Wood , Wire and Gesso Brooches

Firstly , I should stress that my work is based on drawing from life .
No amount of technical know-how can make up for a thorough knowledge of your intended subject through detailed study and observational drawing .

My work is made using mild steel (also called black or blue annealed) wire .
In the UK I buy this wire from F H Brundle....they sell a wide range of wire and have several branches across the country . In the US I buy my wire from Western Steel and Wire here in San Francisco . I use copper and brass sheet which I buy from R J Leahy and copper mesh from Flynn and Enslow , both in San Francisco.
On occasion I use brass or copper wire . These are much softer than the steel but do not rust so can be used for jewellery or work for outside .

The steel is braised (low temperature soldered) using a blow torch with Easy-Flo Solder and white flux available from Exchange Findings in Hatton Garden .
In the US I use cadmium free HWE A45 Stay-Silv Braizing Rod and white paste flux .
All of these are dangereous chemicals and should only be used under supervision in a well ventillated area .

When starting out I would recommend that you do not solder your work but instead find different ways to twist and bind the wire together .
Metal sheet can also be added without soldering by weaving in strips or by making 'tabs' around the piece of sheet and clipping them onto the wire.....experiment to find what works for you .

I use enamel paint , preferably Humbrol Enamel , but Plasticote is fine .
I layer the paint and build up sufaces , mixing in metal pigments and sometimes burning layers and adding thin washes of paint whilst the metal is hot . THIS IS DANGEROUS...THE PAINT IGNITES AND GIVES OFF TOXIC FUMES!!!
Instead , try adding metal that has already been coloured , olive oil tins for example . Wear gloves when you work with the sheet metal as it can be very sharp !