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9th Annual Art-a-Day Challenge, January 2018!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Rings, Rings and Repurposing

What's with rings?  I never make rings and have done 3 now.  hunh...
With little time for the studio the last two days, I looked for quick, easy ideas from scraps....


 Yesterday: The salamander/lizard is a failed casting.  Appears its front and back cooled first then snapped at its narrow point before it could set.  The ring portion was once a hoop earring. All sterling.
 Today: This 14k gold-filled ring was smashed and twisted when its stone was removed. I straightened and cleaned it and added three fresh water pearls...  (gold-filled is like gold-plated has a thicker layer of gold).

I didn't want to solder anything for fear the gold would be absorbed into the base metal so I set the pearls in this nifty new product I found called Sugru http://sugru.com/  It's a clay that air-cures.  The color was drab so I added a bit of 23k gold leaf to perk it up.


Two of our kids headed back to Portland tonight so we are back to normal around here. It's been WONDERFUL having everyone home and will also be good to spend tomorrow in the studio.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool Bobi...I honor and am amazed at your knowledge of how metal will act and react. I'll be in the studio today too. I like to think of the art-vibes zapping between us. Hey did you ever figure out the gallery in the basement? Couldn't place what you were talking about. Sorry to be off line...went into a bit of a down-spin. Interesting how a day in the studio will push that yucky stuff right out of me.

Jim Bumgarner said...

Cool that you can click on the photos and see them greatly enlarged in the window that opens. My dad used to make rings like those. He was a welder/pipefitter by trade, so his artistic outlet was in jewelry. My mom, wife, sister, and daughter still wear the stuff he gave them for birthdays and Christmas. He passed in '95, so they are precious pieces for the family. Thanks for the warmth in my heart this morning, Bobi. Too bad about that little salamander, can you make him a brace?

Lara said...

Bobi, can I take lessons from you? Silver-casting? I'm actually very serious. How much for lessons? I'm trying to learn anything and everything that I can.

Bobi Wilson said...

Lara, apologies for late response.
I don't know about teaching but willing to explore with you. I have most all the equipment and some knowledge but not a lot of experience. My studio is a potential fire hazard so haven't dared yet.