Carved out of wax and cast in silver, the two rings shown above are very new. The one on the left is meant for a female (there are 1mm rubies flush-set atop the three mounds) and the ring on the right is meant for a male.

It occurs to me just now that the ‘feminine’ ring is very soft and round, while the ‘masculine’ ring is angular. They were originally not meant to be a set, but now that I’ve photographed them together, I think they kind of compliment each other. Funny that.

By the way, I’ve decided to call my ‘feminine’ ring “The Ruby-Boobie-Ring”.

I’ve given my ‘Crater Ring’ a new look. I just learned how to cast-in-place. Basically, I’m using the same technique as before, lost wax casting, but with an embellishment. Prior to the burn-out, I’ve added synthetic stones to the wax ring model. The stones are able to withstand the high temperatures of the kiln, and if everything is done just right, you end up with a piece of jewelry that already has a stone set in it!

In my excitement, I’ve photographed my 3 samples prior to cleaning them up. You may notice that the silver doesn’t look very pretty. Immediately after it is cast, silver is a dull grey-black. After it cools, I put it in the pickle (mild acid bath) to clean it. That’s the stage that is shown here. After pickling the metal, I file, sand, and polish, which sometimes takes several hours to perfect.

Look for these finished rings on my website soon. The pieces shown include simulated blue sapphires and a simulated pink tourmaline. Synthetic stones suitable for the cast-in-place technique come in several colors. So get your ideas ready and email me!

“Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM) is a collaborative “mining” project that will debut in Richmond, VA and brings together the community, Quirk Gallery and jewelry and metalsmithing students from Virginia Commonwealth University and Millersville University (PA) to transform unwanted jewelry into exciting new work.”

The exhibition in Richmond will run from March 2 – 31, 2007 at Quirk Gallery.

As a participant in this pilot program, I dissembled and redesigned, several pieces of used/unwanted jewelry that had been donated by members of the community. The creative labors of VCU and Millersville students culminated in a very successful exhibition held at Quirk Gallery in Richmond, VA. A large portion of the work was sold and 70% of the profits raised were donated to Ethical Metalsmiths, an environmentally and ethically conscious organization dedicated to stimulating demand for responsibly sourced materials as an investment in the future.

Here are some interesting facts that I’ve extracted from the Ethical Metalsmiths website:

“Metal mining is the most toxic polluter in the United States. It is responsible for 96 percent of arsenic emissions and 76 percent of lead emissions.

Each year in the United States, mines generate an amount of waste equivalent in weight to nearly nine times the trash produced by all its cities and towns combined.

A single gold ring leaves in its wake at least 20 tons of mine waste.”

For more information, visit: www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org