My partner started a chemical fire at my studio which got me thinking about the chemicals I use. The fire was so very weird - NO flame or smoke for about 8 hours, just a slow invisible burning - a chemical fire.  There were bush fires that day, so I assumed the smell was from the bush.  Where did it originate?  Amazingly from my pickling solution.  I never would have dreamt just how dangerous and toxic even this 'mild' solution I use daily, is.  Not something they teach you in jewelry courses. I have always poured my used pickling solution into a big dead pot plant outside and my partner put out his cigarette in the pot plant.  That simple.  So I thought I would begin writing  something about other jewelry processes  I use AND know about, in the event it might help someone out there not make the same mistake. Let's start with nitric acid.  Why?  because every time I use nitric, I still am both totally paranoid of it and totally fascinated by it.  So please check out my article Engraving with Nitric Acid.

I just go back from spending some time on different beaches in Greece.   What was so amazing about this trip, was I collected some shell fossils and beach pebbles with the most amazing colors - lime greens, purples, gorgeous blues.  I've been collecting rocks for years  but haven't seen such colors  in beach pebbles before.  So I'm making them into jewelry,  I think they will look great.  Still haven't managed to put on half my other modern collection, but at 38 degrees its been way too hot to work.

If you need to use a silver paste or silver dip to clean jewelry at home, make sure you use a silver polishing cloth afterwards.  Otherwise it will again tarnish extremely quickly and often will look unbelievably worse than before....from experience