ALL THAT REMAINS

Just recently I learned a new jewelry technique called FOLD FORMING. This method of working with metal was invented by Charles Lewton-Brain in the late 1980's and is recognized the world over as the only new original innovation in metal working in a millennia. By using fingers...hammers...mallets...anvil...vice and /or rolling mill one can achieve wonderful organic shapes from a single piece of metal with no soldering. Usually when working with metal one insists their will upon it making the metal 'behave' to achieve an expected result. In form folding the beauty comes from allowing the metal to follow natural laws without exerting a will over it. I think that is the reason that the end result looks so organic.

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I call this neckpiece ALL THAT REMAINS. It so reminds me of a sea creature who has left it's exoskeleton behind or of a spent seed pod....not unlike a milkweed pod. The truth is, as a jeweler/metal worker, I hardly ever wear any of my own jewelry... except for the occasional gallery opening. Since making this piece I find that I wear it most all of the time and constantly get comments about it. ALL THAT REMAINS is made of 26 gauge sterling silver and though it looks delicate, it is quite tough.

This small sterling silver boat, which I call WHAT THE TIDE BROUGHT IN, is less than 3" long and is made using the same technique and the same size and gauge metal. If I had continued to hammer and thin the bottom edge, the bow and stern ends would have continued to curl towards each other making another piece more like the ALL THAT REMAINS neckpiece.

I look forward to exploring the new territory that fold forming provides me....stay tuned...I think I see a rolling mill in my future.