alright, my finished piece is exactly like I hoped it would be. Creatively, nothing makes me happier than that. To imagine and create. 

From IMAGINE to CREATE… there are a lot of steps between those two words. In my last post, you saw an image of this ring going into the kiln. For those of you who are curious, here is what happens after it comes out.

First a good brushing with a soft brass brush with soap and water. After drying, I use a series of progressively finer polishing papers (3M brand – 6 stages 1-30 micron) getting into all of the grooves is the tough work. A rotary tool with polishing discs is an alternate method, but I have found that there is no comparison to working by hand.

Wow.. my wrist looks exceptionally disproportionate in that light..

Next, using a variegated mix of stainless shot, let it tumble for a while. How long will depend on the piece. Experience will guide you. Tumbling will polish, but more importantly work harden your silver. One day I will write about this topic: how on a molecular level, metal crystals react to heat and pressure and realign when subjected to work hardening or annealing. (I know.. it is more than most of those reading really want to know!) well for now, just know that by tumbling in a rotary tumbler, this piece will be harder and sturdier than had I not taken this step!

Here is the ring and my tumbler.

• Ring gets place into container with stainless shot and polishing solution,
• cover goes on
• rubber gasket around container to seal the lid (and my fingers.. not easy to get that piece on!) 
• place container on rollers 
• and then the important part.. see that hammock in the garden, grab a good “how to book” lay back  with a cup of coffee and learn something new while relaxing to the rhythmic sounds of your tumbler.  

Once all is said and done, after checking and rechecking, clean and rub with a jewelers rouge cloth to polish. Read my tutorial on making a felt pearl and attach!

Voila! I really love how the mirror finish on the silver reflects the felt and light. In person, it has an almost mother of pearl quality to it.

Warning: The hand in the following photograph has been put through rigorous tests, hence the wear and tear and scars from studio mishaps. Owning this ring will not cause this to happen to your hand. Attempting to duplicate or copy this design will!

I am a happy artist. I hope you enjoy what you see.