insectes éthérés

It arrived.  Last week.  The most amazing hammer in the world.  Okay that is a bit of an exaggeration but not by much.  What is it you ask?  Insectes éthérés is a custom engraved macro spiculum hammer for jewelery fabrication.

How did this happen?  It is sort of hard to explain how one falls in love but it went something like this.  I took a workshop led by NC Black, they teach micro forming for jewelry fabrication.  I made my first spiculum, then a furry bracelet and other cool shapes and jewelry bits.  The spiculum hammer was my favorite tool of the workshop.  I thought it was the most unique of the tools used for micro forming and when you look at the hammer shape you know it is something special.

Then I took an engraving workshop from NC Black.  While I did a good job for a beginner I am years away from being proficient.  The teacher, Les Byrant, was amazing.  An excellent, patient teacher with a great sense of humor and a huge amount of creativity and talent.  You can see Les' work on his website Le Graveur De Vol or on his etsy page Fluffy's Corner, be sure to check out the Bad Kitty cuff bracelet.

So I fell hard and wanted Les to custom engrave a hammer for me and I requested it to be in the theme of a cabinet of curiosities. 

If micro forming metal sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend NC Black's workshops and you can find dates for a workshop near you on their NC Black website or their updates under NC Black on Facebook.

So here it is, insectes éthérés with a beautiful Wenge wood handle, and the last photo is that of the first spiculum I made.