Beach Glass- Custom Pieces for Bryan

Recently a friend Bryan asked me to make some custom jewelry. As a pastime, he and his wife collect beach glass along Lake Huron. I haven't worked with beach glass but have always wanted to beacuse it's beautiful colors and rough natural appearance.

I really enjoy custom work because with the right client I can use my artistic digression. It can also be an opportunity to work with new materials.

Bryan wanted a necklace and earrings set. I knew my biggest challenge would be 'flow' since no two pieces of beach glass are alike.

Bryan really liked two pendants I sketched so he asked me to make two! Both necklaces feature multiple glass pieces. In case I could not complete them BOTH before Christmas he choose one necklace to start (thanks to Laura who reeled me in on that one).

Since the glass would be roughly shaped I decided to use prong settings. You may remember this piece with prongs, but I had another 'method' in mind. It was also important to allow light to come through the jewelry.

Making prong settings in this fashion was WAY easier than with the coral and larimar piece. This was because I did not have to hold the prong perpendicular to metal sheet while soldering. I thoroughly enjoyed making these pieces, I was really in the zone during construction. Some other shots...

Stay tuned, I plan to post about the other pendant with photos that show my process...