Stuart Evensen lives in the northwest and is a skilled craftsmen, with experience with lapidary work, bookbinding, and woodturning…it was a natural progression to bring all these experiences together to create a beautiful series of rings.
“Rings, though small, can carry great meaning, inspiration, and memories”.
Stuart also uses rings as a vehicle to highlight beautiful materials such as German glass glitter and precious and semi-precious stones. From Stuart: ” I was thrilled to discover the German Glass from Meyers Imports. With their high-quality material, I can create unique rings with a high sparkle and depth.”
We have seen these rings in person, (Stuart was kind enough to lend us some sample pieces) and the photos do not do the rings justice. We are amazed (and reminded) that Glitter, something you use might casually use for art, crafts, resin, and other projects can also be used to create a keepsake, a family heirloom, and something you might cherish forever.
Making a ring with a wood core involves turning the core on a lathe from a block of wood. With a sharp tool, I create a channel in the middle for inlaying material. Layers of material are added until the inlay is built higher than the walls of the channel. Then, using grinders, sand, patience, and 80 to 10,000 grit sandpaper Stuart creates a smooth surface on the rough piece. Then, with the lathe running at the high speed of 3,200 rpm he applies diamond polishing grits of 5,000, 10,000, and 50,000. The high speed creates friction and heat for the diamond polish to work. A mirror finish and a stunning piece of art is the result.
The final finish is the result of considerable time sanding and polishing to achieve the ideal shape and a brilliant mirror finish. For Stuart, it is magic to turn a rough, chunky inlay into a ring with a sparkling mirror finish.
If you are interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to Stuart at the following email address: Stuart Evensen, Rara Gems, Portland, Oregon
stueyevensen at the yahoo.com domain
