"Rad Dads" Wear Jewelry

Custom ring; flames and skulls, sterling silver (top/side of ring)

 "Rad Dad" what his 8 year old son referred to him as for his Fathers day poem. After making this custom ring and getting to know him and his family, I'd say I completely agree!  I knew it would be a fun project after meeting and discussing what he was looking for in such a unique piece of jewelry. He and his wife had been to several shops looking for options to replace his simple wedding band. They wanted something that was a little more him for his guitar playing hands but couldn't find anything that they loved or wasn't manufactured with billions more out there for others to wear.

Custom sterling silver hand carved mans ring (bottom)

"Don wore a Costco platinum band for 15 years and 10 months while we shopped for a band more suitable for his style. One plain ring on the left hand while the right rocked some seriously large rings. Kendall designed a custom, one-of-a-kind ring fitting for a "been in a rock-band now in a church-band " guitar-playing, God-loving, software architect with tattoos and earrings!! He wanted Kendall to create a big ring with skulls and flames. Not cheesy, but cool. Black accents and handmade, not done by machine. I couldn't imagine what she would come up with and the final design is amazing! From 18 skulls with faces to the flames and texture, the ring turned out amazing and fits Don's personality perfectly." -Wendy (the equally rad wife)

Sketching and looking at images of flames and skulls... two things I don't normally spend my time doing and certainly different from my style as a designer. I tend to lean more towards "pretty things", natural organic shapes, inspiration from the ocean and objects from nature, movement of the body and feminine beauty. This design posed as a challenge conceptually and technically; depicting flames and skulls realistically in metal without looking cheesy, like a bad tattoo. 

The overall process of researching, sketching and creating something beautiful for a dainty woman or a rugged man proved to be the same. My aesthetic is still evident in this heavy mans ring. The use of texture, the organic movement of the flames and the depth and detail of the skulls are details that are just as evident in much of my previous work. Whether its a pretty butterfly on a flower or a fire breathing dragon you will know they were made by the same two hands. My artistic expression naturally stepped in as my fingers went to work and I am happy to know it was not lost in the fire. 

As an artist it can sometimes be difficult to create something specifically for someone else. I worry that by creating what other people want me to make instead of what I want to make I may lose myself as artist. The artistic freedom and creativity that comes with experimentation, inspiration and ides; never to worry about satisfying a boss, instructor or client. That idea that sounds so appealing when you decide to quit your job or go to art school in the first place. 

Flames; Sterling Silver (Top view)

I realized after this project that creative freedom still exists even when doing a custom design. I do have to satisfy a client but my design, my creativity and my aesthetic will shine through. Not only did they see my previous work and like my style but they wanted ME to create something like it just for them. I was able to express my ideas to them, demonstrate that through sketches, collaborate and make changes we agreed upon. Even experiment, fail, try again and have the creative freedom throughout the process to make something beautiful and enjoyable. I also realized that the boundaries can be pushed in my designs; for some reason I was unsure of my skill set to pull of the details but only showed myself what I am capable of, and more. 

Its nice to know there are still people out there that won't sacrifice personal expression when it comes to their jewelry, especially when it replaces the traditional mainstream wedding band.  Ibelieve this piece truly represents not only his personal style but their unique style as a couple and family. As his new and improved wedding band I'm happy to wish them a Happy Anniversary of 16 years today and I'm honored they can finally celebrate that in style. 

Black patina to highlight texture and depth (bottom view)

(side/bottom view) 

One of a kind bridesmaid necklaces - 6 girls 6 designs!

One of the best parts of planning a wedding is planning what everyone will wear. Not only did I get to pick out all the dresses but I had the pleasure of making all of the jewelry for my wedding party as well, along with clutches for the girls instead of flowers, and all of the boutonnieres for the men!

Each necklace is hand peirced out of copper and stamped with a lace texture. Each necklace is unique in design and pattern to the next. All 6 necklaces have a patina and fresh water pearls placed throughout the necklaces.

 

            Necklace Photo: Kyle Hoffman

For the Maid of Honors (my sisters) their necklaces were powder coating with a white paint and brushed back through to see parts of the metal.

 

 

 

engagement rings, bridesmaid jewelry, and wedding creativity!

I have been soo busy these past few months and Im so sorry to leave my blog hanging! I've been so busy this summer with family and friends but also planning my wedding!!

I wanted to create as many unique attributes for my wedding as possible, some related to jewelry of course and some a bit more of my creative side!   I'll be posting quite a few right in a row to catch everyone up on what Ive been up to!!

First off, Being a metalsmith I couldnt stand the idea of wearing a ring that was most likely mass produced. I do appreciate it the ring I got from my fiance very much and it certainly was beautiful! However, I really wanted to add my grandmothers diamond too it and a bit of my own personal touch.

(sterling silver, gold accents, diamonds and a yellow sapphire)

Photography: Kyle Hoffman Photography

Our wedding took place at Zorvino Vineyards in Sandown, NH

July 27th 2012

Not only did I re-design and re-make my own ring but I also made my Husbands ringas well!

Both rings have a lyric written on the inside...

Hers: it's always been...
His: there's no end...

 "You and me" by Soja
It's you and me, it's always been
And how I feel about you, there's no end, end
But you make me chase you around, all around
And then you need me there when you fall down, down
And when this dance is done,
You and me are still the only one
Well since our time begun
And I'm still with you even when your gone
When this dance is done,
You and me are still the only one
Well since our time begun
And I'm still with you even when your gone

Significance of the Yellow Sapphire

Happily married couples give credit to the Yellow Sapphire for its presence in their lives. The yellow sapphire is also said that if you seek to sort all marital problems, then it is the solution for you. The Power of this gem is such that the girl that you desire will be yours forever and if a girl will wear this gem then she will get married early!

Bolo tie, in progress!

In Enameling II Ken Bova assigned us to make a Bolo Tie. Being from New Hampshire I wasn't too sure what that was so I looked it up and apparently its basically a tie but looks kinda like jewelry too. So we had to design our Bolo Tie based on a specific person. I chose to do mine about and for my dad(he is an architect) and in the final result you will see a bit more about him really reflected. For now I have a simple sillhouette of a building that a drew and pierced out of copper. The plan is to have 4 layers, this being the top enameled component, then a thick layer of plexi to give it some depth then a sheet of paper cut from a blue print of his, then another back plate. Not sure exactly what I'll be doing with the finials at the bottom of the bolo cord. Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Metals Symposium at ECU this weekend

For the 3rd consecutive year ECU is hosting the Metals Symposium "Material Topics" this weekend. This year seems to be bigger and better with many talented artists joining ECU metals grads, undergrads, alumni and professors to share work, techniques and experience in the field. We have several awesome presenters this year along with Workshops and Exhibitions throughout the weekend.

Tonight, Art of Influence Exhibition opened and it was truely an inspiring exhibit with a really great concept. Each of the Metals Grads from ECU added a piece to the exhibit and contacted two other artists who they have been influenced by through their metalsmithing journeys and they also included some work. The tree continued with those two artists contacted two other artists to add to the show as well. Basically I added a lot of new names to my list of people to follow!

Also opening tonight was the Adroit II exhibition over in Mendenhall which was also a very good show. I even had 3 pieces in the exhibit as a series including my wax carved sea urchin rings and the sea urchin brooch  I completed the previous semester.  Hopefully I will be posting those images soon!

 Get up and go check out both of these exhibits, you won't regret it!