Lorraine Kolasa - Fan Language (Leave Me the Fuck Alone)

Artist: Lorraine Kolasa
Materials: sterling silver
Size: 6, 7, 8
Dimensions: 2.75" high, 2mm band width

Artist Statement:
For when those unwanted suitors just won’t get the hint! Hand-tatted from cotton thread and then cast into solid sterling silver, this ring marries the concept of a lace fan with that of a set of knuckle dusters. The transformation of lace into metal is fascinating to me—how something so soft, delicate, and lightweight can turn into something deceptively hard, durable, and heavy. Recontextualizing it as a potential weapon takes this one step further, forcing the average viewer to see it not as something frivolous and easily overlooked, but as something demanding of attention and maybe even dangerous.

Artist Bio:
A Metro-Detroit native, Lorraine received her BFA from Eastern Michigan University, with a concentration in jewelry and metalsmithing. In addition to that, fiber crafts have been a hobby of hers for almost as long as she can remember, but the two areas of expertise were long separate until an experiment in found object casting (and some pieces of store-bought lace, specifically) brought them together—and she hasn’t looked back since! She currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI, and is an active member of both the Michigan Silversmiths Guild and the Great Lakes Lace Group.

This ring is part of Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2021, an online exhibition and competition. Shop the entire collection HERE, view the matches HERE, and learn more HERE.