As anybody may have surmised from reading previous hubs, I am an artist and I love to doodle. I also love the feel and look of sterling silver. It has an elegance that really appeals to me. I have a project which may interest the novice jewelry maker. Now, you may wonder where the doodling part comes in, but as I was looking through one of my sketch books, I came across one of these swirly drawings that I frequently create. I thought wow, wouldn't these swirly lines look great translated into sterling silver!
You never know where your inspiration will come from and just from looking at that sketchbook, I think swirls were on my mind. I had recently ordered two or three feet of 18 gauge sterling wire (dead soft) which is very malleable. As luck would have it, with the order I was also sent two free textured, silver colored beads. I didn't order it with a design in mind, I just started to play. It's good to have a pair of round nose pliers right next to you. You can acquire these at any good arts and crafts store. Sooner or later you will want to swirl that wire. Don't fight your materials, go with their strengths. Eighteen gauge wire is sturdy, but it's still wire, so it's workable. I think it keeps it's shape much better than smaller gauge wires. Sterling wire is also available in half hard and hard varieties, still malleable, but a little harder to work. The more stiff the wire is, the harder it is to work, but, it will hold it's shape better than the softer grades.
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