1. Intermediate
  2. Project 9 steps

Lampwork and fine silver bead ring

Make a unique and fun ring by setting a bright lampwork bead on pure silver. By Emma Baird

The Artist

Emma Baird

Emma Baird is a Senior Art Clay Instructor and runs a wide variety of Metal Clay Courses, from those for beginners to the world recognised Certification Program. She teaches for Art Clay Scotland in Edinburgh. She is also a member of the Art Clay Guild working on education. As an accomplished lampwork artist Emma frequently designs innovative jewellery that combine her two passions, beads and silver.

Tools & Materials

  • 17g Art Clay Silver
  • Syringe type
  • Lampwork bead
  • Silver spacer bead
  • Approximately 1 ½ inches of 2mm Sterling silver wire
  • Olive oil or badger balm
  • Water and paintbrush
  • Cling film
  • Ring mandrel
  • Ring sizing gauge
  • Ring sizing papers
  • Roller
  • 1.5mm & 1mm spacer
  • Work mat
  • Rubber block
  • Doming block
  • Texture sheet
  • 2cm flower cutter
  • Cocktail stick & 1.5mm drill bit
  • Craft knife or tissue blade cutter
  • 180 Grit sanding pad
  • Polishing papers
  • Kiln or kitchen torch and firing brick
  • Hammer and anvil
  • Polishing cloth

Step 1

Use a ring sizing gauge to measure your chosen finger. To allow for shrinkage you need to make your ring three sizes larger (e.g. if your finger is a size 17 you will make a size 20 ring). Place the sized up ring gauge on the mandrel and mark with a pencil on either side of it. Now wrap a ring sizing paper around the mandrel lining the dark line on the paper up with your pencil marks.

Step 2

Remove your clay from its package and set aside in cling film. Oil your texture sheet and your mat with olive oil. Never use Vasaline. Massage your clay inside the cling film making it soft and place it on your texture. Place 1.5mm spacers on top of your texture mat with your clay between them. Roll out your clay. Fold it in half lengthwise until you have a long slab of clay around half an inch thick.

Step 3

Moisten the ring sizing paper and your clay with a damp finger or brush. Place clay on the mandrel following the papers guide line. Allow the clay to overlap itself. Cut through the overlapping clay on the diagonal with a craft knife or tissue blade cutter. Use syringe type to attach the ends of the seam together. Embed the Sterling silver post into (but not right through) the clay on the opposite side to the seam.

Step 4

Dry for 10 minutes with an embossing gun or 20 minutes in the oven at 130°C. Allow to cool and gently remove from the mandrel. Remove the ring sizing paper. Assess insides for any gaps or cracks. Pay particular attention to the seam reinforcing and filling with paste or syringe where necessary. Check the outside of your ring filling repeating this process and set aside.

Step 5

Clean and oil your mat. Roll remaining clay between 1mm spacers. Take a 2cm flower cutter and press it through the clay until it contacts the mat. Remove and wrap any excess clay in cling film. Remove clay from cutter and use a cocktail stick to make a pilot hole. Place in a lightly oiled doming block to shape. Dry briefly with a heat gun then remove from the block. Dry ring and flower thoroughly with either a heat gun or oven.

Step 6

Place your ring onto a 180 grit sanding pad and using a gentle grip sand in a figure of 8. Flip it over and repeat. This will sand both edges flat. Place back onto your mandrel and gently sand where necessary on the rings outer surface removing any jagged areas of clay. Support the ring on your rubber block and file inside. Refine flower disc by placing on a rubber block and sanding with sanding pads. Refine the hole with a 1.5mm drill bit.

Step 7

Ideally fire rings at 800°C for at least five minutes in a kiln. Alternatively fire with a kitchen torch. Place the pieces on a firing brick and direct the flame at them. Maintain a distance of approximately 5cm away from the piece and fire it until it glows a pale orange colour. Maintain this colour for 1 and a half minutes. Take tweezers and set your ring aside at the edge of the block and repeat with the daisy disc.

Step 8

Brush both pieces all over with a soft brass brush. Take a 180 sanding pad to the Sterling post and sand to remove fire scale. Brush inside ring with a short haired tainless steel brush. Polish ring and flower with the polishing papers if a high shine finish is desired. Ream your lampwork bead hole until it fits snugly onto the silver post. Drill out your flower disc hole and spacer bead to fit snugly on the wire.

Step 9

Assemble your components and assess the length of your post. With all the components in place use a needle file to file down the post until it sits only about half a millimetre proud. Place the ring on your anvil and keep a secure grip on it. Now gently tap the protruding silver post with a hammer. This will cause it to flare out and ‘rivet’ the bead in place. Take care not to hit the bead as it may shatter and don’t hammer too hard. Hammer until post is flush. Buff entire ring with polishing cloth.

fashion tips

Team this contemporary piece with designer jeans and summery tops. Look for smart casual accessories in bright colours to add a shot of colour to a neutral background. Enjoy the great outdoors and celebrate summer with friends over a barbeque or picnic lunch

Short-sleeved jacket from £40 Marisota

Dahlia Gladstone Bag £29.99 beautifulthings.co.uk

Scarlet siren earrings £22.50 GlitzySecrets.com

Emma's tips

  • By using a simple cold connection, in this case a rivet, you can set beautiful glass beads on fine silver without the need to fire them together. This takes away the worry of introducing stress into the bead and also ensures the glass does not ‘fume’ from the silver. The best thing is that each ring, by the very nature of lampwork beads, is totally unique
  • Firing tip: If at any time during firing the colour of the piece deepens from the pale orange you are maintaining then increase the distance of the torch from the piece. Decrease distance until desired colour appears
  • Design Tip: Make your ring more flamboyant by adding more components, or more subtle by using a smaller bead and thinner ring band. For a slightly different look, try topping off your bead with a pretty silver bead cap rather than a silver spacer bead. Experiment!

Resources

All tools and materials used in this project are available from www.artclayscotland.com

Emma is running a workshop on how to make these rings at the Art Clay Conference later in the year. You can see more of Emma’s work, including her lampwork beads at her website www.thelittlebeadshop.com