Siobhan McCloskey | Manifest Figment!

Artist: Siobhan McCloskey, Washington
Materials: sterling silver, lemon quartz
Size: 7.5

Artist Statement: Manifest Figment! (Invocation Ring IV) The design of this ring started out as a figment of my imagination. I wanted to take the box ring/poison ring/invocation ring combo to the next level. The question was could I make what I visualized into reality? I'm always challenging the limits of my capabilities when I come up with a new design. With this one I definitely faced failure a couple of times.

The purpose of an invocation ring is to write a message and insert it into the cavity and then wear the ring to warm and therefore strengthen the intention. Plead with a wayward deity? World’s smallest shopping list? A mantra. A tiny prayer. The name of someone you love. The possibilities are endless. This is the fourth ring I have made with the invocation cavity as a concept. The invocation I permanently placed in a tube setting in the first one seems to be working!!

As an aside...I entered another ring in this form last year but I didn't submit a video. I was just beginning to feel out the social media aspects required and I hadn't really tried out video yet. When I finally posted a video of Invocation Ring III on IG it got 5738 likes!! I enjoyed the whole process thoroughly last year and it definitely helped me start to grow my business. Thank You!

Artist Bio: I'm a talisman jeweler. The significance of a piece, the memories it will hold, the power it projects are at the forefront of my mind when I'm creating. I've been working at becoming a jeweler for about 16 years but I've certainly been making jewelry since I was young. My father was head goldsmith in the repair shop at Lux Bond Green and Stevens in Hartford, CT. From childhood, when he would take me to visit his shop, I was fascinated by the the tools and methods. As a second generation metalsmith I hope to carry on the joy I felt and witnessed when my father would deliver a piece he created or admired. After 4 years of work study at Pratt Fine Arts Center Seattle in the sculpture and jewelry departments I completed the Jewelry Technician Intensive at Revere Academy in San Francisco in 2012. Currently I work from my studio in the '57 Biscayne artist's collective in Pioneer Square, Seattle.

This ring was part of Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2023, an online exhibition and competition. View the entire collection HERE, view the matches HERE, and learn more HERE.