All levels of ability
A fantastic stone needs a fantastic setting and in this lesson, that’s exactly what you’ll learn to make. The key to a professionally set stone is with good craftsmanship and a clean, and well-finished bezel. This 2-part firing method is clean and forgiving, so no soldering, no investment placeholder, no pull away from embedding the wire, no distortion, and the stone fits every time! During the lesson, you will learn design concepts surrounding the creation of a bezel for a stone of your choice using fine silver bezel wire. The bezel will be attached to a piece that has been designed and fired first. Afterward, you will attach the bezel to the rest of your piece and prepare for a second firing. Finally, the stone will be set and ready for the final touch. The result will have people wondering, “How did you do that?” So come and join me, and you too will be setting stones like a pro.
To prepare ahead, purchase a stone or glass cab (approximately 15 mm – 30 mm). Faceted stones, cabs, or glass cabs welcome – please stay away from irregularly shaped stones until you gain confidence and experience with this technique.
"Evolved Design Exploration" will also be covered. It's a guided method of finding your motivation and pushing yourself to new levels of awareness and evolving your design to the next creative level. Your perceptions are sharpened and your imagination can develop beyond what was previously available by going deeper within.
Materials List:
Cabochon, 15 mm and up, PMC 3 or Art Clay Fine Silver, Art Clay Paste® type — brand specific, must be this brand), Glycerin, Fine Silver Bezel Wire —must go just above the curve of the stone or just above the height of a flat stone. Too high is better than too low. 26 – 30 gauge. (Up to a 15 mm stone, use a thinner gauge wire such as a 30 gauge. Larger stones use a thicker gauge wire such as 26 - 28. All, however, will work), 1/8 thick foam paper sponge applicator,
Black Sharpie® Fine Point Marker, 400 grit sandpaper, 3 M polishing Papers®, Polishing cloth,
Bench Block, Nylon, Plastic or Rawhide Mallet, Rotary tool Eve® Rubber Polishing Wheels and Knife-edge for Silver, Black (coarse), Blue (medium), Pink (fine) with mandrel for rotary tool
Barrel-shaped Diamond Bur, 3M Radial Bristle Brushes 400 grit to fine, Tweezers (Cross-lock Optional), Flat, round, and chain nose pliers, Flush cutters, Basic Metal Clay Tools, and Textures, Burnisher or bezel rocker, Torch or Kiln. (25 g size restriction with torch use)
Bezel Setting Like A Pro Tutorial by Holly Gage
Lessons are in a PDF format are for students who need no teacher guidance with the lesson. You do, however, have an option to purchase a 1 hour question and answer session by appointment.
To purchase a private session in addition to the self guided lesson, select the "A Private Session with Holly Gage." separately. You can select how many sessions you would like. Sessions are live on the Go to Meeting platform. This option is for seeking answers to questions and have an interest in seeing Holly Gage perform select demonstrations.
©2021 Gage Designs. All rights reserved. This lesson and information within are protected under copyright law. Sharing or reproduction in whole or part are prohibited.Each tutorial suggests what Metal Clay to use, but you can use the clay you choose with these guidelines in mind since clay preference is an individual choice.
I tend to use Metal Clay with a good melting surface, which means adding water to eliminate imperfections on the greenware surface makes an excellent "self slip" that you can move around with a brush or healing tool to smooth the surface. Many of the lessons use this technique.
Since PMC Sterling is discontinued, the handmade 960 (1/2 PMC Sterling and 1/2 Art Clay Silver) you see in some lessons can be replaced with another strong clay with good carving properties — 950, 960, Sterling Clays that carve smoothly without chipping.