More adventures in metalsmithing

What: Ring
Materials: Silver, copper, brass, hematite cabochon

Like the Ouroboros bracelet, this is a project from the metalsmithing course I took in college. This was our first major project, and the assignment was to design a ring. We had to have a cabochon and I think we also had to choose more than one metal to make the ring out of. The design is fun, but as far as practicality is concerned the ring is too tall to be used on my fingers, at least. It was made to be a thumb ring, and the height of the ring does constrict the mobility of my thumb's knuckle. This didn't count against the final score, since nothing was said about it having to be a wearable ring, but I was hoping for a little bit of functionality.

As far as motivation and artistic choices are concerned, I knew going into the project that I wanted to use three metals. I've always liked the look of stacked rings, but I wanted to play around with having infrastructure between the stacked rings. In retrospect, I would have played on that idea more in the design process, but I'm okay with the ring as it is because of its simplicity. I chose hematite as the central cabochon to tie the piece together because of its metallic luster and sharp contrast to the other three elements, as opposed to other metallic stones such as pyrite. I'm certainly a fan of pyrite, but the color would have been too similar to the brass and would have thrown off the balance of the piece, which I did want to maintain. Onyx was an option, but again, I liked the theme of metallics and wanted that unification to continue into the stone.

Truth be told, I'm not sure I ever actually named this piece. Not that every piece of jewelry needs to have a name or title, I just suppose that as my very first metalsmithing venture I should have been a bit more commemorative in its naming. I've had this ring for almost three years now, though, so it seems pointless to name it now. There will be more rings for me to name in the future!

Revvin' up the WABAC machine!

In the interest of doing things with my life like updating this blog, I think I'm going to cheat a little and post a couple pictures of old projects while I get around to photographing more recent jewelry adventures. The subject of this photo is titled "Ourobouros" from the mythological serpent consuming its own tail signifying infinity. It was designed to be worn as a bangle bracelet, but it works better as an arm cuff. It's made entirely of copper with a liver of sulfur patina, and it was created during a semester of jewelry making and metalsmithing taught by a graduate assistant at the university I attended. I wish I could give more detail about the construction, but I'm not sure I could do better than "texturing, sawing, hammering, soldering, anticlastic raising, more hammering, swearing, more soldering, more swearing, patina, polish, finally get some sleep before the class presentation."

*Note: "WABAC" is indeed pronounced "wayback," and if you recognize that particular acronym, you've watched entirely too much Rocky and Bullwinkle.

**Extra note: This photo was not photographed by me, but rather by the university photographer that frequently photographs student artwork for the department's use. The bracelet, however, is my design and construction.