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It can be – learning new things. Just like this prickly little mama ambling along the hiking path at Jay Cooke State Park in MN. 
The soldering and bezel making techniques I’m learning in the online metalsmithing class mentioned in my last post are definitely challenging. The round bezels have worked out pretty well, with the squared corners bezels being a lot more difficult.
 My first soldered metal bezels Embedding other metal into the flat solder went well for me, too. Pictured here is my first completed piece for the class – the leaf earrings.
 Feather earrings Today, planning to try using a resin to fill some of the bezels, and then experiment with chains and beads for finishing a pendant. And I need to give some thought on how to adapt this technique for making some bracelets. Seems I always come back to the bracelets.
Speaking of bracelets, I have several beaded bracelets that are in progress – a free form peyote, a beaded flower cuff, and just starting a spiny knotted bracelet today. It works for me to have a few ongoing, then I work on what I feel inspired to do, or what I have the beads for. Sometimes a piece has to go on hold while I round up some more beads or think about what it needs next.
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Went into experiment mode while working on a new technique that was introduced in an online metalsmithing class I’m taking with Stephanie Lee, author of Semiprecious Salvage. The technique, called flooding, calls for using a torch to ‘flood’ a piece of metal thoroughly with solder. My first attempts went poorly, as I expected, realizing practice would be called for here. My next several attempts got only worse. (see photo 1). I began to suspect that perhaps it wasn’t human error after all – most others in the class were reporting success and I am usually not this pathetic at trying new things. At this point, an experiment was needed.
 The first batch - the disasters! It wasn’t hard to figure out I needed to change the variables to see what the cause of the disasters was – me, the flux (I was using a brand called Handy) or the solder (using a brand called DGS). I trucked – no, well, actually ‘priused’ over to Hardware Hank and picked up the smallest house brand of flux and solder they had.
Back in the workshop, I first changed up the flux and used the new flux with the old solder . Perfect! Next used the new flux and the new solder. No problem. Lastly, used the OLD flux and the new solder (bad). They Handy flux just isn’t working for me here. Maybe it’s old or has moisture in it or something.
 The second batch - much better!
 Lake Superior along the Grand Portage Ojibwe Reservation; almost to Canada! Spent five days on the North Shore (of Lake Superior – the locals just say, ‘the North Shore’.) The big lake and beaches are reminiscent of the coast of Maine – craggy, rocky, beaches and great, wide expanse of water that meet up only with sky and clouds. No lobster traps, though. The air does not have that intense salty smell that the Maine air has, but the earthy aroma of the cedars and pines lining her shoreline is pungent and magical and can hold their own.
 HIghest waterfall that empties into Lake Superior; in Grand Portage State Park  Hot, Hazy day at Canal Park beach off Duluth, MN
Added a few new items to the Etsy store over the last couple of weeks. A variety! I haven’t done much with the silver clay this summer – can’t afford to keep buying it, mainly. And trying to use up more of what I have.
Wow. There is a fantastic blues program on the radio right now (npr). called The Blues. I could listen to this all day and night, really. It’s being hosted by Keb Mo. I just looked it up here, http://www.pbs.org/theblues/songsartists/songsradio.html. and found it’s a 13 part series – part 10 (Chicago) playing tonight. I like the way they tell the stories behind the history, musicians, songs.
I have some ideas churning (did churn some homemade vanilla ice cream earlier too – remind me to tell you about my awesome Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment, but I surely digress now) for the Fall Salon. The theme is The Trees Understand. Not sure exactly where I’m going with these yet, but I’m preparing these leaves to be copper electroplated. Here they are in the photo, stage 1, being sealed. next step … not sure – gotta make some decisions. Do I want to attach jump rings or just put holes in them? That’s next. Then paint with the conductive paint.
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