Rings & Things Design Gallery

Metal Clay / Grand Prize

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:20:49 GMT

Southwestern Petroglyphs

Artist: Louise Little (Dayton, OH)
Grand Prize / First Place, Metal Clay

�The textures in this piece were inspired by the petroglyphs carved in the rocks and canyons of the American Southwest. I first drew line pictures of petroglyphs and scanned them into a computer where the image was refined. The image was then printed and transferred to a polymer clay medium and baked. The resulting plate was then pressed into the metal clay to create the image. In order to enhance the ancient look of the jewelry, I bonded 24k gold foil to the pure silver and then applied a chemical patina to the silver until I achieved a color reminiscent of the golden bronze rocks of the Southwest. I spend part of the year at my home in Tucson, AZ, where my husband and I love to hike and explore the desert and look for rock art.� � Louise Little

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157 views
Mar 29, 2007

Polymer Clay Category

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:20:28 GMT

Reversible Tile Bracelet

Artist: Deborah Anderson (San Jose, CA)
First Place, Polymer Clay

Deborah �wanted to make a bracelet that could be worn on either side using polymer clay ... This piece came together pretty smoothly; it just took time, patience and much thought and care.� Her process included using stamps to create black and white images that she then copied on a toner-based photocopier and transferred onto translucent clay. She then colored in the images with felt-tip pens and added silver composition leaf to the focal face image. These colorful tiles were then backed with white clay and holes were created for stringing before she created the textured surfaces that work as a reversible option on the other side of the bracelet. She used brass spacer beads between the tiles, and copper spacers as the loop half of the handmade toggle clasp. The bar half of the clasp is also made from polymer clay.

View more 2007 First Place winners. Or, check for details about our most recent contest!

136 views
Mar 29, 2007

Mostly Metal Category

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:20:21 GMT

Details

Artist: Linda Inhelder (Sammamish, WA)
First Place, Mostly Metal

�I love working with sterling silver wire. I had [already] been making these sterling silver toggle clasps with Swarovski� crystals sewn on for sparkle. I extended the concept by sewing crystals onto some hand twisted sterling links and adding a couple hand-coiled [pieces around] aqua chalcedony. Look closely and you will see a tiny sterling silver heart incorporated in the coiling. Small details make the difference.� � Linda Inhelder

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157 views
Mar 29, 2007

Gemstones & Pearls Category

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:20:16 GMT

Da Vinci Inspiration

Artist: Linda Valentino Michel (Weeki Wachee, FL)
First Place, Gemstones & Pearls

�After sculpting original dolls for 20 years, I started into jewelry to sooth my nerves, only to discover a new passion! I fell in love with R&T�s gemstones, precious metals and ideas. Inspired by my love of Renaissance art, this piece incorporates wonders of the Louvre, a famous fictional story and the mystery of gemstones. Each framed charm has prints on both sides, Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, Vitruvian man, etc. What�s more fun than wearing a piece that generates conversation and combines museum art with the art of jewelry making?� � Linda Valentino Michel

Linda used citrine chips and nuggets for the base of this piece, then added some freshwater pearls on dangles that accompany the handmade silver picture frames. You can achieve a similar affect with pre-made picture-frame charms. For chemical, historic and metaphysical information on the �mystery of gemstones,� check out our Gemstone Beads Index.

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147 views
Mar 29, 2007

Alternative Materials Category

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:20:09 GMT

Green Man II � Africa

Artist: Mara Marlow (Federal Way, WA)
First Place, Alternative Materials

Mara bought an African brass fetish-mask pendant a while ago and kept it in an �Inspiration Dish� for quite some time before doing anything with it. She knew the African feel of the centerpiece would be a vital part of the design. When she was finally inspired to string a necklace, she �put him together, wore him to a bead party that night and somebody bought him right off my neck.� So, she continued to experiment with additional mask pendants (fetishes), using wire links rather than stringing material � this is one of the results. The apple green turquoise nicely complements the woven open-work African brass beads and brass heishi. Mara points out that making these with wire links makes them easy to shorten, for different wearer�s preferences.

For African beads not pictured in our online store, visit our wholesale showroom in Spokane, WA.

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140 views
Mar 29, 2007

Glass Category

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:20:02 GMT

Aquamarine Morning and Amethyst Night

Artist: Zoya Gutina (Alexandria, VA)
First Place, Glass

�Inspiration for my designs comes to me night and day. At night, when I close my eyes, fantastic colors and forms appear before me ... During the day, my inspiration comes from the trees and flowers of spring, frozen geometry of winter, and the beautiful rise and set of the sun. One early spring day I was so inspired by the sky that I decided to recreate this picture. I felt like I was working on a painting ... First, I made the base for the necklace, using seed and bugle beads. Then, I made two-layered and three-dimensional blossoming full flowers, also using seed beads and bugle beads. After this, using freeform technique, I decorated the base with the flowers. In this work I used two color combinations. One set of colors represents morning, and for that I used aquamarine copper-lined seed beads and size #3 bugle beads. With green iris seed beads, amethyst seed beads and light amethyst ghost bugle beads, I defined night.� � Zoya Gutina

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115 views
Mar 29, 2007