The other day I was taking in some eye candy on Pinterest and saw some beautiful mixed-media jewelry made from bent silver spoon handles. Some had beads attached and some had words stamped onto them.
 |
| Poetry Spoons by Kelli Nina Perkins could be turned into art to wear. |
I immediately thought of Kelli Nina Perkins's popular poetry spoons featured in the May/June 2008 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. These spoons were not jewelry per se; they were attached with jump rings to a large metal ring to form a "book." But Kelli's spoons were embellished with buttons, bright fuzzy fibers, beads, wrapped wire, and cut-out book text. I couldn't help but think they would make wonderful found object jewelry.
Kelli's spoons were also made iridescent and colorful with alcohol inks. This is easy to do, though if you're going to turn your spoons into wearable art, you would want to add a coat or two of clear polyurethane at the end to make sure the ink stays put.
Here is Kelli's tutorial on how to color the silver-plated spoons with alcohol ink. (She used Ranger Adirondacks.)
1. Wear protective, non-permeable gloves to protect your hands and cover your worktable before starting. Alcohol inks stain, which is why they are so great for coloring metal and glass.
2. Cut a small piece of felt to act as a dabber. Place a few drops of the first color of ink on the dabber and blot color onto one side of the spoon, creating a spotty, marbled efffect.
3. Add a second color to the felt and go back over the spoon to mix colors until the whole side is covered. Allow to dry.
Note: Ranger has a clear blending solution that's fun to use. Drip it on the spoon and blot again with the dabber or squirt some directly onto the felt and lightly go over areas of the spoon to lighten the color.
4. Turn the spoon over and ink the other side. Allow to dry.
If you wanted to use the colored and embellished spoons as jewelry but didn't want to get into cutting or drilling the metal, you could collect tiny tea or souvenier spoons and make them the centerpiece of a mixed-media necklace. Or, use this technique for coloring metal to use
Of course, there are many other ways to color metal for mixed-media jewelry besides using alcohol inks. Jewelry artist Gail Crosman Moore's jewelry workshop video Coloring on Metal for Jewelry Makers explores how to add vibrant color to your jewelry designs. Learn all the expert tricks for working with enamel, heat patina, alcohol inks, and much more.
P.S. Do you have a favorite method of coloring metal? Tell me about it in the comments section below.