Battle of the Rings 2023
Competition is now complete!
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2023 Champion Ring | The Purple Thunder
Artist: Tyler Haas, Oregon
Materials: sterling silver, 22k gold, 24k gold, amethyst
Size: 8 1/2
Artist Statement: This ring was inspired by a thunder egg or a geode, where on the outside it looks like a rough stone but break it open and you see sparkling amethyst crystals inside. I wax carved and cast the basic form for the rings, and soldered on extra components like the rough surface of the ring on the top and bottom. The jagged seam where the two rings meet one another is made from 22K gold. The lightning strikes on the surface are 24k gold inlay. The interior is bead set with many amethysts ranging from 1.75-3.5 mm, sprinkled about chaotically like the crystals in a geode. They are arrayed in hombre from lighter Brazilian amethyst near the surface to a darker African amethyst deeper in. I added a beautiful concave cut oval amethyst at the center of the ring, set in 22k gold prongs. The ring is designed to fit snugly and comfortably between the adjacent fingers, showing only the surface of the ring and disguising the sparkling
Learn more HERE.
Representing Team Shanks: Sharon Massey
Sharon Massey is a metalsmith, jeweler and enamelist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her artwork has been exhibited in over 100 juried and invitational exhibitions around the world including Schmuck 2014 and 2015 in Munich, Germany. Sharon’s work has been included in numerous publications, including American Craft and Metalsmith magazines, The Art of Enameling, and Art Jewelry Today 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions. Her work is included in eleven public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Yale University Art Gallery. In 2009, Sharon received the Young Artist Award from Art Jewelry Forum.
Sharon has been invited to teach workshops at Penland School of Craft, Haystack Mountain School for Crafts, the 92nd St Y, the Baltimore Jewelry Center and at universities around the US. She serves on the board of trustees of The Enamelist Society and has previously served on the board of directors of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. She received a BFA from Winthrop University in 1999, and an MFA from East Carolina University in 2006. Her research interests include historical jewelry and adornment as well as new approaches to education and making with emerging technologies.
Representing Team Mandrels: James Thurman
James Thurman is an Associate Professor at the University of North Texas’ College of Visual Arts & Design, where he is a Metalsmithing/Jewelry faculty member. He received his MFA in Metalsmithing from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 2012 and 2016, he was a Fulbright Specialist Scholar in Istanbul, Turkey. A highly active studio artist for over twenty-five years, he is well-known for ThurmaniteÒ, a recycled paper and bio-resin composite material that he developed and trademarked. His recent work is focused on combining ThurmaniteÒ with metal spinning, pewter, and miniature painting techniques.