you are not worried about the cost. I was the brave one of the class and I tumble my first pieces when I got home. It was a success. The steel shoots were happy with their "brother" and I just clean them very well after I finish. Once tumbled, I seal the pieces with a museum quality wax to avoid rusting.

Some jewelry pieces made during the class:



Brenda made this cage using my Roman Glass...gorgeous...

I loved the class. We asked Brenda to show us how to make everything that she brought. She is very generous and we had a great time.

Even tough I love the look of steel (similar to oxidized silver), I am hesitant about selling steel wire jewelry to the general public. I may experiment with some pieces and will let you know how it goes.

What I took from this class in addition to practice my wire skills is the appreciation for Calder Jewelry and his style. Brenda did a great job with some of her Calder inspired pieces and that motivated me to read about this great artist. I went home and bought a Calder Jewelry Book. It was very hard to find but I got a hold of one copy at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

I hope you enjoy the posting and maybe want to play a little bit with steel wire...hey is cheap!