my rings at the metal museum

RAD 185/365
Cicada, sterling silver, wrapping paper, ribbon, painter's tape.

Last week the National Ornamental Metal Museum contacted me about the possibility of showing my Ring a Day rings. I met with them today and they want to show both my Ring a Day and Ring a Week pieces in the fall, one large case for each body of work - probably 60-70 pieces. I will write separate artists statements for each case/project. The show will be up for Repair Days, the biggest metal carnival in these parts.

I am so excited!

(More featured daily rings are coming, seriously.)

erin austin has finished ring a day!!!!!

281/365
Linoleum stamp, Ink

Erin Austin started Ring a Day late last year and has had the tenacity to keep going on her own since the rest of us finished Jan 31. Her work is stellar and she gave me enormous support as I trudged through RAD. Watch for her Ring a Week work! Here is a collection of rings that Erin made in the New Year.

319/365
paper

332/365
paper

334/365
copper

314/365
foldformed copper

323/365
"I crush your head"
paper, graphite

and Erin's LAST RING:

365/365
copper

Check out Evelyn Markasky's blog post on Erin.

8/52 an eyeful

sterling silver, prehnite

I was talking with a friend last night about feeling stressed out because I hadn't yet started my ring. He said it was no wonder I'm stressed - I'm trying to build the Eiffel Tower every week. That put some things into perspective and tonight my goal was to make a ring that's an eyeful, rather than an eiffel ring. I went into the studio with no plan and had a really fun and relaxing time. I have avoided setting this gorgeous piece of prehnite because I was intimidated by the curved bottom. It worked out ok!

thoughts on ring a week

Ring a Day 47/365

Welcome to the very first Ring a Week (RAW) blog carnival! Some of the RAW participants have chosen to write on the question, "What was your inspiration for participating in Ring a Week?"

I made a ring a day (RAD) last year and that project was more about finding new ideas than it was about making cohesive and well-planned work. With RAW I want to take more time designing and fabricating rings, I want each piece to be extensively thought out and well-finished. For RAD my ideas were all over the place - I needed a lot of variety to stick with the project. My goal for Ring a Week is to maintain a disciplined art making practice and to end the year with a cohesive body of small, wearable sculpture.

My secondary goals for RAW are to improve my stone setting skills, never miss a Sunday deadline, and start to incorporate some of my conceptual ideas into the work. I am moving to a production style of jewelry making this year (uggh) with a wholesale line, and making art for RAW will provide some balance.

We're seven rings into the year and I find I am only meeting some of my goals. The last three weeks I've put off fabrication until Sunday despite designing the rings early in the week. I've ultimately been unsatisfied with the work because I can't take the time to properly solve problems. I can't step away and come back fresh, or make sure I have the right materials ahead of time, and I haven't had time to suitably finish the rings. I'll keep working on it - onward and upward!

Please visit the blogs of these RAW participants to read their thoughts:

Marcie Abney
Amy Nicole
Janice
Aleksandra Micic
Lana Chu
Evelyn Markasky
Lorena Angulo
Kate Jones
Maria Apostolou
Rebecca Bogan
Laura M (Zoeowyn)
Kimberly (bahamadawn)
Erin Austin
Catherine Witherell
Michele Grady
Joan Furilla
Kathryn Cole

pearl and carnelian

sterling silver, saltwater pearl, carnelian

Ring plus pendant. Once again I procrastinated until day 7,
nevertheless I'm very happy with this one.

what is real?

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful."When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

- from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

my first spinner ring

sterling silver and acid etched copper

My first spinner, commissioned by a friend. The copper ring spins freely around the band.