This week I want to focus on something that’s one of my favorite things about this time of the year… CHILI!

When it starts to get cold out like it usually does this time of year there’s only one dish that comes to mind and that’s a big bowl of hot chili.  It was always something that my mom would make on really cold nights.  I thinks she always did because for one it’s a simple dish and its probably the only thing that can warm you up on a freezing cold night.  So here’s my favorite recipe for chili, it has macaroni noodles and that’s one of my favorite parts because I love noodles and I really think they helps fill you up.

Chili Macaroni

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1-15 oz. can kidney beans

1-28 oz. can stewed tomatoes

1- 15 oz. can tomato sauce 

3 cups elbow macaroni noodles

4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp. paprika

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook and stir meat and onions in large skillet or dutch oven until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir in kidney beans ( with liquid), tomatoes, (with liquid) and remaining ingredients; break up tomoates..

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the chili is simmering, cook the macaroni noodles and drain.  

Once everything is done, scoop it into a bowl and, sprinkle with a good deal of cheese and enjoy.

And of course corn bread is a nice addition… and if you like your food a little spicier like I do, add about 7+ tsp. of chili powder and double the cayenne. 

Stay warm and I hope you enjoy!

The first step in making a chain is deciding what material you are going to use.  In my case I wanted to use sterling silver because the pendant was made from sterling silver.  

The next step is to figure out what gauge wire you want to use. I bought 20 gauge wire since it was the smallest size they sold in the student center.  20 gauge turned out to be too big for what I wanted so I drew down the wire.  Drawing down wire is fairly easy. You pull one end of the wire through a draw plate  so that the material stretches. To change the gauge you simply file one so that it can placed in a smaller hole in the draw plate.  Then you clamp that end and pull the wire through.  

Once you have you’re wire at the appropriate size you need to make rings. The way to make rings that are all the same size is to wrap your wire around a mandrel (which is just a cylindrical rod).  A wooden dowel as a mandrel is a really cheap solution. I had an old chopstick that was the right size so thats what I used.  Making sure you wrap the wire tightly and evenly is really important so that all of your rings turn out the same size.  Once all of your wire is on the mandrel you  remove it and wrap tape around the outside.  This helps keep everything together when you cut the rings.  

To cut the rings you just saw a straight line down the spiral, keeping your blade at an angle all the way down so that you only cut one side.

Now that your rings are cut you can start to construct the chain.  The first step in soldering a chain is to bend them slightly to line up the cut ends. Next, you need to place a small amount of flux on the joint.  Then place a very small amount of solder on the joint.  This process is repeated for half of the rings.  To actually solder the rings it doesn’t take a lot of heat.  Heating the area right in from of the joint does the trick.  Next, you take the soldered rings and connect two of them with an open ring and solder them together.  The process just keep repeating itself until all or your rings are connected.  

Once the rings are soldered the can be twisted or shaped to change the look of the chain.  For my chain pictured below, I chose to twist all of the rings so give it a more organic look.  

Making a chain seems like a very simple task and it is relatively is, but its very tedious and time consuming.

Chicken Piccata:

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups all purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large 10 or 12-inch skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley. 

This is a dish I like to make when I have a little bit of time to dedicate to actually cooking dinner.  Its really easy to make and tastes so good.  I love lemon so I put a bunch in and usually double the sauce since I don’t think you can ever have too much.  This dish can be pretty tart so if you’d prefer don’t add as much lemon juice.  I like to make a simple risotto with this because I think the more subtle flavors of the rice help balance out the intensity of the chicken.

Risotto

Ingredients

• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup finley chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

The next assignment is as follows:

RAISING (the process of making a volumetric form from a flat sheet by bringing the sides up gradually in stages of hammering the metal on anvils and stakes).

We cultivate ideas in much the same manner as we cultivate any living, growing thing.We also “cultivate” form in a wide variety of manners. Can form have life? Consider how you might “grow” a form from a flat sheet of metal. Inspiration for this project can be found through an exploration of organic, botanical forms such as seed pods, bulbs, gourds, or fruit, as well as from the man-made tools that accompany their growth, propagation, display, or consumption: bowls, vases, pots, cups, etc. Consider, too, the role that surface qualities have in determining the direction of a completed piece. Thoughtful application of color and texture can dramatically alter how an object is perceived, and how it might function (literally or metaphorically) beyond its intended design. Whether or not the final piece is utilitarian in nature is a decision to be made by you.

Half of the class has already done this assignment ( we were split up into two groups because of space restrictions) and I know that raising a form is a lot harder than it looks. As of right now I have an idea of what I want to make.  I want to make a container that resembles a fig that’s been cut in half. The only problem with this idea is that I would be making an asymetrical form.  And since this is my first time attempting to raise, its going to be a challenge.  To start off I’ll most likely form a symentrical shallow bowl and then distort the form by hammering it over a sandbag. 

Here’s a link to a couple of artist’s websites with good examples of raising, chaising and repousse:

http://www.valentinyotkov.com/index.htm

http://www.davidhuang.org/gallery/albums.php

Let me know any input that you guys might have about the project.  I haven’t started it yet so I can still change the design. I’ll have more picutres next week and hopefully a fairly finished 1st project. 

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

A picture of my piece in sitting in pitch is below.  It’s a droplet shape with spirals mimicking a shell running down it. I guess at this point it would be helpful to explain exactly what the assignment is. The project is titled “Narrative In Metal”.  The assignment is as follows:

Read and then respond to a narrative piece of writing. Consider the use of metaphor, symbolism, and function or movement in your piece. It can be traditional or nontraditional jewelry, sculptural in nature, a vessel form, or any other form you choose within reason. 

This assignment involves the two related techniques of CHASING and REPOUSSÉ. Repoussé involves pushing an image or pattern forward (from the back to the front) in sheet metal, while chasing involves working in a similar manner from the front to refine the patterns or images,and to add details. These processes are almost always used in conjunction with one another.

As you can see the project is pretty wide open with the one requirement that you use chasing and repoussé.  I always have a lot of trouble settling on a concept and sticking with it. This project was no different. I started out in one direction, but have ended up going the complete opposite way. My first concept was the classic narrative of “Green Eggs and Ham”.  I just thought it would be cool to make a giant fried egg out of metal.  That concept was bit too literal I guess.  So after careful though and scrolling through my iPod for an hour or two, I found inspiration from one of my favorite song lyrics.  It’s from the Incubus song “Wish You Were Here”, it says:

I dig my toes into the sand
The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds
Strewn across a blue blanket
I lean against the wind
Pretend that I am weightless
And in this moment I am happy…happy

I’m not sure if its the lyrics or the way that they’re vocalized that I enjoy so much, but either way I can almost see what he’s referring to when I listen to it. So that’s where the idea for my piece came from.  Its pretty abstract. My goal is to capture a visual reference in that in something that can be worn.  

The silver pendant will also have small pieces of glass showing through from the back. I’m still working out exactly how to attach them. At this point I’m also thinking that there it will hang on a hand made silver chain. I’ll let you know how that’s done as soon as I start the chain.

Steel Tools:

Like I mentioned earlier, I made chasing tools this week.  It’s another part of the assignment, to make 3 steel chasing tools. At first it seems pretty intimidating because steel isn’t a metal we ever really get to manipulate, we normally just use it as a tool. After completing the process however, it’s really pretty simple.

The steps are as follows:

Get tool steel…allen wrenches work great because they are cheep and their shape provides a good grip.

Anneal your steel… this is done in a kiln to ensure that the metal cools down as slowly as possible so that the metal does not turn brittle. 

Use a belt sander to shape the tip to whatever shape you need

File the tip to exactly the shape needed and smooth out any rough edges

Sand the tip with 3 different grits of sand paper (320 then 400 then 600)

Harden the steel by heating it with an acetylene torch

Temper the steel to make it less brittle

And after all that, you have your very own chasing tools. Now I didn’t have my camera handy while I was doing all of this because its kind of hard to hold you piece, a giant flame and a camera all at once. But I will try and take pictures of my classmates doing the process so you can get a visual of the process.

Check out the pictures below, I even tagged them this time around.

That’s about all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

an ancient technique used to incise lines into metal, it can be used to create linear patterns on flat or shaped sheet metal, and is used to sharpen details on castings.

repose is:

one of the oldest metalsmithing techniques in the world. The word comes from the French verb meaning “to push back”. its the process of creating volumetric forms by pushing metal.

Special tools are needed for chasing and repose, they are generally made from steel and can be bought or made. Examples of the tools are pictured below along with an image of a chasing hammer.  Generally a chasing tool is placed on the metal and hammered, while the tool moves in a steady continuous motion.  This ensures that the metal stretches evenly. 

The first step to the process is annealing your metal.  This is done in order to reduce the stress within the metal. In other word, make the metal softer so that its easier to manipulate.   To anneal metal all you have to do it heat it to a certain temperature, which varies between different metals.  

The next step is to draw your design on the metal.  Then the metal is ready to be placed in pitch.  Pitch is basically a tar like substance that softens when its heated.  It’s used help you stretch the metal without breaking through. A picture of the sample I’m working on in the pitch is also below.  

So once you’re all set up the next step is to start hammering your design into the metal, this step is the repose part.  Once a basic form is made in the metal the piece needs to be removed from the pitch and flipped over.  Refining the design on the flipped side( now the front) is chasing.

The sample I’m working on right now is being done in copper, but for my final piece I’ll be making it out of silver.  That’s all for this now! 

This is my first attempt at posting a blog, so bear with me if its a little rough.  I guess I’ll start off by telling you a little bit about myself.  My name is Courtney. I’m currently a senior Graphic Design student at CSU in Ft. Collins. I work part time and go to school full time.  I’ve lived in Colorado practically my whole life and I love it here.

 Art has always been something that I’ve enjoyed so I decided to peruse it as a career, hence being an art major. I’d have to say that my major is extremely time consuming. So I figured it would be a great subject to blog about, since it takes up half of my life.  I’m currently enrolled in a metals and jewelry class.  Its honestly one of the hardest classes that I’ve ever taken.  Not because its too mentally challenging, but because its very labor intensive and hard on your hands.  However all the time put in and pain caused by the class is worth the end result.  This semester we are learning how to manipulate metal, by way of raising, repose and chasing.  All of these techniques result in very interesting works of art.  So that’s what this blog will center around. I’m going to be giving weekly updates of how the projects are coming along and relay information about the different techniques I’ll be learning about. 

Another thing I love to do is cook, so from time to time I’ll probably throw in a some recipes that I find that you might enjoy.  Just to mix things up a little.

Well that’s all for today.  I hope you come back soon and check on my progress throughout the semester.

Have a wonderful rest of the day and I’ll talk to you soon!