Marianne Willumsen | Squarish and Triangular Earrings

Artist:  Marianne Willumsen

Materials: Sterling silver and Mokume-gane.

Dimensions: 1 1/2"x1/2"x1/8"

Origin of featured materials: Shining Wave Metals / Phillip Baldwin

Story behind the piece:  In theory these earrings should have been easy to make. The squarish one was easy; the triangular one wasn't. I expect the triangular shape made it more difficult to keep elements in the right place to be solderable. The copper alloys in the Mokume-gane used took the Baldwin patina well. 

This was my first experience with Mokume-gane and bimetal. Learned a lot...
Since the Mokume-gane contains many layers be careful when filing or sanding the surface. My metal had a solid silver on the back side, and I did wipe out the pattern on a thin piece of Mokume-gane. Test patina on the metal before you begin. Some Mokume-gane alloys patina more readily than others. Also, I found some thicker pieces of the Mokume-gane was very tough to shape. 

Artist Bio: All my life I have created things: from small houses for my imaginary childhood friends to jewelry and holloware during my study under John Marshall and Ramona Solberg at the University of Washington, commissions and gifts while working in the jewelry supply business, software as a programmer analyst for community colleges, and as content designer and writer in the software industry. I’ve now returned to my early passions: art jewelry and metalsmithing.

This piece is part of, From Wave to Shining Wave: a Celebration of Phil Baldwin and Shining Wave Metals Baldwin. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Seattle Metals Guild. 5% of sales will be donated to help fund an endowment at Pendland in Phillip Baldwin’s name. Learn more HERE. All work will remain on exhibit through July 20, 2025.

📂 [View the entire collection HERE ]

ℹ️ [Learn more about the exhibition HERE]