Jewelry Smithing Projects

All of the silver and bronze projects I've made. Most of these were manufactured in the Product Realization Lab foundry at Stanford under the instruction of Sara Shaughnessy and Amanda Knox Sather. They are roughly in chonological order, newest first.

Cloak Clasp

Prompt: Reinterpretation of a common symbol or a form found in nature

The cloak clasp is made of a mountain range contained within a circular frame. I wanted to reform the idea a rocky and jagged mountain, and instead highlight how they flow together. The contrast of the patinated pockets with the high polish ridges emulates how a river flows down the mountainside and rounds the rocks as it goes. This piece is cast in ancient bronze, with three strands of bronze chain soldered onto the back of each side. It holds a cloak closed by having each side act as a button and put through button holes in the front of the cloak.

Abstract Pendant

Prompt: Hand carve a piece that doesn't fit into three different boxes, but weighs <8.5 g in bronze

This bronze piece started from the idea of connection, especially within nature (like mycelium and tree roots). I wanted to reflect the beauty and randomness of that connection, as well as it's branching nature. This pendant was hand carved in wax before being investment cast and polished.

Signet Ring

Prompt: Intentionally design every angle and aspect of the piece, leave nothing as coincidence

This silver ring is a take on the signet ring, but shield shaped instead of a traditional oval or circle. The band tapers down to fit between the fingers, but becomes heavier in order to support the shield on top. In contrast to the high polish of most of the piece, the engravings around the shield are patinated. No signet is added yet, as I don't have a crest, nor the tools (or skills!) to engrave it.

"S" Pendant

Prompt: Design a piece for someone in particular, making it unique to them

This pendant is made to match the one "Z" one I made before it. In keeping with the caligraphic theme, I took my partner's handwriting and translated into the "S" of the pendant, making it unique to both his writing and as a pair to my own. Finishing it to a high polish was somewhat challenging, as it's a small piece and I was afraid the long tails would bend if I applied too much pressure while polishing.

"Z" Pendant

This pendant was made as an everyday piece I could wear with anything. I wanted to have a necklace that would just mean something to me but not be super flashy and obvious. The "Z" was made in CAD, then 3D printed in castable wax. The challenge was to make the letter not just a flat extrusion or wire replacement, but a visually interesting take on the letter form.

Flower Pendant

Prompt: Design a piece that explores the idea of duality and contrast

This pierced pendant plays with the duality of shape, as well as positive/negative space (like all piercing projects). The circular center pattern and radiating petals contrast the square outside, with the rounded edges bridges them together. This peice was peirced out of silver sheet (with a whopping 10 holes!), and polished to a high gloss finish.

Dragon Filigree

This necklace is made from a combination of a center cast body, and silver wire wings. I learned from a pair of Navajo jewelers their filigree technique, which uses much thicker wire than most filigree. The soldering on this piece was difficult, as there were so many attachment points — two internal wing pieces and the outline for each side, the split rings, and the twisted filigree. If I overheated the piece at any point it would have undone all of my previous work.

Abstract Earrings

This pair of earrings is pierced out of 1.2 mm sheet silver. I was given a 1in square piece of material, and had to figure out how to cut both shapes from it. I then soldered 8x10mm bezel cups to each earring and set the onyx cabachons. They were then sanded, engraved, and pin finished for the final textured look. The pieces needed to be recognizably inspired by dragons, but not just the full shape, so I took some key features and used the onyx to represent the rest.

Mountain Ring

This is my first cast piece, and the first ring. Originally carved in wax, it was vacuum cast out of silver in the foundry at the Stanford Product Realization Lab. After casting, I used files to create the rocky texture and patina to emphasize the uneveness. I wanted the band to look solid and feel thick, but not too heavy. The inside was polished pretty smooth for comfort. While this ring has sentimental value to me, I think I would do a lot differently after having made many other pieces.

Flame Pendant

My first silver project ever, and an introduction to the techniques of piercing and soldering. This was pierced out of 1mm silver sheet, and the design was inspired by the animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender. I learned how to solder with a hand torch in order to add the ring to this piece. For a first project I definitely made it hard on myself, both in the challenge of making an even swirl in the center, and with difficult soldering position for the ring. However, I'm still pretty satified with how it turned out, though I did refinish it recently.