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 Professional PMC:
Bora Bora Necklace
By Bridgette Rallo
Combine a Dramatic Blister Pearl with PMC Seashells
For Summertime Glamour
When I think of summer, I think of the sea. And when I think of the sea, I think of pearls!
I don’t mean just any pearls – I love big, lustrous, Tahitian-style pearls, preferably peacock gray or black, bursting with shimmer and tropical style. Natural South Sea pearls are expensive and good ones are relatively rare. Fortunately for art jewelers, good quality freshwater pearls in larger sizes, unusual shapes and great, boutique colors are easily obtainable these days.
The pearl that set my imagination racing for this project is one of Nature’s most glamorous creations: a gorgeous, iridescent gray, 52mm, freshwater blister pearl. Blister pearls are truly unique in that they are still attached to their shells, which are also covered with nacre. It’s as if the mollusk’s layering mechanism went wild, covering it’s entire inside surface with pearly luster. They are sold as one-of-a-kind cabochons and come in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes.
I’ve used many of the techniques we’ve discussed in previous lessons in order to produce Bora Bora. This means that your recently acquired skills will get a workout this month. You’ll make and use silicone rubber molds for the seashell beads and toggle clasp, set the pearl in a shaped, freeform bezel and color the setting with a liver of sulphur solution.
You’ll learn new skills as well; the pearl’s bezel is not attached to a pendant back but is self-contained, the shell beads have fired-in-place tubing for stringing (as does the bezel) and the whole design is anchored by a handcrafted shell toggle clasp.
Notes:
I bought the blister pearl cabochon used in this lesson from Judy Kiriazis of Heart of Stone Studios. At press time, she had a few more cabs available on her site. As an alternative, you can use a paua shell cab – these abalone shell components are brightly colored, iridescent and inexpensive. Paua carries the same kind of pearly punch as a blister pearl at a fraction of the cost. You can also use a mother of pearl or black-lipped shell cabochon. None of the above alternatives has an attached pearl but they all have beautiful luster.
Blister pearl cabs usually have curved backs instead of the normal flat back. Instead of setting the pearl into a mixture of sawdust and glue, which a lot of jewelers do with uneven cabs, I pressed this one into a dime-sized “blob” of E6000 flexible jeweler’s cement squeezed into the middle of the bezel. The glue will “soft-set” in about 20 minutes, allowing you to finish setting the pearl securely.
I took great care to match the color of my cab with an appropriate string of peacock pearls and, while the cornflake keishi strand I chose is darker than the blister pearl, the colors compliment each other and are in the same color family. If you choose to set a shell cab, you can easily find matching or complimentary shell beads for your design from a variety of bead suppliers.
Finally, you will be multi-tasking during the course of this lesson. As one component is drying or firing, you will be working on the next component. This is how art jewelers work and I always have two or even three pieces in various stages of completion on my workbench at any given time. So, join in the fun. It’s actually thrilling when you can work at a steady pace and produce art that you’re proud of.
About The Designer
 I truly believe that jewelry is wearable art and I approach each of my pieces that way. The color and form of my stones, the compatibility of stone and metal type with the piece I have in mind, the “wearability” of each piece, all of these things are in my mind as I work on a particular composition. My work is strongly tied to the environment because I understand that Nature is the ultimate artist.
From my earliest memories, I have been in love with handmade art jewelry. My affair began in earnest during high school, when I started making pieces for myself and my friends. Visiting Italian artist Paula Wolfson noticed the quality of my design and my attention to detail and accepted me in an offhanded apprenticeship in painting for three years. Thus I absorbed the fundamentals of abstract art from one of its celebrated European proponents. Next, I studied and worked for East Hampton potter and sculptor Frank Pereira. There I met the next generation of 1960s jewelry artists, many of whom sold their work through Pereira.
But I was also a talented writer, and, after college and marriage to painter and architect Harry Rallo, I began a career as a newspaper reporter in Florida that lasted until 1999. Tired of the hectic pace of news writing, I decided to begin a new career handcrafting jewelry. My first step was to immerse herself in the mechanics of my craft: I studied advanced wire wrapping techniques with Amy Duloff of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; metalsmithing techniques with prize-winning jewelry artist Susan Lewis at the Boca Raton, FL, Museum of Art; and Precious Metal Clay (PMC) techniques with Vera Lightstone of Lightstone Studios in Manhattan. In June of 2005, I became a certified PMC instructor and, in January of 2006, a certified Level 2 instructor.
Visit Bridgette’s website, www.greenwoodsstudio.com,
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