Lori Garcy

Metal Artist

"Color on Metal"

Gallery Calapooia

Featured Artist

August 2023

Ihave always loved color, especially in nature. Spring brings the many shades of green playing across our fields and trees, summer has the colors changing to golds and browns, fall fills us with reds, yellows and oranges mixed in with the greens and winter highlights the gray skies muting the colors.

Many years ago, I wanted to learn how to use these colors to enhance the jewelry I make out of copper, silver, and gold. Metals themselves have great color ranges in their natural state but adding color can enrich designs.

For this show, I will be using many of the following techniques to color silver and copper jewelry.

Electroplating – Gold is deposited on silver using electricity that is passed through a solution of gold onto silver.

Nanoceramic Plating – Similar to electroplating but using a solution that contains nanoceramic color particles that are deposited on copper or silver and then heated to affix the color to the metal.

Patinas – This is a thin layer that forms on the surface of metals, either naturally occurring, created with fire or by adding chemicals to the surface of the metal.

Vitreous Enamels – Powdered glass is applied to copper or silver and heated in a kiln to around 1500 degrees to melt the glass onto the metal surface.

Powder Coating - Dry, free-flowing, thermoplastic or thermoset powder material is applied to a surface, melted, and hardened into an even coating.

Inks and Paints – India, Alcohol, Acrylic and Vintaj are types of inks/paints that can be applied to metals with a paint brush.