camp hanoum

My friend Scott Schreiber posted this picture to Flickr, and I love it. Pictured are girls working in the metal shop at Camp Hanoum in Vermont. It is from the publication Jewelry & Enameling by Greta Pack, 1941.

212/365 gitmo redux

I wasn't happy with the ambiguity of yesterday's ring, so I made another. This one has slightly more detail, is about 1/2 the size, and roughly the same scale as the other rings in the series. I still don't think it's as successful as the others.

Monkey with a Basket II, brass.

211/365 guantanamo bay

I think this one is too ambiguous, I may go back and add more detail.
I've decided to call this series American Terror.

Monkey with a Basket, brass.

Sensory deprivation at Camp X-Ray. The prisoners were shackled and made to wear goggles, ear muffs, surgical masks, and gloves.

210/365 copper

An adjustable copper ring for a friend.

209/365 duracell abu ghraib

This one is pretty over the top, I prefer the subtlety of the other rings in this series. I was in the studio until 5am and had to see the battery idea through to the end, just to see if I could do it. Nickel silver, copper, duracell battery - held together with duct tape and play doh.

I am finally on track and caught up with rings!

208/365 abu ghraib

This is the image I remember best from the Abu Ghraib photos. Out of context it might be called Boy with Land Tortoise. Copper.


Playing around with some ideas for display. I'd prefer that the rings be viewed first without the photos, so this isn't going to work. I do like the minimal stand.

207/365 abu ghraib

nickel silver.

Another in what may be a developing series, this ring has a little more detail than the others.

206/365 cummings

I have recommitted to making one ring per day without skipping, and had hoped to avoid a paper quickie so soon, but I had to say goodbye to an old friend today and I don't have it in me to get to the studio. The poem is by ee cummings.

love is more thicker than forget
more thinner than recall
more seldom than a wave is wet
more frequent than to fail

it is most mad and moonly
and less it shall unbe
than all the sea which only
is deeper than the sea

love is less always than to win
less never than alive
less bigger than the least begin
less littler than forgive

it is most sane and sunly
and more it cannot die
than all the sky which only
is higher than the sky

featured: Mary Lu Wason

Mary Lu Wason makes beautiful jewelry, many of her pieces incorporate things she finds on her ocean walks. I'm in love with her beach glass and sterling silver rings, I especially like the way the scrolled bands elevate the glass.

Mary Lu Wason, ring 144/365

204&205/365 abu ghraib

204/365, copper

Two silhouette rings made from photos documenting the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

Before I actually started sawing the copper sheet for this ring I was thinking about crucifixion, but now the gesture seems more resolute and graceful, like an actor taking a bow at the final curtain. He appears very dignified to me.

205/365, nickel silver. This one calls to mind the KKK and has a sinister feel.

I see now that when I prepared the digital image before sawing I didn't keep the proportions of the original, so the figure is 'smooshed' from the top. Funny how the camera shows us things.

I think of this image as one of the most iconic photos depicting the atrocities perpetrated by American soldiers, there are electrical wires clipped to the prisoner's fingers.

ring a day stats

Mike Stromberg, Reliquary for St Eloy's Finger Bone.
Sterling silver, cubic zirconia, pearl. Ring 204/365.

Mike Stromberg of Mike and Mary Jewelry has done some calculating for the Ring a Day project, and to date:

the number of participants who have produced rings = 118
the total number of rings produced = 7512 (give or take 100)

Wow - and we've got 5 more months to go!

Shannon Conrad, ring 200/365.

Sterling silver, vintage brass envelope charm, stamped brass letter.

I've done some tallying myself, and out of 118 people, only 17 have made more than 170 rings. Yesterday was the 205th day of the year, of the 17 only 4 people are right on target, and just 5 of us are within 6 rings of the goal. Some of my numbers may be off by one or two, and I might have missed someone as I looked at what was posted in the group pool recently.

Maria Apostolou - 201
amuckdesign - 205
rubygirl jewelry/Shannon Conrad - 205
markasky/Evelyn Markasky - 190
Nina Gibson - 172
me/metalriot - 203
poohnted/Carrie Nunes - 178
polymerclaybeads/Ponsawan - 174
Kathryn Riechert - 189
Vagabond Jewelry/Kest - 201
metalnat/natalia gomensoro - 172
Mary Lu Wason - 200
pbcohen/Pamela Cohen - 199
Kathryn Cole - 197
leftwingofthecrow/jaqki - 181
mikeandmaryjewelry/Rachelle Stromberg - 205
mikeandmaryjewelry/Mike Stromberg - 205

Kest Schwartzman, Golden Peas.
Stainless Steel with 18kt Gold accents. Ring 193/365

I've been thinking about my commitment to RAD, and my personal goal has always been to make one ring per day. I've been skipping some days lately and making them up, plus I need to catch up by 2 rings and stay caught up. So I'm recommitting to one ring each day, even if it's made out of paper and sucks (lets hope it doesn't come to that).

The big question is, can I maintain that level of discipline again and not become obsessed as I was a few months ago? I sorta doubt it.

203/365 small me

A silhouette of me when I was eight years old.
Sterling silver and copper.

202/365 gesture

A sort of gesture drawing. It reminds me of Ronald Hayes Pearson - minus the jaw-droppingly beautiful, time-consuming forging and stunningly perfect finish, of course. Sterling silver.

201/365 solder inlay

An experiment in gold and silver solder inlay in copper, sterling silver band.

200/365 crack ring

Woot - ring number 200! Another split band design made of sterling, my friend Iris is calling it the Divorce Ring.

199/365 split band

A variation on the split band theme. Sterling silver.

ring a day blog & exhibition

EtsyMetal has launched a Ring a Day blog, and recently announced that the Ring a Day Project has been accepted as an exhibition for the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) upcoming Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington.

The exhibit will feature 365 rings, representing a ring a day and encompassing the full span of the year 2010. Represented work will range from ephemeral and conceptual art rings to functional jewelry. The layout will also include photographic documentation of select temporary and conceptual art rings.

Yay!