Wood and clay smell fresh and clean. But if I tell you a smell is metallic, would you then think of a pleasant smell? Does a metallic smell make you stop in the middle of a sentence, to take a deep breath through your nose, with a smile on your face? Maybe not. At least, it does not have that effect on me. And still, there is something special with metalwork.
What is it with metals such as gold, silver and copper that makes a jewellery maker tick? I can only speak for myself, and here is my personal love song to metalwork.
For me, one reason is their nature. Metal is very hard, it seems impossible to shape it. And still, you can. You need to understand how it reacts and use that in your favour. You need to master it – or rather negotiate with it - to bring out the best it can give. At best, it's teamwork, where the metal itself gives the jewellery maker hints along the way. You may start with a plan, and along the way, the metal will tell you what way to go. For me, that's jewellery making in a nutshell. And let me be clear, I'm not always on the winning side here, metals do have a strong will. The natural laws they live by are not up for discussion.
A gift from the underground
Another thing that is special with metal is that it comes from the underground and cannot be put back again. It is not part of an organic compost cycle, the way plants are. It takes a lot of work to extract metal. Mining creates irreparable wounds in the landscape and a lot of processing is required before the metal is ready to use. Metal can luckily be melted down and used over and over again. Let’s be mindful about how we use metal, and recycle it, as much as we can.
It takes metal to work metal
Finally, there is this other bonus if you are a jewellery maker who loves working with precious metal: Most of your tools are made of metal too. Of steel, which is much harder than silver and gold. Hammer, plier, cutter, files, saw blades, drills, rolling mill, ring steel. You are surrounded by steel. Also here, you need to be aware of the nature of each metal. Steel must never get wet or humid, or it will rust. Also, you must never hit your steel tools with a steel hammer, or you get marks that will reproduce on every later jewellery piece you work on.
So, despite the smell, there is a lot that we jewellery makers love about metalwork.
Whatever metalwork I do, when I wash away the metallic smell from my hands, it's always with a good feeling. It means I've had another jewellery making moment in the studio. It's OK that it doesn't smell like wood or clay.
If you what to read more about what's In the mind of a jewellery maker, you find the previous post here (it's a short read).