Learn to make Silver Jewelry in Bali

Ever since I started designing my own jewellery, Jewellery by Coley, which you can read about here, I have always wanted to do a hands on course where you learn how to make Jewellery. I researched online and I didn't find a course that I could accommodate in my current life since I do have a day job, you know. Hahaha. 

However, I did manage to find something that caught my interest. In Bali, there are several classes you can take, where you are taught how to make your own Silver Jewellery, from design to execution, and the price of the course includes a certain amount of silver that you can use to make the piece that you design.

The only catch in my plan was that I was going to Bali for work, so with the given flight schedules and meetings, I had a very little free time. I actually checked the schedule of the different workshops and it was only WS Art Studio that had a class on Sunday afternoon. My flight was arriving in Bali at noon, so it was really cutting it close. They were really very nice though. I emailed them and told them about my predicament and they told me that I could just call them when I landed, and I could take a taxi directly to their workshop in Ubud which was roughly an hour away from the airport. Since I found out my hotel was also in Ubud, they told me to just call when I get to the hotel, and they would pick me up instead... by motorbike! 

Welcome to Bali motorbike experience!

The place was in the middle of rice fields, and they do classes for a lot of different Balinese Crafts, not just Silver Jewellery.

I was the only student for the day, so they didn't have any problem accommodating my schedule which was around an hour later than the normal class time.

Literally, inspired by nature.

The class also came with snacks, hooray, since I missed lunch.
The freshly cooked Banana and Pineapple Fritters were pretty good.

The first part of the course is to draw your design. They show you work done by other students, so you can see some pegs.

Only silver is provided, so you need to bring your own stones if you want
to use any.

I just wanted a simple open ring with two stones, so for me, Ayu just
measured out an estimated length on a sterling silver sheet.

This is Ayu. She does all the soldering while you watch.

She soldered two sheets of Sterling Silver together to make
it thick enough for the band of the ring.

Then she flattened it to make sure that it was properly
welded together.

Then the next step is filing the silver until it's straight and there are no sharp sides which can get uncomfortable for jewellery. You do a lot of filing in this class.

Then you can stamp your name or any message on your jewellery before you do the design.

I wanted the band to have a hammered texture look, so I had to keep pounding it with different blunt objects to get that effect.

Voila! Then more filing to get the band straight enough.

Then we created the holders for the stones. Using a strip of sterling silver, we had to make a circle which was just the correct size for the stones.

Borax is used as a bonding agent, which is washed off when the finished
product is ready.

We used silver wire, to hold the stone in place.

Welding the wire to the stone holders

Again more filing...

Then it was time to connect the stone holders to the band.

More filing...

Fits quite well too. I guess it really helps that the design is open.

When your design is almost ready, they clean the ring and remove all the Borax by heating it, then dipping it in acid repeatedly. Then the jewellery is dipped in soapy water and scrubbed.

If you are not using stones in  your design, the last step is the polishing and buffing.

Since we were setting stones, we had to do more filing, to make sure the holder was the correct height, then the stones were put in, with glue!, then the silver was filed again inward so help keep the stones in place.

Then more filing just to make sure it was all smooth
and pretty.

I love how it came out.

Ayu also offers other workshops, but best to check on her website.

Jewellery by Coley
Love Love Love

Thank you so much Ayu for your flexibility which allowed me to take this
class, and for your patience in teaching me and letting me take all the photos
I wanted.

The course takes around 3 hours, depending on the complexity of your design. I was very happy I was able to do this course. It was totally worth skipping lunch for.  just saying.

WS Art Studio

Lodtunduh, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia

wahana_silver@yahoo.com

info@craftworkshopbali.com

www.craftworkshopbali.com

http://www.craftworkshopbali.com/

1000 Count Dot to Dot and Color by Number for Adults

After the Adult Coloring Book Craze... which I think has saturated the market like the  Rainbow Loom fad, you may be asking, What's next?

Well, if you ask me... the level-up to this to help adults relax and take a break from their stressful lives are the adult versions of 1000-count Dot to Dot and Color by Number, through overlapping circles, or Querkles, by Thomas Pavitte.

My sister and I really enjoy visiting Kinokuniya in Taipei. Last trip, we bought loads of coloring books (of food and shoes and bags) which were not commonly available in Manila, since you can just color enough shades of green in an Enchanted Forest before it drives you nuts right? What kind of stress relief is that? Hahaha. Now, you can never have enough shoes, bags or food to color.

Ady discovered this just as I was paying, so of course... I bought every
kind of book they had!

When I was a kid, my favorite activity book was Dot to Dot, so I was just thrilled to buy the grown-up version, a book with scenes of Paris no less (but only goes upto 300-400 count), and the 1000 count Cityscapes and Pop Icons by Thomas Pavitte. I had such a one track mind, that after our Kinokuniya stop, I had to buy a mechanical pencil, eraser and ruler from Tailung Hands, so I could do my Dot to Dot book over coffee at the Agnes B. Cafe.

So thrilled to revisit my childhood mixed with my love for
Paris.

In fact, I took my book everywhere in Taipei with me, whenever we had a
window for Tea or Coffee.

My excuse for buying all the Dot to Dot Books in the store, was so I could share with Sofia of course!

It was too complicated for her. She'd normally do a few
numbers and quit, but she likes it when we do Dot to Dot
together, and she wants to race too! Hahaha.

Can the real Andy Warhol raise his hand? :)
The 1000 count Dot to Dot is more complicated. Numbers are smaller,
and there are only numbers on the page.

The Quercles Color by Number Books are a joy to do. The picture is made up of overlapping circles numbered 1-5. You just need to use five colors, and start filling in the spaces from dark to light.

I had a sample trial page and I was instantly addicted! I started surfing the
web to find out where I could buy the other book (Masterpieces).

Ady and I both did our Pop Icons book and we started with Jim Morrison.
We don't really know him, so this book might be targeted to Gen X!
Ady did hers purely using brush pens while I did mixed pencil, brush pens,
and colored pens.

Does that look like Jim Morrison to you? Hahaha.

Mainly so Sofia could help, and brush pens are too difficult for her to control
in small areas, so pencil it is... not realizing she'd quit after 6 spots.

The Querkles (color by number) come in perforated pages too, so you can tear them out and carry them with you to kill time when you travel. Sadly, the Dot to Dot Books don't come perforated. It would be perfect if they make it in travel size too. just saying. 

You can visit Thomas Pavitte's website here:

http://www.thomasmakesstuff.com/books/

You can also buy the books on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Querkles-Puzzling-Colour-Numbers-Book/dp/1781572402

Or Kinokuniya Singapore:

https://singapore.kinokuniya.com/bw/9781781572405

Kinokuniya Taipei

5th Floor Breeze Mall

105, Taiwan, Taipei City, 

Songshan District, Section 1, 

Fuxing S Rd, 39號5樓

Shopping for Paintings from Street-Side Artists in Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam is home to a lot of famous artists, so it comes as no surprise, that you see a lot of artwork on display, as you walk along the streets of District 1, or downtown Ho Chi Minh.

On one of my trips with my boss, we saw this painting
in the airport, and we were told that it was several
hundred US dollars.

It sounded a bit expensive, so I told my boss, let's sneakily take a photo, and I will look for something similar for you, the next time I find myself in Ho Chi Minh City for work.

Two weeks or so after that, I was back, and this time around I had more time to walk around our District 1 neighborhood.

Local Vendor in front of the iconic Post Office.

Still the same vendor, this time in front of Notre Dame. 

Quaint Cafe I saw beside the Post Office, but I didn't
really have time to go in.

There were a lot of art galleries that lined the streets, but whenever I asked if they had a painting which had a house similar to the photo I took from the airport, the answer was always the same. They can do any painting I wanted! Hahaha, they even brought up websites of famous Vietnamese artists, and any painting there - they can do for US$100 for a 100cm x 100cm canvass.

Now, I appreciate the can-do spirit and all that, but it's a bit difficult to commission a painting for someone else. What if my boss doesn't like the design, or worse, what if we don't like how it is "copied"! Que horror! So I decided to just ask for their cards and continue on my walk.

Then I stumbled into this passage, across Vincom Shopping Mall.

Inside, there were three different artists at work,
similar to Mr. Cheng here.

I asked all of them if they had something similar to the house photo, and Mr. Cheng showed me this.

US$50 for 80cm x 80cm
The painting was quite nice, the texture of the leaves comes across quite well,
and the price was right. I immediate sent my boss a photo to ask if he wanted it.

I didn't have the heart to bargain with Mr. Cheng because
he was blind in one-eye, yet I loved how he still manages
to do what he loves, which is paint.

I even went back to buy a painting to go with the first one we chose, so that we could give it to my boss as his birthday gift, which he loved by the way.

Thank you Mr. Cheng for sharing with us your talent!

Instead of rolling up the canvass which is the norm, I opted to carry it home as is instead, as I was afraid, the textured part of the leaves might get damaged.

The concierge just brought me to the corner shop,
to wrap the paintings in bubble wrap for US$5 or so.

All set to fly home to the Philippines now.

Just a word of caution, if you are flying on Philippine Airlines, the 80cm x 80cm painting is a bit over the allowable check-in dimensions. They let me check it in only if I would agree to hand carry my smaller luggage with my instant pho, so while it is not a hard and fast rule, you can't maximize the size and weight as well of your allowance. They will only allow you to abuse one rule at a time, unless you have more charm then me and you get them to agree. Hahaha. just saying.

Art Gallery

26 Ly Tu Trong

District 1

Ho Chi Minh City

*look for Mr Cheng on the left corner, 

immediately after entering the art gallery passageway