Penny Lane Ink: October 2015

Monday, October 19, 2015

Etching Metal with Acid

Lesson Learned Today! After experimenting a technique I've been researching on etching metal with Acid, I found it ONLY works with solid Brass. It does not work on steel washers or copper/brass coated steel washers. But it does indeed work if it's solid brass. Could be fun if I can find the right shapes to etch to make some cool pendants in solid brass!

New creations in my studio

www.pennylaneink.etsy.com

These are one of a kind pendants made with everyday hardware. They are on a simple black cord that can be tied at the length desired.

I forced these metal findings to rust through an acidic process causing them to patina. Every Pendant is unique because I never know how the patina will turn out.

Once I finish forcing the aging process I seal patina. This way those beautiful burnt colors won't rub off and the pendant will feel smooth and comfortable against your skin.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

New inspirations this weekend!

Here I go again, moving onto something new. I've decided to make some pendant designs using everyday hardware. This is the first design I've come up with.

I've also been inspired recently by the natural rustic appearance of vintage metals. Sometimes it's not always easy to find the good old rusted hardware I want so I researched different techniques on aging and purposely rusting metals.

Yesterday these washers and other bits of hardware were very shiny steel or brass. I forced them to age in 24 hours and this is what they look like now.

The design shown above will be transformed tomorrow when I recreate it using my new but older looking metal findings.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Oval Platters in the works

I found these clear acrylic oval platters and decided to paint them. I've started by painting them all white with a matte water based white paint. I'll add another coat or two and then seal it with a clear polycrylic gloss.

Once that's finished my blank canvases will be ready to embellish with mandala patterns. I'm thinking to do all four pieces with the same base design but then to do additional details or colors all different on each one. This is a rough sketch of the base design I've come up with.

I just have to decide if I should keep them black and white or make them really colorful. Either way they will be incredibly detailed and I will pour some resin onto the flat area of the platter once I'm finished to protect the pattern. This will also add a bit of weight to the finished piece.