Six Rings - Part One

A while back I made a couple of rings with square stones.  They weren't exactly alike, but similar enough that they went well together stacked.  A customer bought them and asked me to make another, similar but not the same, so she would have three to stack.  When she picked up the set, she asked if I could make three more.  She wanted a total of six, three with smaller stones, three with larger.

When I made the first three, sterling silver clay was not yet available, so they are fine silver.  I made them thick enough so they would be fairly strong, but I knew the two colors of silver wouldn't match perfectly.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make all six out of the new sterling silver.  They would be stronger and all six would match in color.

I made a prototype ring.  I came out great, but didn't shrink as much as I thought it would.  But now I have a good idea of ring shrinkage on sterling, which doesn't seem to be anywhere near the 25% shrinkage rate I have read.

So accounting for the new shrinkage factor, I started making the rings.  For thin rings like this, I use a method I developed so that the ring shank is seamless (rather than cutting a strip and wrapping it around a mandrel and joining it).   I started writing a blog post about the process a long time ago, but never got around to publishing it.  I will give a step by step tutorial at some point, but right now I will just go over the highlights of making this particular set of rings.

I cut all the ring shanks out of sterling silver clay and left them on brass tubes so they would keep their shape while drying.  It also gives you something to hold onto when working with the shanks.  I usually only do a rough shape in the wet clay and do most of my work in the dry clay state.

Because I made a mistake when ordering the stones, I only had the larger stones, so I set aside three of the shanks for later and roughly set the three stones in clay.  The colors are hard to see in this picture but they are deep purple, sapphire blue and ruby red.  The stones are absolutely gorgeous.  I may have to make something for myself with the ones I have left.

I then start filing the ring shanks so they are an even thickness all the way around.  You can see in this picture that I don't cut them completely round because I want to have the top of the ring have some kind of a shape.

I put them all on the same tube so I could file them together and be sure the sizes and shapes of the shanks matched.

After I do some rough shaping of the shank, I will also roughly shape the stone setting and then attach it to the shank with slip.

In the photo below, you can see all three drying.  On a couple of them, you can see marks where I have drawn out the shape in Sharpie.

After they are dry, I fill in the gaps with clay and build up areas that might need it.  Once that is all done, I start on the refining of the shape.  On the ring below, I wanted the stone to be held on just two sides and so I carved away the clay where I wanted it to be open.  You can't see it very well in the photo because of the angle, but the opening goes under the stone and right through to the other side.  Once this ring is fired, the shrinkage will hold the stone in place securely.

I also wanted to carve a little design on the sides of each ring as something special that only the wearer can really see.  You can see that I have sketched it out in pencil and below shows my favorite tool for carving like this.  It's just an awl with a shortened shaft.  It has a nice sharp point and gives a pretty good impression.

Finally, after sanding, shaping and refining the surface on each ring, I carved a design on each.  The very last thing I do before firing is to thoroughly clean the surface of the ring so that there is no dust left on it.  Also cleaning the stone with alcohol is necessary because any dust left over from sanding will fuse to the stone during firing.

Here are the three rings ready to be fired.  Sterling clay requires a two-part firing, which I will discuss in my next post.

Upcoming Class Schedule

This winter/spring I will be teaching some classes through the RSU 24 Adult Education.  I have listed them below.  They will all be held at my studio, located at 130 Oak Street, Suite One (bottom floor), Ellsworth, Maine.  To register, you can visit http://rsu24.maineadulted.org.  Feel free to email me with any questions at info@willowandme.com.


 
COPPER CLAY

Mondays, January 23 and 30 and February 6 and 13, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

With the rising cost of silver, many people are turning to alternative metals to make jewelry. In this class we will explore copper clay using Metal Clay Adventures' COPPRClay and Art Clay Copper. This class will be suitable for beginners or for those who have used other metal clays and would like to try copper clay. We will discuss the differences between the brands of copper clay as well as how they differ from other metal clays. We will learn techniques for making several pieces of jewelry. The instructor will have tools available for use in class and tool kits are available for purchase ($40). A supplies fee of $50 will be payable to the instructor on the first class, which will include a 50 gram packages of each kind of clay and other necessary supplies.

Metal clays are mediums in which metal is suspended in an organic binder which can be worked much like modeling clay. It can be shaped and molded. When fired at a high temperature the binder burns off, leaving a pure metal piece. Metal clays come in many varieties including silver, bronze and copper.

 PMC FOR BEGINNERS

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 9:00 to 3:30
Bring a bag lunch (a refrigerator and microwave are available)

Learn to make your own fine silver jewelry with Precious Metal Clay. PMC is a clay with fine silver particles in an organic binder that can be worked much like any other clay, and when fired at a high temperature, the binder burns away, leaving a pure silver piece. Students will work the clay in all forms, from wet clay through the firing process. Many techniques will be covered, with plenty of time for experimentation and questions. At the end of the course, you will have, at a minimum a finished necklace and pair of earrings, as well as the skills and knowledge to work with PMC on your own. A tool kit and supplies will be available for purchase from the instructor. The cost for the tool kit, which includes everything you will need to work with PMC, a 16 gram package of PMC, and the findings to finish a necklace and a pair of earrings is $75.00. Additional PMC will be available for purchase.

BRONZE CLAY

Mondays,  April 23 and 30 and May 7 and 14, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

With the rising cost of silver, many people are turning to alternative metals to make jewelry. In this class we will explore bronze clay using Metal Clay Adventures' Fast Fire BronzClay. This class will be suitable for beginners or for those who have used other metal clays and would like to try bronze clay. We will discuss the differences between bronze clay and other metal clays and learn techniques for making several pieces of jewelry. The instructor will have tools available for use in class and tool kits are available for purchase ($40). A supplies fee of $40 will be payable to the instructor on the first class, which will include a 100 gram package of Fast Fire BronzClay and other necessary supplies.

Metal clays are mediums in which metal is suspended in an organic binder which can be worked much like modeling clay. It can be shaped and molded. When fired at a high temperature the binder burns off, leaving a pure metal piece. Metal clays come in many varieties including silver, bronze and copper.



OPEN STUDIOS:  For those accustomed to coming in for Open Studios on Monday nights, on weeks that there are classes, Open Studios will be held on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 8:30.  Non-class weeks will have Open Studios on Mondays as usual.

New Classes for Fall are Up!

Now that it's October (I still can't believe time is going so fast!), I have finalized my list of classes for the rest of the year.  For those of you who have taken my classes before, you will be familiar with the format, for everyone else:  I have mixed level classes every Monday night from 5:30 to 8:30, each evening with a different subject relating to metal clay.  Students are welcome to come into the studio any time after 4:00 to work independently until the class starts. Others who wish to work on their own but do not wish to participate in the class are also welcome.  One thing that is different is that each class is priced separately, depending on the subject matter.  Some classes go more than one week.

I have had a lot of requests for bronze and copper clay classes, since the price of silver keeps rising, so my first two classes will be quick "tastes" of bronze and copper clay.  Because of the nature of firing these clays, classes must be split into two evenings.  This class will be appropriate for those who have used silver clay before and want to try the bronze and copper clays, as well as for those who have never used clay before.

I will also have classes on making your own textures with some new techniques I learned when I was at Haystack as well as hollow forms and one evening dedicated to working with dry clay in which I will have lots of tips, tricks and demonstrations, including how to reconstitute clay.  This is a great thing to know if you tend to accumulate a lot of shavings and leftovers.

Two Saturday workshops are also scheduled.  They are geared towards beginners but any levels are welcome to participate.

I have worked hard to make it easy for you to register for classes.  You can register right through my website and pay with PayPal or credit card or reserve a space and indicate you will be paying by cash or check.  One thing to note is that deadline for registration for a class is one week prior to the beginning of class to be sure we have enough supplies for everyone.

You can see full descriptions of these classes as well as register at www.willowandme.com/register.  Each is also on my calendar, which you can find at www.willowand.com/showschedule.  I will also be adding these as events to my Facebook Page, which you can check often for updates.  That will be the best place to check for cancellations as well.  I am very excited about these classes.  I hope to see you there.