This slide show includes a variety of coins I have painted and made into jewelry. Below that is a video I made showing how my coins are made... Enjoy!
...And just how do you paint these coins?
Yes, that is the question I hear most often. I think mostly because many people have not seen jewelry like this before. Without giving away any trade secrets (hmmm...I am kidding here), I will try to show you what it takes to paint one of my coins. Might be more than you would expect...
The first and most important step is to pick a coin with a beautiful design. The prettiest colors on an ugly coin, is still an ugly coin! Fortunately, there are many beautiful coins to choose from. I clean the coin carefully, and then paint the background color.
Many coins have very tiny details, so I use a magnifying glass, when I need to. I let it dry or "cure" until hard, and then apply the second color, if there is one. I have found that doing one color at a time gets better results, without risking "bleeding" colors. To answer the frequent question of how I get the detail so exact, there is only 1 obvious answer...practice! practice! and practice!
When the painting is finished, I complete the front with a thick clearcoat to give the appearance of a thick glass surface, much like the look of traditional enamelling. To complete the item, I also clearcoat the back and add either a pendant or earring bail for hanging. When I first started painting the coins, I asked a number of women friends, and they all voted for a clear back on the coin.... then they could see it was actually a coin.
So over 5-6 days, all these steps are completed. My biggest thrill still is completing the piece and marveling at the end results. It feels like magic!
The first and most important step is to pick a coin with a beautiful design. The prettiest colors on an ugly coin, is still an ugly coin! Fortunately, there are many beautiful coins to choose from. I clean the coin carefully, and then paint the background color.
Many coins have very tiny details, so I use a magnifying glass, when I need to. I let it dry or "cure" until hard, and then apply the second color, if there is one. I have found that doing one color at a time gets better results, without risking "bleeding" colors. To answer the frequent question of how I get the detail so exact, there is only 1 obvious answer...practice! practice! and practice!
When the painting is finished, I complete the front with a thick clearcoat to give the appearance of a thick glass surface, much like the look of traditional enamelling. To complete the item, I also clearcoat the back and add either a pendant or earring bail for hanging. When I first started painting the coins, I asked a number of women friends, and they all voted for a clear back on the coin.... then they could see it was actually a coin.
So over 5-6 days, all these steps are completed. My biggest thrill still is completing the piece and marveling at the end results. It feels like magic!
