The basic materials of my jewelry are metal and stone: The metal is usually different gauges and shapes of copper, sterling silver and fine silver wire. The stones are a variety of semi precious cabochons and beads. I have a predilection towards members of the quartz family: Quartz crystal, Amethyst, Agates, Carnelian and Jasper are all used extensively in my work. Their hardness and durability make them especially suitable for my copper-silver fusion pieces. I also have a fondness for Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Azurite, Labradorite, Sapphires, Fossils and many other gemstones and they have all been incorporated into my work.
My basic design philosophy and technique is to form wire into spirals which are then fused into solid pieces. The process involves some form of soldering or welding. The basic difference between soldering and welding is that in soldering, the piece is fluxed, and then heated to a temperature below it's melting point. A solder--an alloy with a lower melting point than the metal being soldered--is applied which melts on the heated metal and filling the gaps through capillary action, fuses and bonds the piece. In welding, the metal is heated to the point where it starts to melt and the molten metal itself forms the bond. Welding produces a much stronger bond and alters the metal being worked on much more. There is much more risk of applying too much heat and melting the piece completely. I have welded both pure copper and sterling silver but my specialty is welding copper spirals with fine silver. This produces a beautiful copper silver alloy around the weld and the results are always fascinating and unique.
My stone settings are usually done on a fused spiral base. The spiral is most often shaped around the stone being set and if the stone is transparent or translucent, the base is left open at the center to let light pass trough and reveal the inner beauty of the gemstone.
My sterling silver pieces are soldered with a high silver content hard silver solder. The only flux I use is borax due to it's low toxicity. I use a medium solder for bezels and detail work but I never use anything less than a medium solder in my work.
My welded copper and silver pieces are the result of a unique process I developed through trial and error. The temperatures involved are really hot--around 1900 degrees Fahrenheit--1000 degrees Celsius. There is no flux used. The temperatures are so high that oxides don't start to form until the piece cools. The process is visually striking: The copper goes through a range of colors and when it nears it's melting point, it turns bright orange and starts to glow. I actually have two different but related techniques for welding copper and silver: In the first, I heat copper to around the melting point of silver which is slightly lower than that of copper and then melt silver upon it. I continue to heat the molten silver until it starts to melt the copper and pick up copper molecules. Once it has melted enough copper to form a good alloy mix, the heat is removed and the bonded piece cooled. In the second technique, I heat the copper to the point where it starts to become molten and then add just add a touch of silver which caused the copper to instantly flow and bond. The results of this process are striking. The metal goes through an almost alchemical transformation. And this is what I derive the name "Spiral Fusion" from.
