Even your job can bring an inspiration to create art. This is exactly what happened to me when I promised my colleague a gift once she decides to get another job. And I did say it out loud. As I consider myself as a man of my word, there was no turning back once her resignation letter was there. Gladly the theme was quite straightforward as we were both working in the airline business and I’ve already got similar experience crafting this filigree pendant.
So I grabbed my pencil and commenced the sketching process of a new airplane pendant. It was decided that this time there should be some stone involved and I had a gorgeous aventurine cabochon in my possession.
After a few dozens of sketches I’ve managed to get the one that seemed pleasant and I started to bend the wire and prepare it for soldering into the central frame.
In this design I wanted to make a pointy tip at the back of the airplane and rounded in the front to give it a sort of high speed impression, somewhat similar to the shape of a comet.
Proper shape of the central frame is crucial here as it will not only hold all silver pieces together, but also a stone on top of it. I must admit I didn’t pay enough attention to this obvious fact until the later stage of this project.
You would be surprised how challenging it is to bend wires for such small elements and make them look symmetrical. Even having some experience in silversmithing I’m still looking for a better technique for bending wire in identical shapes.
It is not rare when there is a beauty contest ongoing to identify the most good looking twins for symmetrical projects like this. The ones which did not pass are going to the scrap hold waiting for another project they might be reshaped and get their niche.
Soldering such gentle frame is always tricky, and here is the trick works best for me so far. Out of a simple paperclip I produced a few steel holders, which can be arranged freely on my honeycomb soldering block. These holders help me to keep delicate elements together firmly and soldering process goes much smoother.
Tail wings are getting installed first using solder chips with higher melting temperature. I do this to ensure that attaching next elements will not misplace the ones are already there. Besides, in this configuration it looks like one of the SpaceX rockets, doesn’t it?
Jokes aside – it’s time for wings to take their place and give it a good look as all pieces are coming together. I like the overall proportions so there is no reason to start from scratch. The final building stage is attaching four prongs to the frame so the stone can sit tight on top of the frame. Right after that comes cosmetic phase – filling in all the cavities with a twisted and flattened filigree wire.
Flaws grinding and polishing – check, thorough visual inspection – check, fancy gift packaging – check: the aircraft is ready for take off!
I truly love those moments of excited suspense when a person is unpacking the gift. It seemed this time the recipient was sincerely happy with her new filigree airplane pendant with gorgeous green aventurine cabochon. And I got tons of emotional satisfaction and a chance to prove myself worthy of my word!
Unfortunately, this item is not available for purchase. If you dream about something similar, please check my Etsy store or contact me through the form or on Instagram and let’s see what I can do 🙂
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