Feb Blog Carnival - A Ring A Day

mmmm, so what is a "Blog Carnival" and what is "A Ring A Day"? I hear you ask.

Well, to begin with I belong to a small group of metal artists where we set ourselves little challenges every now and again. the group can be found here etsymetal.com

There is a diverse range of techniques and styles and we principally are there to help one another in our craft. It is great to be part of. The group grows slowly when we invite anyone to apply to join twice a year (Jan & June). The group votes on those who we would like to join.

So that is the group, and within the group we set ourselves little challenges. It is not mandatory to join in, but just fun to do so.

We then also organise a "Blog Carnival". This is where those wishing to particpate, blog on the first Monday of the month, on a given topic.

So this month's topic is "What is you favourite from the Ring A Day?" Now before I go prattling on, the "Ring a Day" challenge was nothing more than a creative exercise to create and record the efforts of making a ring. The given ring had to be neither practical nor useful and any material could be used in the making of it. The exercise was not to produce a commercially viable piece, it was more about getting the creative juices flowing.

My personal favourite from my own creations was turning one of my jewellery books into a ring. As you have probably guessed, it has zero practical use but just makes me laugh.

I have tons of favourites from the other talented jewellers on Flickr, but I haven't worked out how to link to their pics from this blog, so suffice to say you will have to go and check out the Flickr page or more importantly at the bottom of this blog entry, you will find links to other bloggers. Go see what they are chatting about.


We then shared our efforts on a Flickr page.

The most interesting thing for me on the "Ring A Day" challenge, was the number of ideas that came to mind. I now have bags of ideas to make, but the practicality of running my business, creating commissions and being a family man, have meant that I haven't created a ring every single day, I don't see that a s a failure, as I kind of knew that life would get in the way.



Initially, I was thinking how on earth am I going to come up with a new idea every day, but as time progresses, it actually becomes easier.

I never got around to taking pics of some of my creations, but all of them are helping me to develop new designs. You can think of the process of as doodling with materials. Sometimes a texture, a pattern, or the scale of a piece will influence the design of a piece of jewellery that can be made into silver, gold, palladium or platinum.

It is Feb nd I have lots of ideas to make some more "Rings A Day"

I'll be posting those ideas here and on my Flickr page, so feel free to pop by and have a look or drop me a line.


So here are all the Blog Carnival participants. Please do visit and see what they have to say on this month's theme. " A Ring A Day." There are some fab blog entries out there.




Alisa Miller http://alisamiller.blogspot.com
Colleen Baran http://seeseebe.blogspot.com/
Danielle Miller http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
stacey hansen http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com
Chris Parry http://chris-parry.blogspot.com
kerin rose http://kerinrose.blogspot.com
Sara Westermark http://sarawestermark.blogspot.com/
Victoria Takahashi http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/
Su Trindle http://quercussilver.blogspot.com/
Nina Dinoff http://ninadinoff.blogspot.com/
Maureen "Cosmo's Moon" BZ http://cosmosmoonjewelry.blogspot.com
Thomasin Durgin http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Colleen Baran http://seeseebe.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewerly.blogspot.com
Caitlyn Davey/discomedusa http://discomedusa.typepad.com
Catherine Chandler http://catherinechandler.blogspot.com/

Ring A Day

This appeals to my sense of humour.

Part of my ring a day challenge.

Most people display their jewellery to show their wealth and staus in life. Why not just show everyone your spending potential!!!

Nina Dinoff - Saturday Spotlight.

Another in my series of Saturday Spotlight. A very talented jeweller from USA. Here follows a brief interview and some pics of nina's work.


When someone asks you "What do you do?" What is your reply?

This is a hard question as I sort of live a double life. In terms of my jewelry, I usually tell people i design or make jewelry. I consider myself a designer first and foremost since my background is in graphic design and it really is how I approach my jewelry.

Why did you choose this profession?

I have always been designing and making things in some fashion. After many years of working professionally as a graphic designer (mostly in interactive media) I had a great urge to work with my hands on something more personally fulfilling and a lot less corporate. I quit a job I had in 2001 and started playing around with a lot of different things. Knitting, painting, jewelry making. Eventually, I took a metalsmithing class and for the first time in my life I felt like I had found my medium! I don't know if its because I can get a bit restless or not, but I love that when I work in the studio I always have several things going on at once. Its that wonderful combination of the intense concentration you have when you are deeply involved in an intricate detail of something and the energy of being able to move around from one station to the other... saw, sand, solder, pound, sand again, solder again... you know the drill.

Essentially, metalsmithing suits me as it allows me to realize my creative vision and design aesthetic while giving me a medium to work in that i thoroughly enjoy.

What is your favorite skill/technique?

Wow! That is a very difficult question. I suppose you mean one that I already have? As opposed to one I would like to learn? I do tend to love working on methodical things and there is something about hollow forming and bezel making that i really enjoy. I get great satisfaction out of seeing something look very geometric and clean lined.



What skill would you like to learn?

Ah that answers the above question! Right now I am really focused on wanting to improve my stone setting skills. But wax carving is up there. I'd also love to master some great forging techniques.













What is your workshop like? (Any photos)
I share my workspace with two other wonderful jewelers, Paul Deblassie and Martha Coté. I have pictures of the space posted on my Flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninadinoff/sets/72157605842452398/
What is your main goal this year?
I am working very hard to increase awareness of my work and get more wholesale accounts and into galleries. But as for the work itself, I want to keep expanding my collections and growing my skills. Really, what don't I want to achieve!






Please provide links to five of your favorite websites. (Blogs, Artists or Whatever)
Cal Lane http://www.callane.com/
Marian Anderson http://www.marianneanderson.co.uk/
Tone Vigeland http://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/archive/vigeland/start.htm
Betty Cooke http://www.modernsilver.com/BETTYCOOKE.htm
I dont read a lot of blogs but i should! i plan to start one soon. I'll keep you posted.

Where can people find you?

www.ninadinoffjewelry.com
ninadinoff.etsy.com
www.swizzlet.com
++++++++

Thank you Nina.

Saturday Spotlight - Beth Cyr - Jeweller

Introducing Beth Cyr. Here is a short interview with Beth. A fine jeweller based in USA


When someone asks you "What do you do?" What is your reply?

ha ha, thats funny, b/c I never really know. Sometimes I say "metalsmith, sometimes, "jeweler", sometimes I say "I make jewelry" which sounds really mundane, but honest! Sometimes I say "artist", I suppose it depends on who asks and what day of the week it is.





Why did you choose this profession?

I loved working with metal, 3-dimensional art is much easier for me, and I love the practicality of creating wearable art. I like making things that have a function, even if the main function is just to be more adorned! Jewelry also seemed more marketable and a way to actually make a living as an artist. Maybe it was just that it was l loved best, so it made sense. I knew that I wanted to work for myself and sell what I made. I love the saying "Do what you love and you never have to work a day in your life" Though I would say that is pretty close to the truth, some days do feel like "work" but I wouldn't trade it for anything else!




What is your favorite skill/technique?

Fusing, for sure. I love my torch so much. I do love wax work and casting, but if the whole melting process wasn't there, I don't think I'd love it as much! I love the control you have to have when fusing, but the slightly unpredictable nature of the metal, that it won't always do the same thing, keeps it exciting!







What skill would you like to learn?

enameling! I have the enamels, I just haven't taken the time to start learning how to use them.

What is your workshop like?

Right now, cold! There is a woodburning stove and a couple of very small space heaters - I share it with my fiance who is a carpenter/woodworker. So its pretty big and there are lots of tools in it! I just got a new workbench (that was built special for me!) and I am very very excited about it. most recent photo:






What is your main goal this year?

My main goal this year is to work more with gold, create at least two more wedding band sets and then finish up my website that will be focused on my wedding rings. That sort of sounds like several goals... but in my head its all sort of together.


Please provide links to five of your favorite websites. (Blogs, Artists or Whatever)

Only 5?? Well.. I'd say my blogger dashboard b/c it has links to all my friends' blogs - Its a great way to keep up with what everyone is doing - but there are too many of those to list - so I'll just count it all as one!

I am a big fan of flickr: http://www.flickr.com

and etsy of course: http://www.etsy.com
http://vegweb.com - vegan recipes galore!
and my totally random one that I love checking out every so often is Nasa's Astronomy Picture of the Day!
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html


Where can people find you?

my blog: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com
etsy: http://bcyrjewelry.etsy.com
artfire: http://bethcyr.artfire.com
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcyrjewelry
twitter: http://twitter.com/bcyrjewelry
my sadly outdated website: http://www.bethcyr.com


++++

Thanks Beth

So good I had to buy one.....

I stumbled across this Etsy shop and loved one of the books so much, I just had to buy one.

Froydis Faire Books speciliase in up-cycling old books. Here is a brief description in their own words.

Whatever their story, I have a difficult time passing these lovelies by. Recently, I've decided to rescue some, and give them the opportunity for a new life. I take out old, ripped text blocks, remove the pages that are unsalvageable, and clean up the cover as well as I can. I then add new pages - sketch papers, and sometimes art papers and tracing papers - new endpapers, and bookmarker ribbons. With the bumps and bruises that cannot be removed, these old friends retain the mystery of their past so that, perhaps, a new owner will see their value, fill them with their own words and images, and treasure them for years to come.

So pop on over and treat yourself to a unique present.

Vote - The results

So last week, I asked you to vote on the pictures in the next blog entry below. The green and the grey.

The green won with 80% of the votes.

In the meantime I have been taking some more photos and here is my (I think) improved photo.

Making moulds (molds) for the Lost Wax Casting Process.

A little tutorial on making your own moulds (molds) from which you can cheaply make duplicate waxes for the "Lost Wax Casting Process"

It all starts with you wax model. I hand carved the little textured heart. This was then attached to a sprue. For those who don't know, the "Sprue" is the branch to which the wax model is attached.

Here is a close up of the homemade mould box.

These are simple to make. I just cut 3mm acrylic sheet to my required size. I use little triangles underneath to re-inforce the structure and a little block with a hole drilled in the middle, into which you can insert your sprue.




The sides ate then attached with some large elastic bands. The top of this little homemade box is left open.

















You need some very accurate scales. These scales above are accurate to 0.1g.

Foe my mould box I need about 90g worth of rubber. I use this silicone , two part mixture. I use paper cups to mix in, so I can just throw them away. I weigh out 90g of the liquid rubber from the tin. The hardener is added at 20:1 ratio. So 5% is required. I slowly measure in 4.5g in weight.

This stuff will start to set in 20 mins, so you need to act fairly fast.

I use an old screwdriver to mix the compound until the colour is uniform (above right)













The liquid is then placed into my vacuum chamber. This extracts the air from the liquid. The photos above show the liquid in the chamber starting to bubble. It raises in volume as the air is extracted, then it will suddenly drop back down.

I leave the liquid in the chamber for about 6 mins. Until there is very little bubbling going on.

The liquid has now been de-gassed and when it is poured into the mould , it will make a nice solid lump of rubber.














Thsi liquid is now poured into the waiting mould case. You require the rubber to cover the model so that there is at least 1cm of rubber on all sides of the model.

The silicone will now cure over night and in the morning will be ready to be worked further.












In the morning the elastic bands are removed and the sides of the mould. With a little wiggle, the mould will now come out of the mould box.

The image above right, now shows the solid rubber mould has been cut open. I use a simple , very sharp scalpel blade. It really isn't rocket science, but just be careful as you don't want to cut your fingers.

Cut down the sides of the rubber mould, You want to split it nicely into two. Follow the sprue down to the model , then just cut around the middle of the model until it can be easily freed.

On the above mould you can also see that I cut two "buttons". These help to locate the mould back into place when you close it togeter.

I leave the back of the mould uncut, so it acts as a hinge. This will also ensure that you never lose one of the halves.

Here is the low tech wax injector, otherwise known as a cheap syringe.

I melt some injection wax (special wax that has great properties for flowing into moulds in a liquid state.)

I simply put a small amount into a heat proof jug and microwave. This wax melts at about 70 deg c.

As you work, using this method, the wax starts to cool and starts to set. So just keep popping it back into the microwave. Just be careful as it is hot enough to scald.

With the wax at the correct temp. I simply such up a small amount and , holding the mould in one hand. Inject the liquid wax into the mould.

You get a feel for doing it after a while and this method can produce fabulous waxes.

Wait for the wax to cool in the mould (1-2 mins), then open up and remove the "new" wax.

If it is perfect, pat yourself on the back, if it is a bad one, pop it back into the melted wax jug and do another.

Typically 60% of mine come out perfect, but it is so quick to make another that I don't mind.


I would normally be holding the mould with my other hand, but I didn't have any one to take the photos!!!!!






Here is the finished cast piece.

Polished and oxidised.

Just added these to my etsy shop recently.

They can be personalised with any quote/phrase/words you like. There is a choice of over 20 coloured leathe rthongs.

Pretty in pink.

I have been accpeted into the folds of a group of very talented metal artists.

The group page can be found here Etsymetal

It is a great support group where you can learn from others and also pass on your own wisdom.

So if you like my stuff, you will love theirs.