Ring A Week Number 3

For my third ring in the Ring A Week challenge, I've created a Floral Branch Ring to add to my Floral Branch Collection. This hand fabricated ring was hand cut from a sheet of sterling silver using my jeweler's hand saw, formed and then soldered. I really enjoy cutting intricate shapes and find this work to be meditative and relaxing. I was happy with the result, although there are modifications I would make to a second ring.

Below are some photos of the ring in process, showing the various stages of piercing, freeing the ring from the silver sheet.

And here are some other pieces in my Floral Branch Collection:

The Ring A Week Flickr pool grows with each day and there are many wonderful rings being created for this challenge. Check it out here.

To have faith is to have wings :: RAW #2

"To have faith is to have wings." I love this quote from Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie. For my second ring in the Ring A Week Challenge, I've hand written and etched this quote, along with the author's name, onto this hand fabricated sterling silver ring featuring my etched wings design. I've oxidized this piece to enhance the etched wings and words, but as with my last ring I also really liked the brushed silver version:

If you'd like to see the rings by others participating in the Ring A Week Challenge, please check out the photos posted in the Flickr group.

Ring A Week Challenge

This year I am participating in the Ring a Week Challenge. Participating artists will make one ring each week and post it to the Flickr group. I intend to also blog about each ring I create. This challenge was inspired by last year's Ring a Day challenge. While I didn't participate last year (I didn't think I could keep up), I really enjoyed seeing the creativity of the artists who participated and I'm excited about taking part in this new challenge for 2011.

For my first ring, I made this etched sterling silver band, pictured above. I painted random marks directly onto the band and then scratched through the center of each mark with a fine, sharp tool before etching the band. The result is a deeply textured ring. While my intent was simply a ring with abstract, textured marks, I see feathers, wings, soaring birds in this etched design; a happy accident.

I considered leaving the ring brushed silver. I really liked the delicate frosty appearance, but I chose to oxidize the band to highlight the texture. Below is the ring before I oxidized it.

Five years from now....

It's time for the Handmade Division's monthly Talk About, meaning that many of our members blog about a common topic. This months topic is: Where do you aspire to be in five years?

I like to dream about the future. I enjoy my life and my work very much, but there are times, while working in my space-challenged home studio, that I dream of working in a larger, separate space. I envision purchasing a small building and having a combined studio/storefront. I imagine having a large, organized studio with plenty of room for all of my metalsmithing tools, perhaps a separate space for my friend, Julia, and I to set up our letterpress workshop, and, if my husband chooses to share in the dream with me, a space for his studio/workshop too. I like the idea of having a shop/gallery up front to sell our creations and perhaps the work of some of our artist friends as well. Our dogs would come to work with me each day; they'd both enjoy greeting our customers.

Take a look at other members' blogs and read about their plans for the future:

Andes Cruz: http://www.andescruz.wordpress.com/
Tess Norberg: http://www.nova-designs.blogspot.com/
Rebekah Timlin Meddles: http://www.lunasadesigns.blogspot.com/
Jewelry by Natsuko: http://www.jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/Bella-Bijou
Bella-Bijou Jewellery: http://www.bellabijoujewellery.blogspot.com/
JJ Papke: http://www.rosyrevolver.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
Tosca Teran: www.nanopod.wordpress.com
Thomasin Durgin: http://metalriot.blogspot.com/

It's Talk About Time

This month the Handmade Division's Talk About topic is: Talk about a teacher you'd like to study with. In last month's Talk About post, I mentioned that I'd like to take classes at the Revere Academy in San Francisco. Specifically, I'd love to study with master goldsmith Alan Revere. Several years ago, I purchased his Revere on Goldsmithing DVD series and it was money well spent. (For anyone considering this purchase, I recommend buying the entire set at once, which offers a bit of a savings.) These DVDs are packed with great instruction and fantastic tips. I learned so much from them and watched some of them more than once. I also love his book, 101 Bench Tips for Jewelers. The tips are great. For example, this book taught me how to modify my ring bending pliers which has made these pliers much more functional and turned them into a tool I love and use frequently.

Having learned so much from Alan Revere in print and on screen, I hope to one day study with him in person.

Please check out other Handmade Division members' blogs to learn who they would like to study with:

Andes Cruz: http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
Nancy Dale: http://nedbeads.blogspot.com/
Tosca Teran: http://nanopod.wordpress.com/
Rickson Jewellery: http://www.ricksonart.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
Sand Fibers: http://sandfibers.blogspot.com/
Purified: http://purifiedart.blogspot.com/
Emily Watson http://nocoloratall.tumblr.com/
Thomasin Durgin: http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear http://wattoonline.blogspot.com/
Pink Crow Studio: http://pinkcrowstudio.typepad.com/

How did I get here?

It's time for the Handmade Division's Talk About. Each month members blog about a given topic. This month's topic question is: Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are now with your skills?

My path toward metalsmithing and jewelry making began in a roundabout way while I was a grad student, studying medieval literature. I loved the program and the literature, but was not certain that I'd enjoy a career in academia. One day I happened to visit a fun little rubber stamp store and signed up for their mailing list. A fellow shopper noticed my handwriting on the sign up sheet and asked if I had ever taken calligraphy classes. I hadn't, but the idea intrigued me. She recommended a fantastic calligrapher/instructor in the area. I took some time off from grad school while trying to make a decision about my future, and meanwhile signed up for a calligraphy class. I loved it and pursued additional calligraphy classes. It was fascinating to learn traditional illumination in one of the calligraphy classes, having studied illuminated manuscripts in grad school.

For quite a few years since becoming a calligrapher, I've been fortunate to participate in a monthly artistic exchange with nine talented calligraphers from across the US and Canada. In 2006, I experimented with etching my calligraphy into metal for our monthly swap and from there I became interested in metalsmithing. Meanwhile, I had envisioned and search for a piece of meaningful jewelry but never quite found what I had in mind. It occurred to me that perhaps I could make what I had envisioned, and that's when I began making jewelry. I am primarily self taught, but early on I began to wonder about "proper" technique and if I was going about it all in the right way. I had learned while studying calligraphy how important it is to learn correct technique from the start since it can be difficult to unlearn poor habits. I enrolled in a metalsmithing class but it was terribly disappointing. More than once I drove well over an hour to this class only to learn when I arrived that the instructor had canceled class with no notice. There was no new information, and some of what was taught was actually incorrect. I regretted wasting the time and money on that class. From there I continued learning on my own but with the help of some fantastic DVD resources, such as Alan Revere's Goldsmithing DVD series, in addition to a collection of fantastic books. I dream of one day taking classes at the Revere Academy or Penland School of Crafts, but for now I continue to experiment on my own and work to expand my skill set.

Here are a few glimpes of my earliest pieces:

My first etching experiment in copper:

My first piece of jewelry, a hand carved ring:

My first etched jewelry piece:

I often wish I could thank the woman I encountered in the rubber stamp store, for had I not fallen in love with calligraphy, I would not have discovered a passion for metalsmithing or combined these two skills. Perhaps she will read this post and recognize herself.

Be sure to check out other members' blogs to read their thoughts on this topic:

Andes Cruz - http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
Tess Norberg - http://www.nova-designs.blogspot.com/
Jaime Pickering - http://bellabijoujewellery.blogspot.com/
Purified - http://purifiedart.blogspot.com/
Nancy Dale - http://www.nedbeads.blogspot.com/
Jewelry by Natsuko - http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/
Sand Fibers - http://sandfibers.blogspot.com/
Alice Istanbul - http://istanbuldesigns.blogspot.com/
Thomasin Durgin - http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Susan Moloney - http://susarto.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr - http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
Emily Watson- http://nocoloratall.tumblr.com/
Tosca Teran- http://www.nanopod.wordpress.com/
Tamra Gentry - http://www.jewelrydesignchronicles.com/
JJ Papke- http://rosyrevolver.blogspot.com/
Alisa Miller- http://alisamiller.blogspot.com/
Mary Spencer- http://www.wattoonline.blogspot.com/

Inspirations

It's time for the Handmade Division's monthly Talk About; participating members blog on a given topic. This month's topic is: Where do you draw your creative inspirations from?

I am often inspired by small elements in nature, as well as by words. A great quote, my current reading list, or favorite poetry are all creative sources for me. My recent luna moth piece is an example inspired by both nature and words, combining one of my nature drawings with poetry. The luna moth is a favorite insect. I kept bumping into the creature in my reading this summer, first while rereading Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, and shortly after in a magazine article. It seemed time to work with luna moth imagery. I wanted to create a dimensional piece that incorporated poetry. Since I am not a poet, I began searching through some favorite public domain texts for suitable verse. I came across a poem,"The Wife from Fairyland," by Richard Le Gallienne and fell in love with four lines:

Green leaves and silence and two eyes--

'T was so she seemed to me,

A silver shadow of the woods,

Whisper and mystery.

The words inspired part of the design. I used them as background, hand lettered in copperplate script and etched into the silver cupped portion of the piece. Rather than oxidizing the words for contrast, to make them stand out and become more legible, I chose to leave the background silver, the words a subtle fluid texture, whisper and mystery. The etched luna moth hovers above, casting its silver shadow across the words.

This Luna Moth Necklace was included in the recent Art on the Wabash exhibit.

Please visit other Handmade Division members' blogs to discover their inspirations:

Andes Cruz: http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
Susan Moloney: http://susarto.blogspot.com/
Alice Istanbul: http://istanbuldesigns.blogspot.com/
Rebekah Meddles (Lunasa Designs Jewelry): http://lunasadesigns.blogspot.com/
Jewelry by Natsuko http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/
nanotopia: http://nanopod.wordpress.com/
Bella-Bijou Jewellery http://bellabijoujewellery.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
ArtJewel Designs: http://www.artjeweldesigns.blogspot.com/
Thomasin Durgin http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Abhaya Fibers http://abhayafibers.blogspot.com/