Sunday, September 8, 2013

A Happy Accident

I've been dabbling in patina, though not as much as I would like. It seems there is not enough hours in the day to just sit and experiment. But the other day I decided to cut some ovals out of brass sheet and patina them with the sea salt/vinegar method. I put the ovals on a Chinette plate and squirted the patina on the pieces.  The problem was that I had already domed the brass ovals so the patina solution just ran off. What to do?  Then I realized the plate had a dip around the rim and the solution was pooling there, so I turned the brass ovals face down into the solution. I thought it would take a couple days for the patina to be just right but they were done in just a few hours.

The brass ovals domed.

I love how the solution turned into that wonderful copper color in the center of the ovals. A happy accident!

'Rain Forest Mist'

And the earrings I made with the brass ovals. Also included are lampwork beads by Whitney Street Studio which I've had for a long time.  And Vintaj Brass washers, earwires, and jump rings.

I would love to hear about your experiments in patina as I'm quite fascinated with the idea of making my own components with different patinas.



10 comments:

Kym Hunter Designs said...

Your patina turned out wonderfully and the colors match the lampwork beads so well! Your earrings are beautiful!

Monique (A Half-Baked Notion) said...

How can I resist a post with that title? These look simply amazing, Alice... will they be appearing on the earring challenge?

AntiquityTravelers said...

Well done! those are gorgeous

kimmykats said...

These are beautiful! Another thing on my list to learn!

the Moon and Seven Stars said...

Lovely work! I haven't tried a patina like this but I'm tempted to give it a go now!!

Juliette said...

Beautifully done! I prefer patinas with salt, vinegar, ammonia, and heat, and I think you did an incredible job! :)

Patti Vanderbloemen said...

Wow! These turned out beautifully! Love the lampwork you chose, too! Adding patina is on mu long, long list of things to try!

koralee said...

Oh my these are so very lovely....you have done an amazing job. Thank you for visiting me the other day....happy week to you.

LoriF said...

Something I've been wanting to do as well...do you by any chance have a link to the salt/vinegar recipe?

Cathie Carroll said...

I love working with patinas also.
These turned out beautifully and you made a great pair of earrings form them!