Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Chainmail for Pippin--recap of the week's work

When I got an email from the people at Pippin to order a new chainmail tunic for their new lead actor, I was happy to take on the project.  Making chainmail for a Tony-award-winning show is one of the highlights of my career. 





So after sending the invoice, I ordered 22,000 rings and got started.

Starting a huge project is daunting, especially when you're working with that many rings.  There were enough rings to fill more than a 14" x 11" x 3.25" bin. 

From working on the chainmail wedding dress, I learned that the only want to get through a huge project was by making lots of little squares and then linking them together.  As soon as the rings arrived in the mail, I got working.  After 2 days, I had made 45 little squares.





After day 3, I had linked 70 squares:


After day 4, I had linked together 95 squares:



 Posting lots of little squares doesn't really give a sense of scope of the piece, so I made another 25 squares and started linking them together into sheets.  (The pliers are for scale.)


Tonight or tomorrow I'll start linking all the sheets together and work on the shaping.  It's amazing how a piece like this comes together.

Vanessa

Handmade aluminum jewelry
Aluminum chainmail jewelry


Thursday, March 6, 2014

Throwback Thursday - Shi action figure

Comics were big when I was in junior high and high school.  And, like every self-respecting young nerd, I devoured them.  As someone who grew up watching Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, and since my hero was Catwoman (Julie Newmar is the coolest person), I was drawn to tough warrior women.

Shi was one of my favorites.  Back in junior high I was customizing action figures.  This one used to be Psylocke.






I found a box of old art/craft projects.  I'll try to show one off every Thursday.

Vanessa Walilko
Aluminum chainmail jewelry
Handmade jewelry

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Make Something Beautiful - Butterfly Necklace

When I first started my business, I made a point of making something beautiful every day.  I got caught up with business stuff and forgot the simple joy of creating something new.  Well, I'm starting that habit again.  I'll probably post on Mondays for the alliteration.

For now, here's the butterfly necklace I made today.



Vanessa Walilko
Aluminum chainmail jewelry
Handmade chainmail jewelry