I only lost three components while soldering the clasp onto the Shadow Blooms brooch. With a large 18 gauge sheet of Sterling requiring the adherence of tiny components, three is a pretty good number. They fused to themselves, so they’re now in my scrap bag waiting to be melted down. It’s unfortunate, but also the reason I bought a bag of 10 pieces per component. I expected it to be worse.
One of the biggest challenges was placement of the components. Since the piece undulates with organic curves, ensuring the solder and the component remained in the right place AND in the correct orientation was very hard. I’ve been using the handheld butane torches the Buurtwerkplaats has available, and I’ve come to miss the propane/ox setup on the bench at my last office. It was far easier to work with it than what I’ve got now: there’s not much control, and the handhelds require frequent refills; I can’t set them down while they’re on either.
Once I soldered the clasp parts and crimped in the wire, the pin was too long; I clipped the end and filed the shortened wire back to a point. It needs to be sanded smooth, but it’s a good length now. The piece will be done by the time I leave my next BWP shift.
I’m in debate with myself about the fine silver finish currently raised onto the surface of the brooch. My original plan was to create a mirror finish like the flower ring and earrings, but I like the milky flashing. It’s too rough for prime-time as a sale item, but as an art piece, it’s very beautiful. I’ll probably polish it, as my colleague pointed out, I can always heat it again. There are some rough patches around the soldered parts that need cleanup in any case.
To be honest, I procrastinated finishing the brooch for months. I expected soldering the backing to be difficult and frustrating, and couldn’t bring myself to face the challenge. I purchased and received the parts in August (after putting off buying them for two or three months), but decided to work on the spirals instead. They brought their own difficulties and I had several weeks where I thought I might never finish any silver pieces ever again. I’m glad I put my worry aside and determined to finish the brooch. I feel like I can move on to my next challenge, something I’ve wanted to try since college: real glass enameling starting with plique-à-jour.
Shadow Blooms brooch with raised silver finish 20211004 ©2021