What can I say, after a year working on RAD seeing the year end leaves me with mixed emotions. In some ways it's felt like ten years, in others only a few months. But regardless of how it feels there are only a few days left!
Rachelle Stromberg (of Mike&Mary) has been doing a count down and I can't wait to see day 1! Something about a countdown- always great. Here are her rings so far.
Day 359 Brass & Sterling Silver 7... Merry Christmas RADers!!
Day 360 Brass 6... sechs is what the ring says, 6 in german
Day 361 Copper & Sterling Silver 5...
Day 362 Sterling Silver, CZ and Pearl Today's 4 rings on yesterday's ring.
EtsyMetal WOA Charm Necklace has sold and the proceeds have generously been donated to help fund the Ring a Day exhibition upcoming at the Punch Gallery in Seattle!
A big thank you to Marylouise Barros-Niska (Etsy name MLBN) for your purchase! I hope you enjoy the fabulous necklace!
RAD – The En’light’enment at the End of the Tunnel
17 more days and I will have 365 rings. It’s as exciting as it is disturbing. RAD has made me so crazy that I often long for the day it will be done and I can take a break and not think about what kind of ring I will make today. And then I freak out because RAD has become like eating, if I stop I’ll surely die, ok a bit melodramatic, but I have become addicted and obsessed. What will life be like without RAD – I picture lonely, cold days, huddled under my blanket going through withdrawal… ok, I’m on a melodramatic theme; maybe a retrospective is due. I have made and seen made rings from flowers, paper and fire, conceptual rings of shadows
and seaweed, stone setting, wild stone setting,
food rings, and of course let’s not forget the dog poop rings. There has been symbolism and questioning (what about the space inside the ring?)
And I still believe that when #365 is done and posted the sun will shine brighter and enlightenment will settle in.
Pre-enlightenment I’ve achieved through RAD:
- Big projects are more fun to do with a group
- Complaining is ok, just keep going
- You have to wade through a lot of crap to get to the cream
-You do get to the cream if you keep going.
Check back on the 31st for the answers to the meaning of life!
A few days ago I was struck by the beauty of Kest's (Vagabond Jewelry) Ring a Day. The photo was striking. The candlelight against the window was moving. I almost felt as if I were there in the room. They were in celebration of Hanukkah.
When I asked her about her rings, she said "There's something about gathering around a fire- no matter how tiny- that feels very homey. I've meant to make myself a menorah for years, now -last year i stuck my candles in a baguette- and RAD seemed like as good an opportunity as any. After eight nights, I'll solder them all together and have something to remember this year by."
Maria Apostolou has been so kind as to organise a Secret Santa Ring Swap for RAD participants. Visit the thread on Flickr to read more and join in the fun! The deadline to join in is December 2nd.
Rings, rings and more rings. All I've been looking at for weeks are rings. Thousands of rings flash past my laptop screen a day. But I'm not tired of looking at rings yet. I have always loved rings and figure that I always will. The hands that create become the hands that are adorned.
Victoria Takahashi, Experimetal
Ring #315
For the past two weeks I have been curating rings for the May Exhibition with my fellow jurors, but tonight I wanted to take a moment to look at the rings that have created since we began our search.
Maria Apostolou
RAD #312 "Button Flower"
Seeing all these rings makes me wonder why I have always loved rings. Rings are personal--imbued with sentiment, emotion and memory. I am not as attached to my earrings or bracelets. Necklaces come close, but rings are my weakness. I don't wear many rings, but the three I wear are very special. Two I have made and are the only pieces that I keep for myself and the other is my wedding band commissioned from a local jeweler. Rings adorn my hands and my hands are my tools to create, make, and fabricate.
Shannon Conrad, rubygirl jewelry
"Ring #315"
Shapes draw me in and tell me a story of emotion, beauty and order. Sometimes I have a difficult time speaking about my work. Visual language is not always easily translated into verbal language. Shapes reference memories that are deep and submerged.
As well as the series of interviews we will be doing a series of RAD Favourites. From the exhibition organisers (like me) and from RAD participants. In a pool of nearly 15,000 photos I'm excited to see what gems other Ring-a-Day-ers have found!
A few favourites from the past year that made me think of Halloween: skulls, bats, fangs, faux injuries and impaled sharp things.
(Above) Ring a Day 288/365, sterling silver & sandcast voodoo doll (see also Ring a Day 286/365) (below) Rings 296 and 297 worn together by Rubygirl sterling silver, sandcast plastic skeleton bones
(above) rad 39 ~z-z-zombie skully! by Experimetal (below) rad 40 "bobbsey twins" two finger ring by Experimetal
(above) Day 303 'Hell's Angels vs Alexander McQueen' by Mike&Mary (below) RAD 220/365 by Nina Gibson
Above is a photo of my 9-year old helper. She picked the winner and supplied the straw hat for the drawing.
We are pleased to announce that Evelyn Markasky is the winner of the "500 Wedding Rings" book graciously donated to Etsymetal's Ring a Day by Lark Publishing Company. Thanks to everyone who entered to win by signing up on our Ring a Day Blog.
Here's a quick reminder to all who have participated in the Ring a Day project. The deadline to submit your rings for the SNAG exhibition at PUNCH gallery is Monday, October 25th at midnight PST. To be eligible to submit to the exhibition, you had to have posted a ring to the Flickr Ring a Day group pool prior to October 1, 2010.
It doesn't matter if you only posted one ring or 280 rings. We would like to show the scope of the project to include both the hardcore ring makers who have tirelessly kept on making rings and those who tried it for a few days; professional metalsmiths and novices; traditional and conceptual artists; teachers and students. This project belongs to all of us and in some small way, we have all journeyed along together.
Request an official Ring a Day submission form from ringaday@gmail.com.
Call for Submissions The Ring a Day project has been selected as an exhibition for the annual Society of North American Goldsmiths conference to be held in Seattle, May 2011.
“RAD, A Ring a Day for 365 Days” will run for a month, from May 5th to May 29th at the PUNCH Gallery in downtown Seattle, Washington.The exhibition will feature 365 physical rings accompanied by 14 framed photos of temporary and/or ephemeral rings.“RAD, Ring a Day for 365 Days” will be installed in the PUNCH gallery and it will on the official SNAG gallery tour. This exhibition will be curated by EtsyMetal members Colleen Baran, Kathryn Cole, Shannon Conrad, Nina Gibson, and Sara Westermark.
So this means that we need your rings!In fact this show is possible because of all the dedicated artists who have tirelessly given their time, imagination, perseverance, enthusiasm and talent to make this project great!The Ring a Day exhibition is a fabulous opportunity to show your work to a wide art buying audience as well as the metalsmithing community who travel yearly to attend SNAG conferences.The rings in this exhibition will be available for sale at the PUNCH gallery, so please indicate whether or not the ring(s) you submit will be for sale.
The Ring a Day project started January 1, 2010 when EtsyMetal and Nina Dinoff invited metalsmiths and other artists to participate in a daily personal challenge to create one ring a day for the entire year. The project quickly grew and has gained a wide audience with participants from around the world.On a daily basis, rings are created, photographed, and posted to the public “Ring A Day” Flickr photo group by each participant.
Jurors--Colleen Baran, Kathryn Cole, Shannon Conrad, Nina Gibson, and Sara Westermark
Jurying and Selection--The jurors will select rings based on originality, quality, concept, uniqueness, and design.We are open to both classic and alternative materials alongside various methods of construction.
Due to the unique nature of the project (and its vast size containing nearly 15,000 photos as of October 2010), the final selection of rings in the exhibition may include both invitational and juried submissions.It is very important to submit your best works as the primary way to highlight your work for review by the selection committee.Both submitted and invited rings will pay the jury fee for inclusion in the exhibition.
DEADLINES: Deadline for electronic entry: October 25th, 2010 Artist Notification: no later than November 15th, 2010
Eligibility--To be eligible rings must have been submitted to the public“Ring a Day” Flickr group prior to October 1, 2010.All mediums and methods of ring construction are encouraged and welcomed.
To apply, please request an application from ringaday@gmail.com.
RAD 43 "Its all fun and games until someone stabs themselves with a thorn." by Victoria Takahasi
Congratulations to all the Ring a Day Participants. We have been awarded the Crafthaus Grant to help fund our SNAG exhibition in Seattle at PUNCH Gallery. It is such an honor to be recognized by a group of our peers. Thanks to all who voted and to our die hard RAD Participants--YOU make this project possible!
Day 358 Sterling Silver, Brass & Pearl 8...
Day 359 Brass & Sterling Silver 7... Merry Christmas RADers!!
Day 360 Brass 6... sechs is what the ring says, 6 in german
Day 361 Copper & Sterling Silver 5...
Day 362 Sterling Silver, CZ and Pearl Today's 4 rings on yesterday's ring.
