| These rings and bracelets are made with blacksmithing techniques from old steel jeweler's files. Each file has been used for a good long time, then discarded for some reason. My favorite place to collect the used files are tool barns in Maine. All the texture that is seen in this jewelry is there from the original file. |
| These rings are made from machinist's and jeweler's files. Numbers indicate the cut of a file, sometimes there are brands stamped in. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find files that are altered by someone else for a special purpose--those are my favorite to then make a piece of jewelry from. |
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| I love making these with a single or double wrap, with the needle nose end of the file doing the wrapping. |
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| I never quite know what I'm going to make when I sit down at my torch with any single file. Certain shapes indicate definite directions, but the whimsy of this collection seems to come from the spontaneity of the making process. |
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| I sell this collection at the Retail Gallery at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon. I don't make custom pieces, but I do respond to requests for certain sizes--then I'll make a few pieces in that size and see if you like one of them. |
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| Their care? Well, they're old tools, made of steel, and steel plus water equals rust...So leaving them on the wet bathroom counter isn't such a good idea. They won't hold their polish, but they just seem to get better with wear--the constant knocking around keeps them rust free and good looking. |
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| Bracelet from an old Italian rasp--the kind they use in Cararra for shaping marble...the red color is enamel fired over the rasp texture. |
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front of the bracelet
3.5" x 3.5" x 1.5" |
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