Saturday, November 15, 2014

Aging:It Can Happen Overnight!

Waking up in the morning can sometimes be a grim reminder of the harsh reality of aging, but this post is not about that. It's about one of my passions: metal. I've long been a fan of beautifully patinated copper, that gorgeous rich green. My shopping sprees always begin with Greek Mykonos findings and sometimes end right there. Well, now that I have time on my hands, why not experiment with some patina methods?

Last night I tried aging copper using Vintaj alcohol inks. It's easy and instant, that for sure. I discovered that a light hand with these is best and that using a subtle blend of several colors looks more appealing. 




I also had a chance to play with some new purchases - aged picasso Czech glass seed beads and tubes with Indonesian glass beads.



 Next, I textured some copper washers with my chasing hammer, applied patina, and used the reliefing block to highlight the raised areas of the washers to create a distressed look.





Now that I am looking at these photos, I think I need to use some LOS to patina the copper earwires and brio wrapping. Back into the studio . . . 

*** ALCOHOL INKS ***

Next experiment . . . alcohol inks. 


Unlike Vintaj patinas, which are like paint and provide an opaque cover, alcohol inks are transparent. I applied these inks on some textured copper washers to see what kind of effect they create. Then I sealed them with Vintaj glaze.


Resin teardrop, coral, and copper beads

Glass, blue lace agate, and copper beads


No comments:

Post a Comment