Simple Circles within Simple Circles within...

Sometimes it’s the simple things that capture your attention and fire your inspiration. I’ve always been attracted to shape-making in silver wire, and have loved creating leaves and hearts and getting them to look as sweet on the eye as I possibly can. But geometric shapes are something I’d not really explored that much in their own right yet.

So with my new mandrels to hand I came up with a simple ring design, a circle set on a circle, both made from round wire, and I then added a tiny semi-spherical silver button I’d created. And voila...





Although I say so myself, I do love the simplicity of this, the circle of the body of the ring, interrupted by the open circle of the top of the ring, interrupted by the small, solid circle, offset to one side...

The solid circle addition may well have been inspired by seeing the moons of Jupiter surrounding the planet earlier this year through a small telescope in a back garden on a chilly night, very tiny circles of bright light circling a slightly larger one; I chose to place the tiny circle within its 'planet' rather than without though.

I like the fact the ring can be worn either way, tiny circle top or bottom, to create a bit of variety.



This is a personal favourite of mine but I hope to make some more soon, as well as explore other shapes... well, I do have those mandrels now...

Copper in Autumn

Last weekend I spent a few hours with a friend in her workshop, tucked away against the chill weather outside, surrounded by silver, copper, polishers, rolling machines, and enough tools to make anyone who makes metal jewellery rather happy.

Copper ring, with a rolled pattern. Like a leopard's spots, or a honeycomb.

We chatted about the price of silver (slightly decreased), the fact I've most definitely missed the final posting date for the Diamond Jubilee hallmark (boo), and that assay offices will now hallmark silver and gold even if they're attached to metals such as copper, something they didn't previously do (interesting).

Another ring through the rolling mill. This time the pattern is more abstract.

We drank a lot of tea, finished off a jar of hot chocolate, and ate too many biscuits and chocolates (very naughty in a workshop, I know).

Oh, and we also made some jewellery.

More roller textured copper, a little crown-like...

Crown-like also, but in a slightly more-committed curvy-way.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the beautiful silver locket my friend finished, nor of the silver and copper owl she was working on, but I have included a few snaps of the four copper rings I made, and of the copper owl I did some work on (and no, we didn't converse beforehand, just coincidentally were both working on owls...), and which may well turn into a brooch. Or a pendant. Hmm...

The two crowns fit together, just, and make a wider ring.

Nothing I started is finished yet, the rings needing some more filing and polishing, and  the owl either needing more work on the detail, or me discarding it as a prototype or experiment.

A brooch in waiting. Or a pendant. Or just a copper owl.

But, still, not a bad way to spend a Saturday in autumn at all.

It's (been) oh so quiet . . .

. . . on my blog of late. I'd fallen into a combination of busy, busy, busy in the non-blog world and a curious blogger's-block which meant that every time I sat down to compose a post I either couldn't think of a word to type or couldn't find a photo I wanted to share.

So I stayed quiet, until now. The dust in the non-blog environment is starting to settle a little, and that has helped free my mind also.

Like the spring after the winter, I feel I'm coming back to life.

So, what have I been doing? Well, I've moved house; nearly found everything I misplaced while moving house (including smithing tools!); finished a long and arduous Open University course; nearly finished a very long-standing silversmithing project; and I've got over the long, cold winter as it has melted into a late spring which is as warm as summer . . . until it turned cold again *sigh*

Something else I've been doing, after discovering where my silver had disappeared to, is a bit of jewellery making. Here are a few rings I've finished making, which gave a nice sense of satisfaction after such a time away from things, and also provides something for me to show you . . .

Rings on your fingers?

I've kept the very first scroll ring I made just for me . . . but I've listed a couple of the others on Folksy . . .

Rings for my fingers . . .

With thoughts turning to colder weather and swirls of frost and ice promising an appearance soon, I've been playing around with ideas for rings these past couple of weeks.



I'm not great at sizing rings, tending to let them find by themselves which finger they want to fit, often because I've made them primarily for myself in the past and I'm pretty laid-back about such things.



And this particular style of ring does lend itself to reaching a size all on its own, depending on the curl created and where the ends meet. Part of the fun in making them is letting them form almost naturally, using the natural curve the silver wire possesses.



I'm doing a craft fair this weekend and so will take some of these along, see what people say. Sizing is more than a matter of whether a ring fits or not, feels comfortable and looks right, it's more than any measurement (large knuckles, anyone?); so it may make more sense to let any potential owner of a ring find out by trying it on, whether it does or doesn't 'work'.

Something for . . . me : Rings part 1

I decided to combine a little soldering practice with making myself a couple of rings . . .





I think this a common crafter's affliction, whether you sell your work or not, may be to make things that always end up belonging to other people. I almost start to feel guilty about making things for myself, that the time and material cost would be better off going towards something that will perhaps sell or be a gift.

But I've collected a few small items for myself over the years, things I can't part with because I love them so much, or things I just stand no chance of replicating.

Sorting through my scraps box the other day I found some mangled and twisted pieces of silver sheet that looked as if they just might form rings . . .

Unfortunately I have yet to persuade myself to part with the money to buy a ring forming mandrel. So whilst I've been able to push the thinner ring, in the first photo, into some kind of wearable shape, the much thicker ring is still unwieldy and maintaining its decidedly oblong form that I had to persuade it into to solder it in the first place.

Tune in some time around the middle of September to see what they look like when they're finished . . .

In the meantime I'm working on finishing a necklace for, yes, me. The reason being is it's pretty much a prototype and I've been working on it an age and so this way I can give it a trial run and never have to part with it . . . photos up here as soon as it's finished.