Crafthaus Grant Awarded to Ring a Day Exhibition!

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!

Ring a Day Artist Interview: Andrea Ring (a.k.a Amuck Design)

The Ring a Day Project has been a long journey for most of the artists involved. It is emotional, exhausting, compelling, invigorating, and just plain hard. There are about 20 metalsmiths who are still making their ring daily. Andrea Ring of Amuck Design was kind enough to give us an interview.

Amuck Design, "Mini Citybird" RAD #33

SW: How did you hear about this project?
AD: I really don't remember exactly where I first read about the project, but I started on January 1st.

SW: What compelled you to participate and persist in this endeavor?
AD: Well, I don't make rings so thought this would be a great chance to work on something outside of my norm. I persist because once I say that I'll commit to something I follow through. Also, my husband would never let me hear the end of it if I quit (not to mention I would feel bad for giving up).

SW: How many rings have you made to date?
AD: Today is ring #231 [247 now]

Amuck Design, "Jolly King Roger" RAD #15

SW: What is your favorite ring that you made? Why did you like it?
AD: I haven't made my favorite yet. I'm pretty sure though that it will be ring #365! (i'm really getting tired of rings!!)

SW: What was your least favorite ring that you made and why?
AD: That's a tough one but maybe the cardboard paper roll ring with the hot pink duct tape. It was just kinda big and boring.

SW: How have you changed as an artist since you began this project?
AD: My speed has improved tremendously! I've mostly worked with cold-connections in the past so my soldering has improved as well. This has been such an inspiring year so far. I never felt like I had the time to play and experiment in the studio but this project has shown me that so many more ideas will come if you make time for that little bit of play.

Amuck Design, "Spacey" RAD #51

SW: Has your involvement in RAD affected your business?
AD: I am sooo behind in my inventory right now and I've got two big shows coming up. The Buyers Market of American Craft next week and the Plaza art fair one month from now. I've definitely had some silly rings this past month as I've been busy getting ready, and they will probably continue to be silly for another month.

SW: What advice would you give to anyone who wanted to participate?
My advice for anyone who would like to participate would be to have fun with it and not take it too seriously. Even the quickie rings that I've made from my kitchen drawer have some element that inspires me. For me the challenge is about a commitment to get in the studio every day even if I don't feel like it and do something creative. It's about trying new things and being inspired by materials that I might not have considered before.

Amuck Design, "Elephant" RAD #105

SW: Where can people buy your jewelry online?
AD: I have an etsy shop where my jewelry can be purchased online.

SW: What one idea or thing inspires you most in your work?
AD: I am inspired largely by color and fashion. A nice piece of graffitti is also very inspiring!

Amuck Design, "Victorian Skull" RAD #74

Thanks Andrea for taking the time to give us this interview especially on the eve of preparing a show for The Buyers Market of American Craft!!!

Awarded an Etsy Team Grant!

RAD 48, Prosperity Ring by Carrie Nunes

We are very happy to announce that EtsyMetal has been awarded an Etsy Team Grant for 'RAD, a Ring a Day for 365 days' at next year’s Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference in Seattle!

The Etsy Team Grant will be used towards purchasing materials (wood, paint, etc) and beginning to build the cases for the exhibition! We are grateful to Etsy for their funding and support! It is an exciting start to our fundraising!

A Visit to the PUNCH Gallery

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit Seattle and attend meet with some artist members at Punch Gallery. PUNCH is an artist run gallery in the heart of the gallery district in downtown Seattle. Visiting the gallery helped me see the space to prepare for the show. Artist members were busy setting up the show for the gallery opening and I was able to ask Howard Barlow some questions.

The featured artist for September is Patricia Hagen with a solo show entitled, "Spill". This exhibition features new oil paintings and watercolors by Patricia Hagen. In these works, Hagen continues her investigation into the representation of inter-dependant organic systems.


Here's the official statement from Punch Gallery: "PUNCH was founded in March 2006 by a group of artists eager to participate in the dynamic cultural exchange resulting from the emergence of other artist-run galleries in Seattle. P seeks to exhibit work that is honest, thoughtful, vocal, fearless, and fresh. Applauding individual expression, the gallery’s primary mission is to provide support and encouragement for artists to create and exhibit their work in an atmosphere free from the constraints of commercialism. Committed to excellence on every level, PUNCH promotes the visual arts as a necessary, valid, and worthwhile contribution to Seattle’s cultural growth."

Patricia Hagen, Tower, oil on canvas, 62 x 48 inches, 2010

Ring a Day Artist Interview: Thomasin Durgin (a.k.a. Metal Riot)

The Ring a Day Project has been a long journey for most of the artists involved. It is emotional, exhausting, compelling, invigorating, and just plain hard. There are about 20 metalsmiths who are still making their ring daily. Thomasin Durgin was kind enough to give us an interview.

Thomasin Durgin's "Crown of Thorns Cilice Ring" RAD 31

SW: Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background in metalsmithing.
TD: I have an MFA in Fiber Art and didn't begin working with metal until three years ago, I am a collector of mid-century modernist jewelry and was finally inspired to make my own pieces. I took a three-week Introduction to Jewelry Making class and have been teaching myself ever since. I am very much a beginner, I have lots of learning and many tools ahead of me.

SW: How did you hear about the EtsyMetal’s Ring a Day project initiated by Nina Dinoff?
TD: Nina is a friend, and we are both members of EtsyMetal. Nina presented her idea to the team and those interested took up the challenge.

SW: What compelled you to participate and persist in this endeavor?
TD: I have a notoriously hard time with daily discipline and maintaining a commitment to long-term projects. I have challenged myself to make something specific every day many times in the past, but never for longer than 31 consecutive days. I thought I'd give 365 a try.

SW: When did you start this project?
TD: On January 6, 2010. Victoria Takahashi talked me into, after 100 rings she dropped out and I still miss her. [Victoria has since rejoined the project].

SW: How many rings have you made to date?
TD: 229 [when this interview was submitted Thomasin's rings were up-to-date, she is now at 244]

Thomasin Durgin, "Ring for Haiti" RAD 13

SW. What is your favorite ring that you made and why?
TD: I don't have a single favorite, but I am really glad I made my Ring for Haiti on the day the terrible earthquake hit that country. That ring led to a fundraiser auction of other rings to benefit Haiti, and I made lots of great new metalsmith friends in the process. We raised $1780 in total and many of the rings auctioned were from the RAD project.

SW: What was your least favorite ring that you made and why?
TD: One day I was out of time, so I cut a ring from a piece of bamboo I had collected from the street while walking my dogs. That felt like a cop out. There are other rings that I made terrible mistakes on - broken stones, bezels that were too large or small, etc. - but they don't disappoint me because at least I tried to create something.

Thomasin Durgin, "RAD 153"

SW: How have you changed as an artist since you began this project?
TD: I've been working as an artist for a long time, this experience has not changed my process or how I approach my work, it's simply another avenue for me. I do think that some of my metal skills have improved since I took on the challenge, possibly more rapidly than they would have if I weren't doing RAD.

SW: Has your involvement in RAD affected your business?
TD: Yes - and not in a good way! I do not care to ever create the same thing twice, yet I have to make those "bread and butter" items to pay the bills. I'd much rather spend three hours on a conceptual piece for exhibition than on boring production work that I can actually sell, and I often do. It's quite a problem, actually.

Thomasin Durgin, "Bad Girl Button Ring" RAD 9

SW: What advice would you give to anyone who wanted to participate? TD: Run! Flee! Save yourself!

Just kidding. For myself, this project is about the long haul, a ring a day for a year, period. If someone takes the challenge that far they will find themselves in a very small and welcoming group of people who support each other on a daily basis. We all look at each other's rings and leave comments every day. Giving feedback and supporting the others has become just as important to me as making my rings, and without all of those special people I would not be able to keep going.

SW: Where can people buy your jewelry online?
TD: I mostly sell in galleries and at art festivals, but I do have an esty shop, and plans to add a shopping cart to my web site thomasin.com soon.

Thomasin Durgin, "RAD 151"

SW: What one idea or thing inspires you most in your work?
TD: I am most interested in making conceptual art, much of my work is political in nature and lately I have been focusing on the Deepwater Horizon spill and the torture at Abu Ghraib prison. I also make wearable jewelry that is firmly rooted in craft and I enjoy that as well, but I consider those pieces to be design and don't refer to them as art.

SW: Would you like to tell us anything else?
TD: Nope.

Thanks Tomi!!! You have been an inspiration to us all!

Thomasin Durgin, "RAD 208"