Repousse die forming

Making conchas are usually made with a matching male/female die called a repousse die. There are some commercially made ones, but many traditional silversmiths make their own. To make them and use them takes a good deal of skill, even with the commercially made ones. The commercial ones don’t come looking pretty like the one below. They have to be dressed, trued, registered and polished. Once that is done, then you can start using them.

This pair of earrings are made with small disks at the top to make the traditional round concha design, and the lower part of the earrings are made with a large fan shape from the same round concha die.

The conchas below are the typical round shape. The patterns are diamond cut.

Many people mistakenly call conchas “conchos.” Concha is from the Spanish word for conch and other sea shells, and it gender specific for female. However, in certain countries it is also slang for a specific part of the female anatomy. It’s not a nice slang word, so if you’re south of the U.S. border, feel free to use the word “concho”!

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Fold forming

One of the techniques I use in some of my work is called fold forming. It can have soft folds that make metal look like fabric, sharp folds that cause the metal to stretch into three-dimensional forms, or a combination of folding and forging to make fantastical forms. The picture below is an example of a soft fold.

The leaves are an excellent example of fold forming because they have a central spine.

Here’s a leaf pendant made in an Art Nouveau style.

You can get great dimensional shape like these 3-D flowers and cups. These are more appropriate for sculpture, hollow ware and decorative elements.

This is a big leaf and a boat shape.



I like the fold forming techniques for their organic nature, but I lean more towards the score folding techniques because they’re more easily adapted to jewelry.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Great 3-D jewelry

For many years I’ve used several techniques to get jewelry that most people have never seen. Below are some example of sample forms made in copper and a fully developed form made into jewelry. Would you believe the top three forms began their lives as round disks?

Do you recognize the gold pendant from the form in the middle of the picture above?



Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

Using handmade dies to make jewelry

Some of my work is made from dies that I cut. This allows me to get a 3-D form that’s lightweight. Here are some dies I’ve cut, along with copper samples.

Matrix dies

How they look finished
Made in silver.

Here is a pendant made from a handmade die. It is the amphora shape in the top photo, middle die.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60439186/pretty-pink-opal-pendant-in-sterling

Split matrix die

Even a simple shape can produce a variety of results.

 Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak

What kind of jewelry do I make?

When looking at various shades of white snow for a good deal of the year, I’m eager to use stones with lots of color and interesting patterns.

Okay, actually I’m a girl that likes shimmer, shine, glitzy, COLOR! and usually big jewelry.

http://metalsandgems.com/page52.html

Then again, sometimes I like to make things that are delicate and lacy, like filigree.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68068209/tiny-filigree-butterfly-earrings-in



Many of my pieces are simple, but bold in scale.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60612997/wide-sterling-silver-bracelet-cuff-in

And some are just, “How did she do that? How does that work exactly?”

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68302603/wavy-nesting-bangle-in-sterling-silver-4

Whatever I make is going to get noticed, so it’s not for the faint of heart. You can check out more information at my website Metals and Gems and current pieces at Jazzn Jewelry Etsy shop.

Copyright 2011 by Katherine Palochak