Art_Jewelry_-_March_2016_USA_

ASK THE ARTIST: KAZUHIKO ICHIKAWA

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not overheat the piece. You can
also use a hotplate or your
stove for this step (see “No
To rch? N o Pro b l em,” page 35).

Continue heating until the
scorch marks from the solution
disappear. After they disappear,
use a burnisher to burnish the
foil [9].

NOTE: Because this technique
generates a lot of heat, you
may be concerned for some of
your more delicate joins or a
vulnerable portion of your
finished piece (like the bail on
my pendant). If that is the case,
you can use an insulating
compound, such as Heat
Shield. This clay-like heat sink
acts as a barrier between
delicate stones, metal parts, or
joins, and the flame. Most
compounds can be washed
away with water.

Starting at the center of the

foil, push the burnisher down

into the foil and then roll it

outward to drive out any air

trapped under the foil.

NOTE: To remove any trapped

air, remove the flame and use

a needle to poke a release hole

in the center of the air bubble.

Return the flame, and burnish

the air bubble. Start at the out-

side edge of the bubble and

work in toward the hole to re-

lease the air [10].

Allow the piece to air cool.

Finish the gold. Use the craft

or surgical knife to trim the

gold foil along the edge of the

fine-silver embellishment [11].

Use a medium silicone point in

a flex shaft or rotary tool to

refine the edge of the gold.

Depending on the thick-

ness of your foil, you can add

texture, or just lightly polish

the gold with 800–1000-grit

sandpaper to remove any re-

maining tool marks.

Finish the piece. If you like,

you can add more gold ele-

ments to your piece using the

more traditional keum boo

method. For this method, heat

the piece on a hotplate or

stovetop, and apply the gold

foil directly on the depletion-

silvered surface of the sterling

silver piece. It will give you a

flatter look — and mixing the

traditional keum boo with my

method of layering silver gives

you more depth in your design.

For my piece (page 32 and

above left), I used traditional

keum boo to add stems to the

leaves and to add gold to the

framing tendrils below the

main body of the pendant [12].

Finish your piece as you

desire. I like to use a liver of

sulfur patinate to increase the

contrast between the silver and

gold. As the last step, set any

stones.

What studio mistake have you learned the most from?

“There are many, but I learned early on to never solder sitting on a chair.

I dropped a heated ring on my lap. Now my soldering section of the studio

is a standing setup — no chairs.”

Contact: [email protected] or http://www.etsy.com/shop/kaznesq

Process photos by Kazuhiko Ichikawa.

Piece shown

actual size

36 Art Jewelry ■ March 2016