Thinking outside the box....

Kelly Russell's Ring A Week Report:

The first photo is the back of my ring and the second photo is the front with the mother of pearl discs, which I could have made with metal clay

Hi again everyone,
I wasn't going to post about my RAW this time because there was no metal clay involved, but when asked to do so, I thought I would do so with a twist. To start, I basically made this ring because I was running out of time and couldn't find the sheet metal to do the ring I wanted. (I ended up cleaning my studio, moving things around and finding forgotten little treasures, etc...). So, I had to look at what loose little bits of supplies I had to make a ring with....surprisingly, I have a lot of these little bits of experiments...

After I had sifted through my bits, I decided to go with the sheet epoxy I had played with last year when I made a "faux amber stone" with a metal clay dragonfly inside. I had poured out sheets of tinted epoxy and let them cure and then cut them out with scissors into the shapes I needed to make the top and sides of the stone. Since that experiment worked so well, I now have about a dozen different colored sheets to choose from.

Resin "Amber" with a fine silver dragonfly inside.

Anyway, I cut out a strip to fit my finger twice so I could add some rub-on curlie cues in between the layers (a on-the-spot experiment, since I had never tried it before). I then used some of those fun little nuts and bolts to secure the whole kit and kaboodle! I am thinking it would be fun to do this kind of ring with metal clay discs....or, what about different colored epoxy discs stacked with metal clay discs, tapering to a point? As a necklace or earrings? Wouldn't those be fun? Maybe epoxy discs with words embedded into the layers along with text on the metal discs? You could play off that kind of idea for months...or years....

So, the twist is this, with the cost of metal clay skyrocketing, how do you continue to incorporate it into your work without going broke? I am trying to see how to use all those mediums I have learned how to use over the years, to be able to stretch my dollars and still have a great looking piece, regardless if it is jewelry or artwork. What are you doing?

The RAW (Ring A Week) project is helping me with those experiments...gives me a small deadline, makes me focus. (My students will tell you that I get excited in class with all the possibilities and tend to go in all directions!)  By the end of the year, RAW will help me to see my development of ideas. And, of course, something new to try every week!

I hope you will try your own personal RAW or even RAM(as some of my friends are doing!) to get you to think outside the box and grow as the artist you want to become! Maybe get a local group together and meet once a month to show off what you have made and give friendly critiques, develop new ideas and new friends at the same time...how much fun is that???

Anyway, have fun....let me know what you are doing...I would love to see! And if you would like to read how I do my pieces, you can visit my blog...www.Beadfuddled.blogspot.com...and maybe leave a comment?! Have fun in your studios, Kelly