My sweet sister-in-law gave me a gift certificate for Christmas to make an intention ring with a local jewelry artist.
We had talked about doing this, especially since we both had found our "word" for 2020.
So this past Thursday, I headed down to Lewes, DE for the class.
Heidi Lowe owns Heidi Lowe Gallery in Rehoboth Beach, DE. However, her former teeny tiny cottage on Rehoboth Ave has been razed to make way for a beautiful, much larger studio that's going to showcase much more of her jewelry as well as the creations of other artisans.
In the meantime, she is working out of a small studio/class space, building inventory and holding classes. Check out her website for all the details.
Now...
Come along with me as I make my intention ring with lots of help from Heidi!
We first started out with an exercise to focus on our word/words that state or support our intention.
While I already knew my word, I really loved this part of the class. It allowed me to truly focus on what my word "SEE" really means to me for 2020.
It also allowed for some conversation with the other women in the class.
Once that was done, we measured the finger where we wanted to wear are ring using a simple slip of paper.
This allowed us to mark the strip of metal and begin the process of sawing that off.
Heidi demonstrated each step, so there were no worries about what or how to work through each process.
You just let the tools do the work and you concentrate and focus through the process.
I figured out early on that there wasn't too much that couldn't be fixed along the way if you messed up.
We then used a curved file to flatten the two ends, eventually allowing them to come together to be soldered... but that was not the next step.
In the middle of the table, there were loads of metal stamping tools and hammers.
Some were letters, others were images like flowers, birds, and leaves, and others were just shapes.
We started by stamping one long side with our intention word(s).
I stamped "SEE GROWTH."
On the other side, I used a flower stamp, two different leaf stamps, a heart stamp, some letter stamps, and a pointed stamp to create a trail across the entire length.
You could really create anything you wanted, it was just a matter of using the stamp and hammer to indent the metal.
A small piece of copper was provided to practice and really see the stamp image...believe me, they were small.
Next, we bent the metal to form a ring-like shape.
These special pliers allowed me to get the initial shapes from both sides.
With help from Heidi, I was able to successfully meet the two ends.
However...
Here was my "ring" at this point.
Yep... crooked as crooked can be, but we were still far far away from a finished piece.
Now came the soldering point.
Heidi demonstrated and we forged ahead.
Using a blow torch, I warmed up the ring in order to solder.
There were a few steps, but Heid stayed right there using the special spray and monitoring our progress.
I was able to grab a few photos of my sister-in-law working on her ring.
Here she is melting the solder into the joint from the inside.
She then flipped it over and "pulled" the solder from the underside through the joint to make it strong.
The ring was super hot by this point, hence the pink color, so it was picked up with big tweezers and dropped into an acid bath for 5 minutes.
Once retrieved from the bath, it was time to place it over the ring mandrel and literally beat it down the length to straighten and form the ring.
The large block of wood in the background provided a steady surface while I used a rubber mallet to form the ring.
Then, using this innovative holder, I filed the inside and outside edges of the ring.
This created a more comfortable edge for wearing the ring. Of course, it was optional, but since I was wearing it one my thumb I wanted it to be super cozy. You use your thumbs for everything...
Almost done, but not quite.
The edges were rounded, but I wanted to add a jewelry sulfur mixture to blacken the stamped images and make them really stand out. Again, this is an optional step.
Looking closely at the ring, you can see bits and pieces of the design, but I did want it to stand out a bit more.
See it with the blackening agent?
At this point, I used the sanding tool to really polish any rough edges. It's similar to the tool used to sand and shape acrylic nails in the nail salon.
It was powered by a foot pedal and really allowed me to sand and polish every area of the ring.
The final step was polishing the ring to a shine. Here's my sister-in-law polishing hers.
And after about 2.5 hours, I was done!
Here's the inside...look how great it looks with the blackening agent.
Here's the outside.
(No, I didn't cut my finger making this ring, that was from working on cropping photos: more about that in an upcoming post.)
I can wear this on either thumb.
Nope, it's far from perfect, but for my first attempt, I'm pretty pleased with it.
Here's all of our rings (there were four of us who are friends in this class) together for their cover shot!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
First and foremost, this was one of the best classes I've ever attended. It was low key, moved at an appropriate pace for each attendee's level of need, and was simply just a fun time. As a former teacher, I clearly appreciated how Heidi individualized her help and support of each person in the class.
I'm a lover of jewelry and making an intention ring for 2020 tied right in with my thoughts and 7-week series that I'm currently doing on the blog.
I love being creative and this was something that I've always wanted to do but realized that cost and required equipment was not worth the investment IF I wasn't going to passionately pursue it. Using Heidi's tools and materials combined with her extensive knowledge and artistic craft is the perfect way for me to continue exploring creatively with jewelry making.
I love discovering and supporting local artisans, especially when they generously share their talents and time to teach others.
I would recommend this to anyone who wanted to learn more about the craft of making jewelry, even if they just wanted to make a few pieces. It was also a fun way to build "community" with my friends as we now all have a ring that we made in the company of each other.
Please take the time to visit Heidi's website as she is offering classes on ring making and other pieces in the future. She will also work with you to offer a private class setting for up to 8 of your family and friends.
Now, every time I look down at my hands I can see my ring and be reminded of my intention for 2020.
To really "SEE!"
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