METAL AND LACE - WINNING!

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend a class with Colleen, at The Bead Metaler, in texturing metal without hammers.  We were allowed to play with her snazzy rolling mill to imprint some fairly delicate items onto metal.  I'm talking LACE - ONTO METAL!  A fairly simple procedure involves a heavy-duty, hand cranked machine that has two steel drums/rollers that are tightened together to compress whatever you've laid onto metal, leaving an impression as it's rolled through and out the other side.  She was kind enough to allow us to play with practice pieces (pieces that I will use later...nothing goes to waste) before moving onto the real deal.  To say that my right arm is like jello today, is a bit of an understatement, but look at this WINNING cuff I got out of the deal!

My practice pieces (we sandwiched textures between two pieces of metal each time, hence the number of pieces I brought home), at the bottom of the collage, range from simple run throughs of pieces of lace (see the middle bottom photo - the piece of copper in the very center with the DELICATE lace impressions, after once through the machine), to layering of different items (including round paper clips at one point) and several run throughs on the same piece.  Texture was the name of the game, and texture I got.  The few different patinas on the pieces at the bottom (most of which are natural copper at this point) were from torch heating.

A glutton for punishment, I upped my game for the cuff, and chose a piece of inch and a half wide, 18 gauge copper (most of my play pieces were thinner, 24 ga.).  It is the reason for my sore arm today, but well worth the effort...a substantial bracelet, run through the ringer quite a few times, with various laces, burlap, etc., with a few finishing strokes from a texturing hammer.  Patina-ed with Liver of Sulfur (it's also shinier than it looks, having been sprayed with a clear shiny coating - my camera picks up glare at the most inopportune times, but never when I want it), I got some marvelous color in this one, and it will be rockin' the town tomorrow evening.  Thanks for a wonderful class, Boss!  LOVED the process, and will treasure the bracelet!  WINNING!