Peacock Inspired Chasing and Repousse

Have you been following the silver peacock feather chasing and repoussé progress? 
Installment #1
Installment #2
I confess... I was really making two feathers because I knew this would be a challenge.  I was doing a detailed swirly whirly pattern in a thinner gauge silver than I typically use.  So I made two, for the learning process, and for the just-in-case factor. 
Good thing I did!
I had a little catastrophe.  I tried to add some gold accents to a feather.  The gold bits looked big and clunky.  During the heating process, the thinner areas of the silver starting melting out.  Ack, oof, icko...

A blacksmith friend, Bob Bergman once said that it was the ability to fix mistakes that distinguished the highly skilled from the less skilled.  I myself prefer not to make mistakes or to start over, yet indeed, there is a point at which mistakes can be repaired or re-designed. 

Instead of smashing and chopping my first feather to bits, I carefully cut out the good sections and looked them over.  I kept envisioning them as earrings, but questioning the asymmetry. Again, I was inspired by a friend.  Sandra Eileen  (Jewelry for your Good Life), had recently requested that I modify some earrings to be dramatically asymmetrical.  That's the kind of drama she loves and wears.   Her request pushed me over the edge to go ahead and trust my asymmetrical instincts on more earrings.

1. Peacock Inspired Earrings (4), 2. Peacock Inspired Earrings (3), 3. Peacock Inspired Earrings (2), 4. Peacock Inspired Earrings
Those 18k gold accents look gorgeous on the individual earring elements.  I used my own 18k gold handmade earwires, for beauty and comfort.  From the bottom of the earwire, one earring hangs 3cm, The other hangs 6.2 cm.   These are dramatic, lightweight and comfortable to wear.

Having learned from my mistakes on the first feather, I returned to the second feather.  Part of my mistakes had to with making some areas too thin.  On the 2nd feather I was able to rethink my hammer strikes to more evenly distribute the metal.  I skipped the gold dot accents and instead flowed a small bit of 18k gold solder into the heart motif at the top, to add just a touch of color.

1. Peacock Feather Amulet (2), 2. Peacock Feather Amulet (4), 3. Peacock Feather Amulet (3), 4. Peacock Feather Amulet
This amulet measures approximately 7 x 3.5cm at its maximum dimensions, not including the bail.  It should go on a visually strong chain, either a woven style or handmade link style, at a choker length or a very long length. With large jewelry, always go for the drama.

Since I'm mentioning influences, I should add Bernice Sensei, an aikido teacher at Sunset Cliffs Aikido in California.  (I took classes there for a short while in the 1990s.)  Whenever a new student would get shy and say "I'm new", the consistent reply was "We're all new."  The more skilled I get, the more I realize what they said was true.  Each project is a new challenge, with new learning opportunities.