Art_Jewelry_-_March_2016_USA_

54 Art Jewelry ■ March 2016

ASK THE ARTIST: THERESA D. ABELEW

What studio mistake have you

learned the most from?

“I like to make chain mail in the car, especially

during long road trips. But about 50 miles into

one 1,600-mile trip, I discovered I’d brought

the wrong size jump rings.

Without easy access

to my stash,

I was forced to work with what I

had. There was plenty of colorful

language at irst, but it forced

me to experiment, and that’s

how I created my irst original

chain mail design, the Anansi

Knot (right).”

Contact: http://www.tdabelew.com

At the opposite end of the chain, use two

connector rings to attach an S-hook (See

“Reinforce Your Clasp,” below left) to two

pairs of base rings.

15

Attach the jump rings that came with the S-hook clasps to two pairs of base rings
at the end of the chain.

Repeat steps 8–12 until you have used all the rings

or your chain is the desired length. For the last base-

ring segment, add only one pair of connector rings,

before adding the twisted ring.

14

13

Thread an open twisted ring through the five pairs of connector rings along
the bottom edge of the chain. Close and double the twisted ring.

12

reinforce your clasp

When using colored jump rings for a piece of jewelry, it
can be difficult to find a clasp to match the style or color
of your rings. I purchased enameled copper S-hooks in
the same rose-gold color as my rings. Unfortunately,
between my normally barbaric handling of jewelry and
the weight of the finished piece, I didn’t think one little
S-hook would be strong enough to stand up to daily
wear. Since there is strength in numbers, I found some
24-gauge (0.5 mm) copper craft wire and lashed the
two S-hooks together.

Photo by Evangeline V. Abelew.

Process photos by Theresa D. Abelew.