by Imogen Whale
Why lie? I was nervous. This likely stemmed from drill-pressing my finger in Grade 9 shop class; I’m not what you would call a handy person. But when I had the chance to enroll in a class with Arleigh Garratt to create a wide band ring, one of the many creative classes offered through the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, I couldn’t say no.
Arleigh emailed some advice before the class (wear layers, no loose clothing, pack a snack, bring things you may want to utilize like feathers or lace), but what the class itself would yield was a surprise. I always pictured forming silver into jewellery as some beautiful blend of artistic endeavours and grown up shop class. It turns out I wasn’t far off.
The goal of the day would be to create a wide band silver ring from start to finish; from measuring my finger to polishing and taking home the completed project. So on a Friday morning I found myself huddling with three other participants in the cool back room studio at Garnish on Mackenzie Street, ready to uncover the mystery of silver jewellery making.
Arleigh demonstrated every step and encouraged us to not be scared of the flamethrower (torch) when heating the silver to make it pliable. Then she gave us the freedom and the tools to create.
The first step is deciding what you want to your ring to look like in the end. Certain looks require steps to be taken in a different order.
Choosing to give my ring a specific kind of textured finish meant after I cut my silver to the appropriate size, I was able to anneal (using the torch) the silver immediately. Then I began bending the silver into ring form, eventually soldering it and filing away any hint of the seam.
Now I was ready to texture, which, for me, meant I put my ring on the mandrel, carried it outside and starting hammering it on the pavement until I got my desired speckled texture.
From there I utilized some patina to darken the divots, and set to polishing. Having Arleigh there to guide us made all the difference. Moving between students, she was able to keep everyone on task, dispensing advice and encouragement when needed, and helping people avoid making simple mistakes.
Several other participants squished patterns into the silver (which you do first) and one chose a high polish finish while others used patina. Some used leftover silver to make silver blobs, which they then soldered onto their ring for extra decoration.
One participant had previously taken a stacker class and created three thin rings. She put two of those rings onto the wide band which was then flared to keep them in place.
The three hours flew past. There is something immensely gratifying about wearing home the product of your hard work.
Jewellery making marries creative expression with crafting a tangible, wearable piece of art. It also makes one appreciate the cost of handmade jewellery.
With the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre offering a wide variety of classes in various mediums to choose from, there is something for everyone. Arleigh’s classes continue in the New Year and I, for one, will be signed up for the stacker ring class.
This article was first published in the January issue of the free Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.
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