Sculpting and wax work
Using special kinds of waxes that are specifically for jewelry making, I will carefully and painstakingly sculpt and carve my pieces. This is what the pieces look like before I bring them over to my local casting company so they can turn them into whatever metal I need. The technique is called lost wax casting, and it's an ancient and fascinating process. You can give it a read on Wikipedia if you're curious.
Hand Fabrication
Sculpting the piece isn't always the best method, so I will often saw, grind, hammer, shape, and solder my pieces into being. This is a messy and exciting process. It's very satisfying looking back at a piece you created out of raw materials like wire and sheet metal.