Jewelry Photography

So ever since I started to create jewelry I’ve also had to do the photography for my own jewelry. I have a passion for jewelry and making crafts that I’ve literally done this my whole life. I used to play with clay in my backyard growing up. I did leather work, and cloth bracelets for friends. Then there was a time I lived in Lao P.D.R. for a few years. There I learned silversmithing with the locals. I melted the silver down into bars, rolled it out and then drew it out into wire. From there we would make these really cool belts. I look back at this and am amazed at all the work that goes into making these. The torches used gasoline in a glass bottle that had a bellow to pump the gas through another bottle and use the fumes for the torch. Not safe as I saw many times the bottle bust or some disasters happen.

silver Lao belt — Handmade Silver Lao Belt

Once back in the US I was wanting to continue my education in silversmithing. I brought back as many tools as I could and then went to a jewelry supplier in Oakland, CA called Otto Frei and spent the most money I had ever spent at once in my life. About $1,000 dollars. I was nervous and excited. I then started to practice those skills I learned over in Laos.

Then I found a job at Anasazi Foundation where I learned and honed in more of my passionate skills with leatherwork, flint knapping, pottery and more. I could have worked a job like this forever. Not only to help the youth grow and learn principles in life that are life changing, but also to be out in nature and to feel at peace with me and those around me. Such a memorable experience that will stay with me forever.

Then I got married and needed a job that would be a closer to the city. I thought to myself, “I need to work in the jewelry field if I want to learn it.” So I went looking around all the greater Phoenix area for a jeweler job. I mean I had a little experience working with silver, how hard could it be to get a job in this related field? Well, it took me everywhere throughout the valley and you know what they all told me? They said that working with gold is much different and harder than working with silver and we don’t have the time to teach you. No one would hire me. I think I must have gone to almost every jewelry store in the valley with all rejecting me. I finally found someone in Ahwatukee, AZ. He was willing to teach me and help me learn getting paid minimum wage and I was making $6 an hour. I took it and was learning how to size rings and more. I was so happy. I also found out that gold is so much easier to work with than silver. So why did they all reject me? I have no idea. Gold is much easier to work with, although I still love working with silver.

I sill was doing my best to create my own jewelry at home in the evenings. I was poor and newly married. I have always found ways to make things work though. I built my own jewelers bench. I continued to hand make jewelry. The internet was just starting to come about and I had no way of utilizing it to help me. My little side business never really went anywhere. Then one day at a new job working with jewelry I was advancing more in the field. I even stared to work with CAD to help build jewelry. I’ve never looked back and that is where I now do most all my jewelry. I still fully handmake jewelry at times, but I also love to create in CAD with the more freedom it has given me to create designs that I can imagine up.

By this time went to school for web design. I tried building my own site to sell my jewelry. Still nothing. Since then I have gone away from building and coding my own site to using a templated service where I can design using their templates, but not have to do the backend coding.

Yes I’ve done all this just to try and save money instead of hiring someone to do it for me. I have this mindset that is probably preventing me from advancing. I’m trying to do it all my self because I try and make the time for it all, but don’t have the money to pay anyone. So progress is slow. I’m no expert and so the evil cycle keeps going as I continue to try and grow my business alone with no help and me trying to do everything from design, making, photography, web design, writing descriptions, bookwork to every part that is part of a business. This is probably why I still to this day have not progressed as much as one would hope. It’s a passion of mine and I’m sure whether I am greatly successful or not at it, I’ll continue to do it till I am no longer on this earth.

So now that you know my life story, I’m going to focus on jewelry photography. I’ve been at it for all these years is what all the blabbing off was about. It’s not easy to capture jewelry on film because of all the reflections around. So many reflections that can get into the stones and then the photo does not look good. I still struggle with it. I guess I learn very slow. I guess what I have learned is to create a white box to keep reflections out. Use good lighting and use photoshop to help clean up the photos. Still not easy, but you can get some decent results. I still don’t have a light box and use a white background with paper as my walls. Lol. Still trying to do it the cheap way.

Lately I’ve been thinking to do photo shots with a model. My daughter is that willing participant. Again, I’m being cheap and don’t want to hire a model. So she is my model for now till she moves out. This is my most recent photo.

Celtic Ring — Anja modeling my Celtic ring design

I took this on a day that was a little overcast. All natural lighting outside in a forest. I can’t always go somewhere other than home, but it was nice to get out and it helped with inspiration. I love art and love photography just as much as jewelry or any of the other crafts that I do (Leatherwork, Pottery, Sewing, and even gardening). If you struggle at photography as I do, don’t get down on yourself. We are all learning all the time. I doubt I’ll ever be stratified 100% with the photography, jewelry or crafts that I make and do. I think that’s just part of being an artist. Just keep trying. We are all at different levels. I don’t make perfect jewelry designs. I’m flawed at certain parts of the processes. Same goes for photography. I admire the individuals that can afford to buy the good equipment and just start taking great photos. I still after all these years need to buy a professional camera. I admit I’m a bit jealous of those people and long for a camera that can help ease my efforts to a better image. Or maybe looking on the brighter side of things, just maybe there is a day I get a great camera and then nothing actually improves. LOL. Maybe the intermediate camera and some developed skills over time is just as good. I don’t know yet. I’m still figuring it all out. I probably always will be.

What is the purpose of this blog post? I don’t know. It wasn’t all about photography as I intended it to be, but I’m hoping you may get a sense of what I’ve been through to be where I am. Maybe it can help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made. Maybe it helps you do things in a better way. I hope so. Don’t try to do it all on your own. Progress is too slow. I say stick to the parts of your business that you like and do your best to farm out the rest. This way you can like what you are doing and concentrate on your passions. My issues is that it’s all a passion to me and I love to do it all myself. I don’t like help. Doing it all yourself is not the answer, but I do know I am at peace and love what I do. All we can do in life is keep going and doing our best at what we love. For me if something ever comes of my business I’d be happy to be doing what I love with less worries about the other aspects of life. If not then I already know what that’s like because I live it every day and I do love life. I am blessed and I keep doing my best to improve my skills at photography and all the other skills I desire to have.

If there is ever a topic that you wish for me to cover. A skill that I do that you are interested in. Let me know and I’ll share what I know about the topic. I don’t know everything, but we are here to learn together.

Small Gourd Canteen I made with Elk leather straps

Silver Bangle Twisted — Handmade sterling silver twisted bangle. I made this from scratch from melting silver to rolling each part into wire, etc.

Reworking Jewelry Designs

I love designing rings. I remember my first interest in wanting to make jewelry when I was young. I was with my mom at Johnny Apple Seed Day in Paradise California. This fair was once a year and in the heart of Paradise. There was a park that had some booths where venders were selling arts and crafts. So my mom and I were looking at a booth that had some jewelry in it and my mom had purchased from this vender before. I was intrigued by all the jewelry and wanted to see if there was a way I could purchase some sterling silver wire so I could maybe try and make some crystal wire wraps for pendants. I’ve always been into making things so it’s always been apart of me and who I am. The vender did not have any wire to sell us, but it really got me wanting to get some silver wire. I cherish that memory because now that I think about it, it was my mom that really introduced me to the jewelry field without knowing. Then as a teenager I found a shop in Chico California that sold everything hippie like style items. I asked and they said they could get me some. I eventually got my hands on some silver wire and it was my chance to start wire wrapping. Such a fun time creating more crafts related to all the other hobbies I had including leatherwork, cloth woven bracelets, and anything else I could think of to create. Well, through the years I after that I never knew what I wanted to do for a career. Eventually I got married and was working at Anasazi Foundation (a wilderness survival treatment program for youth). I had to find a new career and that was when I started working in a real jewelry store. Since then I have learned to design jewelry in a whole new way. CAD (computer Aided Design).

I love working in CAD. It’s something I still have a passion for and love the freedom it gives me to create what I have tucked away in my head. Developing a design can be quick or it can take a long time. I have noticed though, that when I have to rework designs, they become better and better as I rework them. At times I am unwilling to rework a design because I feel I have put my all into it and it’s maybe good enough. Each time that I end up reworking the design it truly does become better and I’m always glad I made those changes. It a bit like life. For those of us that like routines and don’t like change, it’s hard to make changes. My daughter is also the same way. Change is difficult and we don’t want to have to go through with it. We will fight it and deny that we need to progress and make the changes in life. Once we do it’s really wasn’t so bad and things just got a whole lot better. Not all change is great, but I feel that many times it does or can help us to grow into better people. When jewelry changes happen, it’s for the better and I’ve learned that everyone is their own designer. How often do I make a custom piece of jewelry that is fully my idea or deign? Not often. Most people have something in mind that they want and so even though I throw my own flare into the design, the overall idea is the customers. They are the designers and even if I don’t fully love the design it’s what they want. There are only a few times, here and there, that a customer loves my style of craftsmanship and design enough to where they can trust me and I can pretty much design anything and they would love it. Just give me the topic or a little guidance and let me free. That’s what it’s more like at Dana Arts. As I am able to just freely design what I want. That is why I wanted to start Dana Arts. It’s a place where I can design what I like in hopes that others will too. A place where I can showcase my art and ideas. It makes me feel good when someone can wear a piece of jewelry that I’ve fully designed and created and have joy in it. That’s why I love music as it is one of those areas that can touch so many lives. Although jewelry is not the same as music, I would hope I can also touch lives though designs that are enjoyable to wear. Something you can feel proud to wear and show to others. Quality well made custom jewelry is a so breathtaking when you love to wear it. Beautiful rings can bring moments of joy to your life. Wedding rings are one of those categories. Wedding rings and wedding bands are jewelry that we wear daily. I know that you should love what you wear for wedding rings. They mean so much and remind us of our commitment to our partners in life. Finding the right design or having custom made the right ring design can be a decision that stays with us throughout our life. That is why it’s so important to choose the right ring as it reflects upon us as couples and becomes a part of who we are.

If you are contemplating buying a ring for any occasion, remember the joy a quality handmade ring can be as it will journey with you throughout your life. I will always be making jewelry and if you haven’t noticed I never delete any designs. I will always come up with new ones, but if you ever lose a ring, it will be there to order again. Most companies phase out designs and always keep the new. I strive to keep coming up with new, but keep the old as they are classics too. You can count on me to do the best I can to create quality jewelry that will last through the decades.

Jewelry Cleanup after Casting

The Raw Casting

After a ring is cast into metal it has this casting skin on it that prevents the metal from shining. Also the surface is semi smooth for smooth waxes and a little more rough for waxes that were not that smooth before casting. The color is also a little different. Just after casting the metal is a bit oxidized which means it’s black on the surface with a hint of the metal color mixed in. It needs to be “pickled” or put into some acid that will get rid of the black surface and make the metal a nicer color. For silver that is a dull white and for 14k yellow gold it’s a dull yellow. Now it’s ready to go to the cleanup process where the casting skin can be taken off.

Just after casting. The ring is now ready to go into the “pickle” or acid to get the black surface to a clean surface.

These silver castings have already been pickled to a dull white color. Some of them have been cut off the tree.

The cleanup process

Cleaning up the jewelry after casting can be a lot of work, but it’s rewarding. Bands are probably the easiest to clean up. Some engagement rings can be very difficult and time consuming. So let me explain the process so you can have a better idea. I’ll go through the general idea.

After a ring is cast the sprue has to be cut off which is where the metal was poured into the impression of the ring (see the image above). You do that by grinding it off until smooth with the rings surface. I usually will get it as close as I can, but not quite all the way. I can then use a finer grinder or even a file to help file it down. Then sand paper at various grits can be used to get the surface super smooth. This is the general idea. I’ll go over wedding bands and engagement rings in the next parts.

Sanding the sides of a ring after it had been blackened.

Wedding Bands

So wedding bands are usually simple and straight forward. Again, once cut off it has to be grind down so that it’s non existent. As you get close to the actual ring surface while grinding you have to slow down and take your time and use less aggressive methods. Then the whole ring has to be done in this way to get every surface clean and smooth as possible. Now it’s ready for polishing.

Silver rings that have been blackened and a light satin finish applied. Ready for polishing.

Engagement Rings

Engagement rings are sometimes a bit trickier to clean up. For these more difficult rings you need to used small files or even a small amount of sand paper wrapped around the tip of a mini file to smooth hard to reach areas. Also using a rubber wheel can help out a lot. This is attached to your flex shaft. It spins very fast and can speed things up if you are careful. Leaving it too long in one spot can dig into the surface and ruin it. So be careful and take your time. There are times you even need to use dental floss with polish on it to polish up hard to reach areas. Although there are some places you can’t get to there is a solution to at least brighten it up. Using a magnetic tumbler with tinny steel needle like pieces are used to tumble the ring and get those non accessible areas. Once the ring is cleaned up to the best of your ability and as smooth as it can be it’s ready for polishing.

Rendering of a platinum engagement ring I designed many years ago.

Conclusion

Cleanup after casting a ring is a very important process to go through. This will determine how much easier the next step of polishing will become. It makes the ring clean and free of blemishes and rough surfaces getting it ready for polishing. I have to say that I don’t think many people know what’s involved in getting a ring ready for final viewing. Usually it’s seen as a highly polished and perfect piece of jewelry, but it wasn’t always like that. It is quite the process that takes progressive steps along the way until its shine goes through. I hope this explanation helps a little bit to visualize the process and maybe think about the craftsmanship that goes into making a finished jewelry piece.

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More about me

So I wanted to share a little more about who I am as a person and business. I grew up in Paradise California. It was a great place to grow up. I had a small creek behind my house where I play in a lot. I had friends within walking distance. Hills and trees everywhere making it a beautiful place to be. Early on I was interested in art. I remember going to Johnny apple seed day as a kid. I loved seeing the floats go down Sky Way and seeing vendors with handmade crafted items. I have always made little things out of leather or bracelets out of string. As I grew older I ventured into even more. In college I studied art and loved learning new techniques and new ideas to be more creative. I love camping too. I moved to Arizona to work at Anasazi Foundation which is a wilderness survival treatment program for youth. This is where I learned not only to help youth to see and hopefully find the right path in life, but to grow myself in new amazing ways. I also learned a lot more about primitive survival and crafts as a way of life along with leather working, pottery, bow making, flint napping, and survival.

When I got married to my beautiful wife I moved into jewelry making. I have never looked back. It’s fun and creative. I now design in CAD software where I’m allowed to be free to create anything and have it made into reality. I would love to turn my hobbies into a business, but I have never really had the time to make that work out. Lots of these crafts take up so much time that they really are not valued as they should be.

I have been making jewelry for over 20 years and still love it. For years I’ve wanted to make an about video to explain about me and my business. I’ve always wanted it to be more than just jewelry as I love so many crafts. I hope to share some of what I like and for you to get to know what I like. This way you might be able to understand me better as an artist. I did not include everything, but hopefully it captures a little something interesting about me. Enjoy!

Get to know me - Dana Arts

Beads and Necklaces

I just love old trade beads. There is something about them that makes me inspired and excited to start creating. I have not done so in a very long time. I pulled out a few beads and it’s starting again. I am wanting to start creating more necklaces with my beads. Some past chokers that I use also have inspired me to make more of them too. Let’s hope it’s enough to push me into action. lol. It’s so relaxing to make them though. I have, off and on, been making beaded necklaces since high school around 30 years ago. It’s more of a hobby, but I can only make so many for myself, right? So as start up again, I’ll start to add them to my site so if you don’t feel up to making them you can just buy them. :)

There are so many cool beads out there. I do my best to make a strong and durable product. I think over the years making jewelry for a living has really helped me develop my skill set as a craftsman. I feel I don’t have to worry so much about the tools and how to go about it. It’s now more about that I have the skill set so what do I create? Anything is possible as long as I have the supplies and imagination. As I’ve gone through my beads I feel that I really don’t have that many. At least not as many as I wish I had. They are quite expensive, but it’s like a bug. I could spend money on beads just because they look cool to me and never use them for anything. So terrible! Well I hope I can start creating something with what I have so it’s not sitting around anymore and so I can go out and buy more. :)

Here are some of the chokers. The first two in the image are mine from years and years back. I love wearing them even though I get a few strange looks around town. The blurred one in the background is a four strand brass bead, bone and leather choker. I strung it with real sinew cordage that I made. It’s very nice. I hope to vary these up and make a bunch more. These are fun to make and they last a very very long time. Soon I’ll have some available for purchase. Let me know if you have any ideas on a choker that you may like and I’ll see what I can do. That’s it for this month. Just trying to find time to create. Life gets in the way sometimes and it’s hard to get the time I need to be creative. I guess a little here and there is better than nothing. :)

My Craft Table

I know, I know. When you think of crafting you may not always think of leather work, sewing, gourd making, etc as crafting, but I do. I’m setting up this table as a way to finally have a designated spot to do what I love doing. My little area outside the shop. I know it’s a messy table, but that’s because I’m not done organizing the area. I brought most all my crafting tools to the table and now I’m trying to figure out what I need to get organized. I’ve put up some shelves so far, but the area needs a lot more. I’m excited about it. I’ll keep an update of it as I go. Here’s to more of my creations of art. :)

Coil Pots

I miss working with clay. I've mainly only mixed my natural clay and built coil pots and fired them in an open fire. I really don't have access to natural clay anymore so I have tried buying some pre mixed clay that seamed to be similar to what I would mix. I have not had time to test fire it yet, but I miss mixing and working with clay. I think I have too many hobbies that I just can't get enough time for. I bounce around between them and never get to fully fulfill my intentions. I don't have time at the moment to build any coil cooking pots, but I hope to very soon (just like everything else, lol). This image shows a pot I've done in the past. It has a red ocher slip on the outside. It came out great. I truly wish I could continue to gather my own clay and do it all from scratch. There's nothing like finding a clay source and testing it to see how good it is. Or to try and make not so pure clay still work. To make it easier for now I'll have to use the premixed clay. Well, here's to hoping for more time. :)

Red slip coil pot.  Fired in an open fire pit. — Red slip coil pot. Fired in an open fire pit.

Crafts "My Way"

I've always have loved to make things with my hands. All growing up I found things to make from woven string bracelets to leather work. I preferred staying home to make things rather than go out to a party or have fun in other ways. Now that I'm all grown up and still growing up, I still prefer to stay at home when ever I can to make something rather than go out and tour the city. The only difference now is that I don't have much time to do the crafts that I enjoy. Work gets in the way of my hobbies as it does with most of us and when we have time we are tired and have less energy than we once did especially if you have kids like I do.

I feel I have even less time now with a job and a family and my side art that I make and sell. My crafts are more of a hobby because I can never find the time to work on them and selling them may cost too much for most people. The time that goes into making some things I don't feel I could ever get paid what it's really worth. Either way I don't want to not offer it for sale either. I will start to add crafts to my crafts section as I finish projects. There will be very few and the price may or may not reflect all the time put into the project. I'll have to decide that when I list it.

My crafts will consist of a variety of things. Leather work, coil pots, gourds, or any other mixture of materials used to make them "my way". They are made with love since they are done in my "spare" time and I do my best to use natural materials. I hope you'll enjoy viewing them if you are not purchasing them. Fun Fun Fun. :)