I made this bead because the textured copper sheet, which I rescued out of the class scrap box, interested me. I also took it as an opportunity to practice my riveting—there are five tube rivets (made with varying levels of success) on this piece. The top decoration is sterling, and was supposed to be fancy cut. It was while making this bead and others that I discovered I could really use a set of tiny needle files. The two balls of silver at each end of the bead are to cover up solder joins on the brass wraps, which are purely decorative elements.

approx 30x55mm. Forged, riveted, brazed of copper, brass, and sterling silver, gold leaf. 2007.

The piece has a steampunk feel to it because I like that look, and that was the direction it ended up going, but the other beads in the series, though textured, don't really have this look: I think the design of circles put on the metal by some other student sort of "directed" the piece that way, more or less accidentally. Certainly steampunk doesn't typically have random blotches of gold leaf scattered about, as this piece does.

In this view you can see the top and bottom of the bead at the same time. Obviously there needs to be stuff dangling off the bottom, so the "top" stays there.

This shot shows the three holes I put in the tube so I could hand beads off ’em. I decided they'd be too difficult to string, and soldered the half rings on them instead, which I think is a fairly successful fix visually as well.

The other side, which doesn't have any gold leaf.

bead, 2007. Photo, file, 04ma09.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.