Ring A Week No. 28

For my twenty-eighth Ring A Week ring, I fabricated a sterling silver band and added a 14K gold orb that I made by melting some of my gold scrap. I gave both band and orb a brushed finish. While this is a very simple design, I really like it a lot, perhaps because it reminds me a bit of my wedding ring, minus the diamond (see below).

The Hummingbird :: Ring A Week No. 25

I recently found a dead male hummingbird in our yard. I hoped he was merely stunned, but upon closer inspection it became clear that he was deceased. I buried him in a pleasant area near some bushes and pondered the life of this small, amazing creature, one of my favorite birds. My friend, Kathy, suggested I create a piece of jewelry "to honor and celebrate the fragile, yet beautiful life of the hummingbird. It reminds us that all life is fragile." Another friend, Julie, suggested creating one of my Ring A Week rings in his honor. I thought these were lovely ideas.

This ring has resulted from their suggestions and from some design motifs I've been working with lately. I hand cut the tiny hummingbird and flowers from a sheet of 14K gold and soldered them to a sterling circle which I then cupped and soldered to a hand fabricated sterling band. I oxidized the silver and I really love the striking contrast between the blackened silver and the gold. This ring is one of my personal favorites, perhaps my favorite piece that I've created to date.

Below is the ring before I oxidized it. I've also posted some progress photos to my facebook business page, which you can see here.

I've made several other mixed metal pieces combining silver and gold that are now available in my new Etsy Shop Here are four of them:

Pebble Ring :: Ring A Week No. 23

I recently melted down my gold scrap and made some little 14k gold balls. I soldered several balls together, intending for them to look like round bubbles floating on the band. I didn't like the look of it. The balls were too round and they looked odd connected to each other but with open space between them. They did not look like bubbles. I then flattened the tops of the balls a bit, gave each a more organic shape, and then soldered them to a sterling background, cutting a nice contour around the gold pebbles and finally soldering the assembly to a sterling band. I oxidized the silver for contrast and I really like how the dark background shows off the gold pebbles. I'm happy with how this piece turned out.