Rachel Bailey Designs @rbaileydesigns-blog - Tumblr Blog

New Bracelets Available on Etsy

I have a series of new bracelets available on my Etsy shop. I’m very proud of how far I’ve come with jewellery in a year. Please follow the link: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RachelBaileyDesigns

#seaglass #seaglassjewellery #seaglassbracelet #seaglassjewelry #bracelet #bracelets #jewellery #jewelry #imadethis #seaham #seahamseaglass #pretty #beautiful #etsy #etsyseller #etsyshop #oneofakind #unique

Photographing my work.

I’ve come a long way this past year in displaying my work, particularly with my jewellery products. For the #Marchmeetthemaker challenge this year day five was “photography”. I posted the image below to show my progress with my displays with the following caption.

Going from bottom left the very first necklace I made was photographed in a generic jewellery box I had spare. Bottom right: I’ve now designed a jewellery box/packaging I like and have begun focusing more on natural light and presentation; the display is stood on a fancy textured plate rather than my desk. Top image: I now like to make scenes for my jewellery pieces, incorporating rocks, pebbles and sands from beaches in the UK. I aim to angle the seaglass so that the natural light reflects through it.

Showing the colour of seaglass is particularly hard to portray in photos. As I’ve said above I try to photograph my glass at an angle or with the sun directly behind it (which can be very fiddly to do). As you’ll see from the images below it is very important to show an array of photos so that the potential customer can judge what colour the seaglass actually is.

I find it incredibly interesting to see how the colour transforms in seaglass just from the position the light hits it. This makes me think of new pieces which can be hung up such as dream catchers and light fixtures. These two pieces shall be live on my Etsy shop very soon, if you would like advance details please let me know.

I’ve always preferred to photograph my work in a natural light, however the weather in the UK this year has been rather lacklustre. To overcome this in the future I’ve found a wonderful article by the National Basketry Organisation regarding photographing your work and how to use and make a lightbox. I’m so glad I did this, not including time for a shopping trip this took half an hour to make. The materials required are as follows:

Cardboard Box (Size varies for how big your products are)

Tissue paper

Matte finish white poster board (I used a piece of sketchbook paper)

Two lamps (I used two I’d previously brought from B&M with Philips Hue Bulbs)

Box cutter

Glue

Sellotape / Packing tape

Links and instructions (article and direct link):

http://nationalbasketry.org/capturing-your-work-with-photography/

http://nationalbasketry.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/NBO-Photographing-Work.pdf

I use Philips Hue bulbs which I highly recommend. The smart bulbs mean I can control the brightness and colour of these lamps from my phone which is very handy and cost effective. I’ve experimented with a few scenes so far but I still find the pebbles are my most effective scene displays.

These multicoloured pieces were found on the beach of Seaham, UK and for more details on this incredible beach please read my blog post “Seaham Seaglass”, link below.

https://rbaileydesigns.tumblr.com/post/159522286952/seaham-seaglass

Thank you for your interest in reading my blog. I’m about to update my Etsy with some new pieces and am already writing my next blog post entitled “Bonfire Glass”. Link to my Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RachelBaileyDesigns

Hooray, the Sun is finally shining!! 🌞🌊 Very excited to be sharing my new product: Seaglass Bracelets!! My bracelets are made from the smooth Seaglass of Seaham and Sterling Silver. £25 + p&p (£30 with hand-crafted gift box) Available now directly, or available on Etsy in a few weeks (holiday next week!!) --- -- - #seaglass #seahamseaglass #seaglassbracelet #homemade #bracelet #jewellery #jewelry #handmadejewelry #handmadejewellery #greenseaglass #sterlingsilver #sterlingsilverbracelet @rbaileydesigns #rbaileydesigns #forsale #northamptonshire #craft #crafts

#craft #greenseaglass #northamptonshire #seaglass #bracelet #handmadejewellery #sterlingsilverbracelet #forsale #sterlingsilver #homemade #rbaileydesigns #seaglassbracelet #seahamseaglass #handmadejewelry #crafts #jewelry #jewellery

The Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden

Hepworth is considered one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th Century. My 40th Anniversary Guide to “The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden” perfectly summarises: “Hepworth sought an abstract beauty and a perfection of form that is classical and not romantic in conception”.

Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1903, Hepworth studied at Leeds School of Art from 1920-1921. It was there she met friend, influence and fellow sculptor Henry Moore. Both students continued their studies at the Royal College of Art in London, becoming leading practitioners of the Avant-Garde method of Direct Carving (working directly in to the chosen material and avoiding making models and maquettes from which a craftsman would produce the finished work).

Hepworth travelled throughout Europe in the 1920’s and 30’s, meeting many influential artists such as Georges Braque and Piet Mondrian. She also visited the studios of Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi and Jean Arp. These two decades abroad helped her approach to her career and combined with the experience at The School of Paris had a lasting effect on Hepworth as she became a key figure in the international network of abstract artists.

Hepworth was married twice, to artist John Skeaping from 1925-1931, and to painter Ben Nicholson from 1938-1951.

When War broke out in 1939, Hepworth and Nicholson moved to St. Ives, where she would spend the rest of her life. After the War she and Nicholson became a hub for a generation of younger emerging British Artists (Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton, Terry Frost). Hepworths art, though concerned with form and abstraction, was primarily about relationships. She exhibited pieces exploring the human figure and landscape, colour and texture, and between people at an individual and social level.

Hepworth died May, 1975 when a fire broke out in her studio whilst the artist was asleep. Trewyn studio in St. Ives, Cornwall is now “The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Gallery”.

The ground floor of the Museum houses a unique display: the story of Hepworths life. This story is made special through the use of personal photographs, documents, written statements and other memorabilia. It’d hard to envisage that this was originally the kitchen, dining room and bathroom.

The upstairs studio was damaged in the fire that caused the artist’s death, and though no works of art were destroyed, much of the furniture and the artist’s books cannot be exhibited. Instead, an impression of the artist’s residence from the 1950’s has been reconstructed on the first floor.

Standing on the street below you wouldn’t imagine the treasure of creations to be found in the upstairs garden. With pathways leading to stone and bronze figures dispersed between the workshops and a conservatory, it truly a magical place you NEED to experience. I honestly can’t commend the Sculpture Garden enough, I’ve scanned my guide pages below which hopefully do it some justice.

“Spring” - Oval Form cast in Bronze

Following the garden path you can peer into Hepworths workshops through a window. The stone and plaster workshops have been virtually left in peace as she left them over forty years ago. It feels like a time-capsule, catching a glimpse into Hepworths daily life. There are three carved White Marble balls sitting on different surfaces in the workshop. It is believed they were to be stood vertically one on top of the other for her next piece of art but were sadly never finished.

I don’t think I need to say that it was the Sculpture Garden which entranced me the most. I currently work at a Stonemasons so some inside knowledge came in handy whilst I looked around. For example: “Torso” – 1928 and “Image” – 1951-2, are displayed in the Sculpture Garden and are made from a stone called Hopton Wood. This is an especially hard stone to get a hold of these days. “Poised Form” – 1951-2 (reworked 1957) also found in the Gardens is made in Purbeck Stone. Purbeck stone is currently very difficult to get in sizes over 27” tall.

While peering into the workshop doors I noticed a number of White Marble slabs sitting and gathering dirt just outside. These were clearly meant to be shaped and displayed, maybe even part of a series specially ordered, but unfortunately Hepworth had passed away before work could commence on them. Seeing these pieces left forgotten filled me with a deep sadness. I was sad because we’ll never see them complete or know what they were to be. They could have been yet another masterpiece by Hepworth which never came to pass due to such a tragic and sudden end.

Trewyn Studio (now the Barbara Hepworth Museum) can be found at Barnoon Hill, St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26 1AD.

Please note: The Studio is currently closed for essential building maintenance until Spring 2018!! However, Hepworths sculptures can be found throughout St. Ives, there is a Sculpture trail map you can follow to find them available at Tate: St. Ives. If you’d rather stay indoors there is also a collection on display in the Tate: St. Ives.

Further note: This was an extremely hard blog to write, I’ve found it hard to work out how much to include. I wanted to write enough to interest you, but hold enough back so you don’t feel like there’s no point going. If you’re holidaying in Cornwall, or live nearby but have never been, please go! It is well worth the admission fee.

rbaileydesigns-blog

My Seaglass Adventure.

My first experience of Beach Combing as a Child was with my Grandad, on Bank Holidays he would always take me to the seaside. This is something that I continued as a teenager, and now I’m in my 20’s has become more of an obsession and tradition in his memory.

I am a sculptor based in the Midlands, UK, so finding seaglass is automatically a challenge. Working primarily with Metal I feel jewellery is a natural branch for my business to expand to. I love the idea of a man-made product that has been changed over time by nature and giving it a new purpose, and it’s a small way to clean up the Ocean.

So far all of the seaglass I have been using to make my seaglass jewellery has been sourced from Port Isaac, Cornwall. I went to Cornwall in August 2016 for a week’s holiday and visited the Harbour. Port Isaac is also known as “Portwenn”, a fictional name made for the popular ITV series “Doc Martin”. While walking on the beach of the harbour I noticed a few pieces of seaglass glimmering in the sunlight. These pieces led to many more and I soon had hundreds of pieces gathered within a few hours. Due to this I came back again a few days later and also enjoyed the local Fish Market. Finding seaglass is highly addictive, and it was exciting to get my family involved and coming back again to find it.

Photo credit to Wikipedia, showing “Fern Cottage”, Doc Martins fictional home, with the Harbour beneath.

Since August I’ve read numerous tutorials and blogs on how to properly clean and handle seaglass to how to drill and polish it. In regards to jewellery I have extensively researched types of chains, bails and many more items (there are so many items) and have experimented with designs. The journey between then and now has been full of learning curves and some frustration, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come. I will be going into more detail about these learning curves in future blog posts, so please keep your eyes peeled.

To finish off my first ever blog to you all, even though I’ve been working with seaglass for six months I am still very much at the beginning of my journey with the material. After many times reading where the best beaches are I’ve booked a few days away to Seaham “the Goldmine” in the UK for seaglass and I cannot wait to share what I find.

Photo credit to naturaseaglass.com. Seaham is known for it’s multi-coloured seaglass.

As I type this it’s also interesting to think it’s not only jewellery I’ll stick to, I could use seaglass within my metal sculptures too. It might be one of the pieces I find could end up with you as an owner, either as a piece of jewellery or as a sculpted piece.

My next blog post shall be about cleaning and drilling seaglass.

sineadobrienart-blog

Made out of toothpicks. My art

Sinead O’Brien

winterblues73-deactivated201909

keepingitneutral

Verner Panton Chrome Chair

stolenfootprints

Free Seaglass Necklace of your choice with orders over $20!!!!!

To get: Click here, add one of your choice to your cart, make sure you also have $20 of other item in your cart and check out!!

rbaileydesigns-blog

Look how beautiful these wire designs are!! My two favourite materials, metal and seaglass!

#seaglass #wire #jewellery #jewelry #seaglassnecklace #reblog #copper #copperwire #silver #silversire #seaglassdesigns

Re-Branding: Overcoming the fear of failure.

The fear of failure is something I’ve come to identify within myself. Most of us are driven to be successful. Erik Erickson described human development as a series of stages, each focused on achieving success in a different aspect of life. Hard-earned lessons are required for success. Experiencing failure is required for success.

One of my primary fears is “what if no-one likes my work?”. When you put items online for sale and they don’t sell, it can be a real de-motivator. You question everything. “Is the work actually good? Am I charging too much? Are the images of said work bad?”. The same for Craft Fairs etc. “Are my prices right for the area? Is the work actually good? (again)”.

You might ask “If you enjoy making the work isn’t that reward enough? Do you need to sell it?”. It’s 2017, and you need money to live. As much as I would like to create more and more for my own enjoyment I need money to buy new materials, and I only have a limited amount of space in my home. I would love to go full-time with this, make a career out of something I’m good at and enjoy. Isn’t that a goal everyone strives for? Which brings me to:

Fear of Self-Promotion.

Loosely defined as Social Phobia, this can be linked to imposter syndrome, a disorder hallmarked by feeling like a fraud, no matter how many accomplishments you make.

Overcoming “what if no-one likes my work?”

I have a job. It’s a solid income week by week.

Not enough hours in the day. Balancing work 9am-5pm, dinner, gym, creating, social life.

MIS-BRANDED: My items don’t mix well. I enjoy making things with metal the most however they take the longest time to make. I should be posting daily on social medias but metal pieces can take months to make. So I make jewellery on the side because it’s quicker and it’s fun. My jewellery is primarily made from seaglass, shells and other natural materials because I enjoy it. I like giving purpose to what would otherwise be left alone. But then my social media account run by a “Metal Sculptor” is filled with mostly Seaglass and other found items, not Metal Sculptures.

All of these issues combined lead me to have “a case of the lazy”. An unmotivated time where suddenly a few months have passed by I feel even more unmotivated and ashamed of myself.

Over the past few months since initially writing this blog I have come to realise that I am not an unmotivated or lazy person, I’ve simply fallen into a rut. A rut is defined as a habit or pattern of behaviour that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.

Learning from your Fear:

In response to the above points I have made the following changes, and hope (pray) they help me. If you feel like you’re struggling with similar issues, please take a step back like I have and re-evaluate. For example, I started writing this blog in October and I’m finally feeling the positive push to finish it and to get back on track, to make the changes I need.

I like my work. I like making sculptures, I like drawing, I like experimenting with natural and man-made materials and seeing how they look. Giving them a purpose and re-homing them.

I have a job, and that is great! I am lucky, and I am very proud of where it has got me in life. I see it now as a step in a long road, a road with mountains, lakes and other obstacles in my way, and I’m looking forward to passing them. It sure looks more interesting than a blank road where I stay where I am and don’t try.

I only have one pair of hands, and even if I only spend one hour in my studio a day making work or writing about what I love, that’s still 365 hours a year. That’s a hell of a lot of time!

RE-BRAND!! – I’m so very nervous, but I’ve done it. I’ve re-branded under “Rachel Bailey Designs”. The doors are open, I no longer feel supressed by only having to do metal sculptures. I can do a different post every day with the tag: “Rachel Bailey designs Jewellery” or “Rachel Bailey designs Sculptures”… “Rachel Bailey designs Wall Art”… Rachel Bailey designs something she likes that she never thought she could do!

I have more freedom now, particularly with the re-brand. It’s wonderful what you can do after taking a few steps back and taking time to re-think. I felt like I needed to define myself specifically to one niche and instead I supressed my own creativity. With this new mind frame I’m hoping to have new works out more regularly, blog about things I’ve seen in the art world and to enjoy myself without feeling tied down.

A few months ago I went to visit Barbara Hepworths studio and gardens in Cornwall. It was amazing, and I wanted to share it with you. I feel I can now share that with an expanded audience rather than have specific metal followers wonder why on earth I’m sharing images of stone sculptures. I wrote up all my thoughts and feelings and can announce this will be my next blog post. It’ll be much less hard-hitting than this emotional mess I’ve written, and it will include photos!

I backed myself into a corner, and this is me taking control of my fears for the hope of a better future. I’ve experienced a failure, I’ve learned from it and failure is crucial to experience success.

(note: I’m never this candid and rarely talk about my emotions, this is terrifying to post.)

Sources: https://www.verywell.com/fears-of-failure-and-success-2671684

#blog #fear #fear of failure #re-brand #excited #failure #success #art #art design #blogpost #scared #emotional #freedom #learning curve #lets do this

Revisiting Port Isaac.

August! Time for my annual holiday to Cornwall.

But when on a beach, with seaglass… who can resist. I always seem to be unlucky with the weather when I visit Port Isaac, but regardless of the rain beachcombing is always fun. What I love about beachcombing is that someone will always ask what you’re looking for, and then inevitably begin looking for pieces themselves to give to you. The thoughtfulness of others is one of the reasons I like it so much.

Compared to previous visits I found much more coloured seaglass than clear, and even two pieces of multicoloured. Something extremely rare even in Seaham. Below is a portion of the pieces I have collected from Port Isaac this year. The first photo shows them after cleaning with water and vinegar, the second photo shows the first application of baby oil. Now all I need is to leave it to set in for twenty minutes then wipe the excess oil off.

For more information on Port Isaac read my first blog: https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/158971778977/myseaglassadventure

For information on cleaning Seaglass: https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/159376818107/cleaning-drilling-seaglass-tutorial

Whilst in Cornwall I visited the Tate: St Ives and Barbara Hepworth Museum. This shall be the subject of my next blog post. I can’t recommend the Barbara Hepworth Museum more! What a fabulous insight to an extremely talented Sculptor. Cornwall is a fantastic place to visit in the UK, a beautiful holiday spot.

Trebarwith Strand is one of my favourite locations, situated on the way to Tintagel.

For those who follow my blog posts I apologise for my absence. I’ve been taking a few months to relax and plan what I would like to do with my sculptures / jewellery and I think I have it figured. I’ll let you know soon so keep on following.

#seaglass #jewellery #jewelry #beach #beachcombing #art #artsandcrafts #seaglassjewellery #PortIsaac #Cornwall #Cornishseaglass #trebarwithstrand #tutorial

When you get to play with your new bench polisher. Unpolished vs Polished, which do you like most? #metal #polishing #metalpolisher #aluminium #art #polishingaluminum #vs #sculpture #workinprogress #excited #missedthis

#aluminium #sculpture #polishing #metalpolisher #excited #polishingaluminum #vs #missedthis #art #workinprogress #metal

#throwbackthursday!! Ahh I loved this sample so much!! The first time I worked with adding a different material 🙂 #metalsculptor #metalart #metalartist #metalartwork #weaving #metalweaving #wovenmetal #aluminium #polishedaluminium #copper #polishedcopper #sculpture #sample #badphotography #reflection #trysomethingnew

#copper #metalartist #aluminium #metalartwork #sculpture #trysomethingnew #metalart #polishedaluminium #badphotography #metalweaving #polishedcopper #wovenmetal #sample #metalsculptor #weaving #reflection #throwbackthursday

And my Etsy is LIVE!! Thank you everyone for the feedback on my Logo Design! I'm selling this gorgeously unique Wire-Seaglass Necklace, with many more pieces to go up today and throughout the week! It's going to be a busy and exciting one :) ~ https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/528155769/safety-wire-glass-sea-glass-necklace ~ #etsy #etsylaunch #seaglass #seaglassjewelry #seaglassjewellery #necklace #sale #forsale #goals #seaglassnecklace #jewellery #jewelry

#etsylaunch #seaglass #seaglassjewelry #sale #forsale #jewellery #necklace #seaglassjewellery #goals #seaglassnecklace #etsy #jewelry

Seaham Seaglass.

Seaham is located on the North-East Coast of the UK, approx. 13 miles east of Durham. Owned by John Candlish, the Glass Foundry there “Candlish Bottle Works” was built on the cliffs of Seaham in the 1850’s. It was one of the biggest glass producing factories and the largest bottling business in Europe. The factory made every colour of glass imaginable for many purposes; including every-day drinks bottles, decorative vases and medicine and poison bottles. Many of the Worlds rarest colours such as Red, Yellow and Opaque can be found here on the beach in Seaham.

Seaham Harbour Bottle Works, circa 1851 – 1921.

The most sought after glass in Seaham is often referred to as “End of Day” Glass. These pieces were formed when different colours of glass were used to make various products during the day, then the accumulated multi-coloured glass was thrown into the sea. Due to shortages in raw materials the factory closed in 1921, and was eventually demolished in the 1950’s. The Seaglass found in Seaham is over at least ninety years old making it extremely well frosted and popular to Seaglass collectors Worldwide.

My very own unique “End of Day” Seaham piece. Apologies, I’ll be keeping this one!!

The best time to search for Seaglass is about an hour after high-tide. If you time it well you can walk down the tide-line and find some of the larger, more rare pieces (as seen below). After this you can follow the tide as it goes out and reveals new treasures to find. We were there for roughly six hours a day in the most gorgeous weather. We used a car-park just outside of Seaham with free parking on the B1287. You can walk straight down to the beach from here and we found the best place to find the glass was directly below the car-park.

View from the End of Seaham Beach, with Sunderland Docks in the very background.

Me, searching for Seaglass with my appropriate “Celebrations Box”.

“End of Day” Seaham Seaglass – Cleaned and Polished.

Due to the rising popularity of the Beach in the past few decades the “End of Day” pieces and rare colours are becoming harder to find. The “End of Day” Seaglass pieces we found came in all shapes and sizes. I’d said before we went that I’d be happy to find even one piece of multi-coloured glass, so the fact we found near twenty was very exciting, including the pieces smaller than my fingernail. I find there is two ways of finding Seaglass: the pieces that stand out as you walk past, and digging for pieces beneath the pebbles and sand.

The larger pieces of Seaglass I found. One Red, One “End of Day” & One Very Pale Pink. Cleaned & Polished.

The local community is extremely friendly, often coming up to ask if you’ve found anything interesting or even giving you a few pieces they’ve found. As one Lady said to me: “I just can’t not pick it up.” The beach is dog-friendly so be prepared to make some new four-legged friends and for some wet hugs as they like to see what you’re up to.

Since getting home I have cleaned all of my Seaglass (see my previous blog post: https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/159376818107/cleaning-drilling-seaglass-tutorial ) and organised them into different categories. I have polished a few pieces like the larger ones above I have drilled one piece so far to test the toughness. I shall post more regarding my progress in the upcoming weeks.

Previous Blogs:

Cleaning & Drilling Seaglass Tutorial: https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/159376818107/cleaning-drilling-seaglass-tutorial

My Seaglass Adventure: https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/158971778977/myseaglassadventure

Cleaning & Drilling Seaglass Tutorial:

There are three parts to this blog – the Cleaning process (the easy bit) the Drilling process (the not-so-easy bit) then Cleaning again. It took me roughly four months to figure out the best way to go about drilling Seaglass, so if you’re looking to take it up as a hobby please read on.

^ The many shades of Green I have collected from Port Isaac, Cornwall. BLOG POST: https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/158971778977/myseaglassadventure

Cleaning:

Cleaning your glass requires the following:

1. A bucket. 2. White Vinegar. 3. Water.

Don’t organise your Seaglass into piles until it’s been cleaned. Place all of your Seaglass in a bucket, add one part White Vinegar to two parts Water. Leave for between two-four hours, drain and rinse clean.

Drilling:

What I use for drilling:

1. Dremel 3000. 2. Dremel Multi Chuck 4468. 3. 1mm thickness Diamond Drill bit (Eternaltools.com). 4. Metal Pot. (Clean Tuna cans work well, although I’ve drilled through the bottom of two…). 5. Thin set of Prongs or Tweezer like item to hold the glass. 6. Water.

I went through a lot of tutorials to determine the best and most cost-efficient way of drilling my Seaglass. A couple of blogs said I wouldn’t need a dremel, using a regular drill would be fine. Well it didn’t work out for me. The best way I have found is to purchase the above tools. Using a the dremel 3000 and multi chuck for the drill bits enables you to drill the smallest holes close to the Glass edge.

My usual set-up for drilling the Seaglass. Note how the water only just covers the glass.

One drill bit is usually good for twenty-thirty pieces of seaglass before it wears down and you need to apply a bit more pressure. I would only do this for ten more pieces so you don’t risk breaking the glass (as image at bottom). Always make sure the Seaglass is fully submerged in the Pot and press down gently but firmly with the dremel. Once you’re almost through (you should be able to judge this easily once you get going) apply lighter pressure and continue to lift and lower the dremel slowly to avoid cracking the bottom of your glass. If you do, it’s not the end of the world and a larger pendant bail should cover it up.

Once the hole is drilled all of the way through you shall hear / feel it hit the bottom of the pot. Turn off the dremel immediately and place it down. Cleaning (again):Once you have drilled and dried your Seaglass rub a tiny amount of Baby Oil (Vegetable Oil works too) on it and rub it in with Kitchen Roll. Leave it to set in for twenty minutes then wipe the excess oil off to avoid it rubbing in to your clothes or on your skin.

All of the steps are rather straight-forward once you know what you’re doing. The important thing to remember is that you WILL make mistakes and this is okay. You may have a beautiful piece of glass and crack it in two or chip a piece off. You may have to make a hole bigger and do it unevenly. It just might not go your way.

STOP! Pause, Take a breath. Cry if you must. Then continue.

^ The photo above demonstrates different mistakes I have made, but it is all a learning curve. The larger pieces were ones I had tried drilling with a regular drill. As you can see you have to drill much nearer to the centre of the Seaglass. The triangular brown one drilled half-way through shows me over-wearing a drill bit. The remaining two were chipped when trying out different jewellery processes, which I shall be writing a blog about soon. Also… put your drill bit far enough in the dremel, or it will snap.

Please don’t give up! That’s most of the reason it took me so long to get here, I let the frustration get to me. I hope you read this and can avoid some of the mistakes I made because once you get it right, it’s so rewarding. Here are some finished pieces which will be available from my Etsy soon:

Previous Blog Post:

https://rb-metal-sculptor.tumblr.com/post/158971778977/myseaglassadventure