Sneak peek! Seal rings with their wax seals - precious metal clay/fine silver - for my next posting to the group. #14
I AM obsessed and I like it that way. I'm just sitting here thinking of ring ideas, doing laundry, thinking of ring ideas, doing the dishes, thinking of ring ideas, stalking my favorite etsy shop before the new things go live, thinking of ideas for rings, looking outside at the sky, "nice day we're having", thinking of ring ideas, drawing pictures, sending my daughter off to swim practice at 5:45 in the morning with a bag of dry cheerios that she likes and a travel cup full of hot tea and then back to bed for a couple of hours, dreaming of rings, it's a nice pastime and I think I'll keep doing it until something comes up to stop me. Oh dang, rings!
Short and sweet! I'm focused and not and yes focused again. Ha, ha! It's nice to have the luxury of open time and space to watch my mind's train of thought feed, record some of that on paper and spend some hours with my head up in the clouds. Wheeeeee!
RAW 9/52 - wire wrapped agate
Remember when we used to make rings with the thin plastic coated telephone wire left behind by the phone man? This is a ring I've loved making and can't get enough of the wire wrapped style.
RAW 10/52 - daisy ring
This is all metal clay. The pattern was made with a rubber stamp and I painted some thick pmc paste on the back and then scratched/carved some lines in it.
I raised the band up high and gave it a sort of pedestal so it stands up about a quarter of an inch above the hand. It floats!
I got a great patina on this one! It could have been magic even.
RAW 11/52 - I really am seeing a kind of theme here - stars, flowers, circles, ovals . . .
This was a blast to make! All the parts were sawed out, brass, copper, fine silver, and then I used a dapping block to shape the silver piece to fit the stone so those are tabs around a 10mm ocean picture stone cab. Each layer was either hammer textured or stamped and six brass escutcheon pin rivets hold it all together.
AND I have to say that it's impossible to rivet into a tiny space like that with a hammer and I did use a hammer handpiece that I got about 6 years ago. Oh lucky me!
RAW 12/52 - rainbow moonstone!
I made this metal clay bezel and ring for the big rainbow moonstone and the bezel was too small so I cut it in 3 places and MADE IT FIT!
I still posted it because I like how the impression on the bezel and the band match in intensity and depth and I still think it works although part of the outcome really came about because of a lucky mistake.
RAW13/52 - larimar
a beautiful stone I got from this shop on etsy. I love this stone!
This larimar fit into it's metal clay bezel and worked the way I wanted it to because I made the bezel from PMC 3 and fired it for two hours, then I shaped it to fit the stone and attached it to the already fired base and fired it again. I used a 10mm argentium round wire for the band and soldered it on with easy solder. The gem was slipped into the bezel and the bezel pushed in around the stone. Because the bezel was pretty thick, it took me a while to get it to sit right. So next time I make a ring this way, I'm going to make the bezel strip thinner.
Now, I am making my next ring and it's almost finished. I got a shipment of interesting bezel strips from Metalliferous in NYC last week and also one from another seller on etsy who sells brass bezel strips. Look what I got!
I can hardly wait to use these new things in my creations.
I also got a beautiful ring one day from nova of sweden. She is a marvel!
You know sometimes you get lucky and wait and watch and then all of a sudden there it is, IN . YOUR . SIZE . and . YOUR . STYLE . and it calls you over and grabs you and won't let go. I've been wearing it almost every day. That on one hand and one of my own on the other. I am immersed in rings!
And I'm being careful with my supplies. I'm trying my best to think things through before I commit so that I don't waste the precious materials I have. They're precious to me.
I've also been on the lookout for things that aren't so precious but still catch my eye that I could include in a ring. Like these silver plated copper sequins:
and this red glass glitter:
aren't they pretty? I got them at a big sale at Addison Endpapers in Berkeley.
And then there's the kinetic ring challenge coming up on March 27th . . . thinking about how I am going to make this ring . . .
I had a super fun birthday last Wednesday and got so many birthday greetings from friends near and far that my head was spinning! If you're reading this, and you were one of them, thank you!
A very interesting thing happen to me that day and I was hoping some of you would try this out on your birthday - go to the google home page and see if it has a birthday celebration icon for you like I did, and then roll over it with your mouse and pay attention because I think you'll get a surprise - like this. Click on the picture for more detail.
I am not kidding and it was real and if that doesn't make you feel special then I am just a softie! . . . and happy to be one too.
