Tag: benchwork

1763

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Molten silver photo of metal soft
Every piece is made from raw materials from alloys that I create in my studio

1763 is the temperature that silver melts. Molten silver can be poured into moulds and formed into castings or ingots. At 1763 degrees silver changes from a solid to liquid, from something relatively hard to something that can flow.

1763 is also a somewhat relevant year. As his silversmithing sales lagged, Paul Revere turned to engraving, drawing cartoons, and even dentistry (one can still hear him on his fateful ride upon seeing the British troops movements screaming, “the fillings are coming”). In 1763 alarmed by the actions of the British empire, Paul began to organize other artisan and craftsmen to protest parliament and the crown. Later, he would further venture into politics and engrave the famous depiction of the Boston Massacre.

Artists and art have always had a role on influencing political movements. Art, by its very nature, challenges the status quo by allowing free subjective expression. To the extent that this is true, all art is therefore potentially political in nature.

Preserving cultural heritage

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Dan Balk teaches private jewelry classes in his professional jewelry studio in Tampa Florida.
Teaching private jewelry classes from my studio in Tampa Florida.

At my bench, one one one, students can learn the basics of jewellery fabrication including piercing, soldering, and stone setting. These traditional techniques and art they create are thousands of years old, culturally significant and in todays world of computer printed and machine produced jewellry, are in jeopardy of being lost. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of artists drawn to the medium, increasing the desire to learn silversmithing and goldsmithing techniques. Artistically adventurous people come from all over the country to spend time at my bench and learn a foundation in this vast medium. Students are often surprised at the amount of time, labor and care that goes into the fabrication of a single piece of jewelry. I love sharing what I do with people, not only because I am passionate about the art I create, but also because we have an obligation as artisans to share our accumulated knowledge with successive generations of craftspeople.

At any given time

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Dan Balk is soldering pendants at his jeweler's bench.
Making pendants using hand fabrication from raw materials in my jewelry studio.

At any given time there can be found a variety of treasures on the soldering board. Tonight I am creating small silver and copper pendants for two special little people who are celebrating their birth. Also there is small trees on the board waiting to have silver ‘roots’ soldered on to the bottom, where they will eventually hold even smaller pieces of turquois and malachite. Another visitor on the board this evening is a 14k white gold Kemp Ridley sea turtle. I love all of nature and sentient beings that share this space with me. This little guy is no exception. He is destined for his forever home in Texas, once I clean up its twin and solder ear ring backs on to them.