more chain

Two more of the chains that I played with in July. This is a copper spiral rope chain. It's a beautiful chain, but it is frustrating that you have to make one connected in a continuous loop (like Mary Ann Barnhart's necklace at DUUF last Sunday) for it to hold its shape. Given its druthers, it relaxes into a form that is a very subtle spiral, instead of the clear flat ribbon twist seen here. Actually, the relaxed form is the spiral of a Jens Pind chain, except a proper Jens Pind is done with such fat, small-aspect-ratio links that the chain is locked into its spiral.


I'm probably going to take this one apart to recycle its 16 gauge bronze links. It's an exploration of combining byzantine and flower chain, and it has a definite pattern, but it seems overall kind of busy and florid and unclear. This was one of the very first chains I made this summer; I was working on it at the lake when Amy was here in June. I think I've learned some since then, and can find better uses for these rings.

The lovely high shine on those bronze rings is basically tumbling. I really see why folks on the forum rave about it. This isn't even machine tumbling. It's put-chain-in-a-jar-with-BBs-and-shake-for-30-minutes tumbling. I had no idea it would be so effective. Load jar, walk to public library shaking jar in rhythm to steps, check out books, return, decant beautiful chain!