The New Silversmith: Innovative, Sustainable Techniques for Creating Nature-Inspired Jewelry

by Nicole Ringgold

Overview

In The New Silversmith, jewelry artist Nicole Ringgold shares her cutting-edge sculptural torchwork techniques for creating hand-fabricated, nature-inspired jewelry in sterling silver.

Taking an innovative approach that challenges metalworking’s conventional wisdom, Ringgold creates intricate designs by fusing and carving scraps, and minimizes the need for chemicals by using tools in visionary ways.
 

• Essentials. An overview of safety rules, as well as metal, tools, and torch and how to use them. 
• Projects. A variety of techniques, illustrated by stunning projects ranging from simple chain designs to a textured branch to a delicate dragonfly, provide inspiration as well as instruction.
• Access to online tutorials. QR codes throughout the book link to concise, silent how-to videos that depict the techniques shown.

With The New Silversmith, you’ll learn to create sumptuous earrings, pendants, bracelets, and rings in sterling silver that celebrate natural forms with this revolutionary, zero-waste approach to jewelry making.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760385692
Publisher:	Quarry Books
Publication date:	06/04/2024
Series:	Mastering the Art of Jewelry Making Series
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nicole Ringgold is a silversmith living in Winthrop, Washington, located in the North Cascade mountains. Her art is inspired by her natural surroundings: plants she encounters while hiking through the mountains, the shapes of rocks she plucks from a river, a sound, glimpse, or smell. Her botanical jewelry is hand fabricated, starting with silver sheets and wire, with every piece sawed, soldered, filed, textured, formed, oxidized, and polished. Her intention is to recreate natural forms in silver with as much detail as possible, with the goal of making the metal appear alive. She teaches silversmithing workshops in her home studio and around the world. For more about Nicole’s work, workshops, and tutorials, visit nicoleringgold.com and @ringgoldnicole on Instagram.

Editorial Reviews

03/18/2024

Jewelry artist Ringgold’s winsome if daunting debut shows how to forge silver acorns, dandelions, and other ecologically oriented objects that can be attached to a ring, bracelet, or necklace. Though Ringgold provides an overview of required tools (an anvil and awl for punching holes are among the essentials) and recommended materials (she prefers working with sterling silver for its versatility), the volume is “geared toward metalsmiths with intermediate to advanced experience” and spends little time otherwise introducing readers to the craft. Standout projects include a poppy blossom with textured petals created by hammering “very consistently... from the center outward” and a silver clamshell featuring barnacles made from scrap wires. To create a monarch butterfly, Ringgold describes how to make the insect’s black patterning by drilling holes in a sheet of silver, which is then overlaid onto brass cut to resemble wings. Simpler projects include a necklace resembling a bicycle chain and leaves with wires soldered on to represent veins. This shouldn’t be anyone’s first metalsmithing guide, but Ringgold’s intricate designs impress and she doles out plenty of helpful tips. For instance, she notes that applying the chemical compound liver of sulfur to a finished piece “highlights details and emphasizes contours” by oxidizing the silver. Seasoned metalworkers will want to take note. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Winsome... Ringgold’s intricate designs impress, and she doles out plenty of helpful tips... Seasoned metalworkers will want to take note."

—Publishers Weekly

"This is a good addition for libraries that support jewelry making or metalsmithing programs."

—Library Journal

"A must for the novice and with a great deal of value for even the more experienced jewelry maker."

—Midwest Book Reviews

“Nicole @ringgoldnicole - Her classes are a true gift of allowing you to bypass all of her own screw-ups and hard lessons she’s gone through. . . . She is a master of her craft, yet she’s so generous in sharing her journey.”—Erika Martenson, mountaingirlsilver.com

“I have always admired Nicole Ringgold’s work. [Her] workshop exceeded my expectations and was beyond anything I could have hoped for from an instructor. I felt that my skill level and confidence skyrocketed by the end of the six-day workshop. Nicole’s philosophy is ‘anything is possible,’ which is evident in each nature-inspired piece she creates. . . . Within one class she can challenge a beginner as well as an experienced metalsmith, creating an environment that stresses process (at your own pace) over product, making each student feel like they can indeed do anything. A Nicole Ringgold workshop is not to be missed if you are lucky enough to snag a coveted spot!”

—Dina Post, dinapostjewelry.com

“I have been a professional jewelry artist for over thirty years. There is always something else to learn and master. This was driven home when I took a life-changing workshop with Nicole Ringgold. This experience enhanced the way that I see and work with metals, deepening and expanding my understanding and appreciation of their endless possibilities. Nicole approaches things from her own fresh viewpoint, torching the rules and pushing the limits. Her teaching is enthusiastic, creative, thoughtful, and organized. My first experience was so inspiring that I have traveled across the country twice to take additional classes with her. Each class has been different enough to nurture and enhance my understanding of and practice in metals, partly because Nicole continues to grow as an artist and teacher. Additionally, I have witnessed all of my fellow students catching the fire of enthusiasm and forging ahead with their work. I am thrilled that Nicole has written a book and look forward to seeing how she captures and expresses her ideas and techniques on paper. And I have no doubt that her book will be as riveting as her studio teaching.”

—Lucy Golden, lucygoldenjewelry.com

"I’ve taken several of Nicole’s metalsmith workshops, and not a single one has passed without me saying, 'Well, that tip is worth the price of admission, I can go home now'—and that’s just on the first day! Nicole is authentically kind, generous with her wisdom, and bears a wicked sense of humor. Her skills are unmatchable, and her patience endless. She’s a brilliant instructor, and a wonderful human being. If I sound like a gushing fangirl, it’s because I am. And I’m not alone."
 —Janette Kotichas, Boulder, Colorado

"I have had the pleasure of working with Nicole Ringgold multiple times in various workshop settings, including her dreamy and well-appointed studio in Winthrop, Washington. Nicole’s innovative approach to silversmithing opens up an entirely new world of possibilities. Combining classic techniques with her own bold experimentation, Nicole goes where no silversmith has gone before—then turns with a grin, extends a hand, and warmly welcomes you to join her. She is thorough, caring, and has a beautiful way of seeing not only the potential in the material, but in the creative spirit of her students. Learning Nicole’s techniques has radically changed the way I approach my own bench, and has given me confidence to push the limits and keep on thinking outside the box. I am thrilled for this benchside reference to guide and inspire me on many projects to come!"

—Jess Anderson, lowtidelanding.com

“Nicole Ringgold has taught for Vivi Magoo for many years, and she continues to awe and amaze our students with her unique approach to metalsmithing techniques and design. Using recycled sheet metal and wire along with scraps of metal and minimal tools, Nicole creates hand-fabricated sculptural designs that give honor to nature in the form of wildlife, flora, and fauna. I know of no one else who creates the way she does—carving and sculpting in sterling silver—she is a true artist in every sense of the word. I highly recommend her new book; it will give you all the inspiration and motivation you need to believe in yourself, think outside the box, and let your own creative abilities shine.”—Barb Solem, ViviMagoo.com

From the Publisher

06/10/2024

As a mostly self-taught metalsmith, Ringgold has developed one-of-a-kind techniques that sometimes defy traditional conventions. In her first book, she introduces experienced silversmiths to her approach through a series of nature-inspired decorative and jewelry projects. The tutorials open with a series of four chains in unusual styles, designed to provide practice opportunities to use and control a torch. These are followed by 14 projects that celebrate the shapes of nature, from leaves and flowers to luna moths and lichen. Each project includes detailed fabrication instructions, with most steps illustrated by close-up photographs of the artist at work. The directions are extensive—these aren't simple projects—and a solid foundation in silversmithing is assumed, to the point where beginners may find this book perplexing. Little attention is paid to silversmithing basics beyond the necessary supplies (of which there are many), and terms such as "pickling" are mentioned throughout the book without explanation or guidance. VERDICT This is a good addition for libraries that support jewelry making or metalsmithing programs. Beginners, however, may need to first start with a more basic guide, such as Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers by Elizabeth Bone.—Nanette Donohue

Library Journal