Artists Synchroblog - August Pinterest project

When I was in junior high and high school there was a store I loooooooved to go to because of the jewelry they sold.  I think it was really a music store - lots of records and cassette tapes - but on the walls lining the tiny store there were rows and rows of hammered metal jewelry behind glass doors.  I don't remember seeing that type of jewelry before and I felt a strong connection to almost all of it.  There was a lot of silver, copper, and brass involved, most of it hammered.  When I had money that's where I would get my jewelry.

One of my most beloved items was a neck cuff made out of hammered brass.  I can't quite pin down the timeframe of when those neck cuffs were really popular, but I'm thinking mid 1980s? I did a couple of searches online and didn't find much like the cuffs I remember. I found this picture of Joan Collins and had to pin it to my inspiration board on Pinterest because it's such an extreme neck cuff (she wasn't alone...I guess if you are on the red carpet or a stage your jewelry has to be GIANT). 

I knew I wanted to make a couple.  But for a person going to the office or the grocery store or out with friends, not someone walking the red carpet.  I started out with a really slim copper cuff.

I bent copper tubing around my neck mandrel and added a hammered texture.

Here it is after sanding and polishing:

Then I made another out of wide copper sheet and folded it randomly. This one is more "me" and the one I would wear if I had to pick between them - I love that it's not perfectly symmetrical.

The Artists Synchroblog is a group of bloggers who post every other month on the same topic, sharing our experience or perspective. On alternate months we undertake a Pinterest Project where we each take inspiration from a Pinterest picture, create something (art, a meal, a DIY project, etc) and then post about it.  You can read more about the Artists Synchroblog here.

Don't forget to visit the other bloggers involved in the Artists Synchroblog to see what projects they made from their Pinterest inspirations:

http://amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/
http://www.islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/
http://www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog
www.elenorbuffington.blogspot.com
http://doxallodesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.journeyinjewelry.com/blog/My-Journey-in-Jewelry
http://simpledesignjewelry.blogspot.com/
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
http://marikach.blogspot.com/
www.createrecklessly.com
http://design.kcjewelbox.com/
www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
http://shaktipajdesigns.com/blog/
www.beadsbythebay.blogspot.com