review of
Color Drenched Metal
Adding patinas to metal jewelry
by Shannon Levart

This pdf  tutorial, written by the designer of elegant jewelry, and the astoundingly talented metalworker Shannon LeVart, is a completely new learning experience for anyone who loves the handmade, striking look of uniquely colored metals.
You have to have a certain amount of experience with metal working, and be aware that there is some equipment which will be necessary to have on hand (it is listed clearly), but Color Drenched Metal is absolutely one of the best tutorials I have ever had the opportunity to read. It is available for sale at Shannon LeVart's missficklemedia Etsy Shop, here .

Frankly, Color Drenched Metal  is a magnificent and completely breathtaking learning experience for the enthusiastic metalworker who wants to plunge wholeheartedly into an exploration of his or her personal aesthetics concerning metal jewelry creations, and try a wholly new, lush direction. That direction is experimentation with vibrantly patina-ted metals. I cannot get over how incredibly exciting these metals are to look at, and the idea that the author has now offered her tutorial to the purchaser in a beautifully photographed, well written, exciting to view and easy to understand tutorial is a fantastic opportunity for eager learners who love new, beautiful concepts based on the classic wonderful idea of patina- ted metal.

Using patina on metal is an old idea based on what happens to metals over time when they age. I remember giving my mother a pair of green verdigris bronze (I think) candlesticks for our porch, which I had chosen because I thought they would look pretty there.  My mother appeared to loved them, but right as I sat there, she laid out some newspapers on the porch coffee table, grabbed some dirt from outside with a trowel, and began "ageing" the candlesticks to her satisfaction  by rubbing dirt all over them. It sounds funny, and it was funny to me at the time, but they were just too perfect looking until she patina-ted them in this fashion. When she was done, they looked 100 percent better. They looked authentically aged. And kind of dirty. Well, that was then. :)

Concerning Color Drenched Metal, I was blown away by the exacting, exciting directions, the thoroughness of the instructions, the specificness of the suggestions concerning materials which you can and cannot use when you  plan to patina  metal, what you can purchase, where you can obtain it to complete your projects and finally, the flat-out, trailblazing originality of this offering.

It is amazing. A complete wonder of a tutorial. Ms. Levart worked hard on this and it shows. She took out all the bugs and mistakes by using her own experiences to write Color Drenched Metal.

PS: Did I mention the incredibly vivid colors available and the mixing and overlaying of colors you can learn to do? It is SO cool!

Do NOT miss it!


reviewed by jean