Salvaging a Mistake

Our Town- Version 1

Do you believe in re-incarnation? When it comes to salvaging failed jewelry brainstorms to give them new life, I do. I keep reminding myself that the time & labor "wasted" have taught me some technical or design lessons that are worthwhile. BUT wasting expensive silver, gold, or other metals? NO WAY!!! I'm the woman who returns a cut lemon to the fridge until every last drop is squeezed.

Two years ago I imagined a pendant celebrating the beautiful Seattle skyline as representative of any city we cherish. I wanted the metal art to have a 3-D effect against a gold-toned silver disk background. Engineering this 3-D vision I had was a technical challenge. Getting the golden colors I wanted from the copper buildings & the silver disk was another. Handling & smoothing the beautiful silver disk without scratching it was another. I spent countless hours on Our Town, but was very proud of the result....

Except for one problem ... It was too big!

It was more like a medallion than a pendant. Should I frame it for sale as a wall-hanging? What else can one do with "a medallion"? Paperweight? UGH!!

Our Town- Version 2

For the last 18 months, I've been thinking about how to re-invent Our Town as the wearable art creation I'd intended, without ruining the components. It was emotionally painful to clip the rivets away, separate all the components, cut them smaller, then carefully replace the handmade rivets in the holes left by previous rivets! I tossed the bits of cut away metal to my treasured can of metal scraps$$, which I'll recycle when full. Finally, I decided that I liked the silver disk looking silver:)

While I miss the "medallion," the re-incarnated Our Town can now be worn with pride by a normal-sized woman:)