Ring Giveaway

Introduction

I have been thinking a lot about ring giveaways. I’ve decided to give it a try and I am excited to announce that I will be partnering up with @delaneymay.designs for this giveaway. They will be giving away a beaded bracelet and I will be giving away a ring from the “Impressions of Nature” collection. I will do this every so often per ring category from my site. If whom ever wants to participate they will just have to follow the rules to enter. At the end, the randomly chosen person will win a free ring of their choice from that category. How about that. My goal, of course, is to help spread the word and grow Dana Arts following both here and on Instagram. Please help by spreading the word and you might win a free silver ring. So lets just get right into it.

Rules to enter:

1. Like the contest entry instagram post/reel.

2. Tag a friend in the comments of the Instagram post (separate comments for each tag gives you more of a chance to win)

3. Follow Anja @delaneymay.designs and me @DanaArts on Instagram.

Dates: October 7th 2023 is the first day to enter. Winner will be randomly chosen Saturday night October 14th at 7pm Arizona time. :)

Winner: Once the winner is chosen and they chose a ring, it will take 3 weeks to make it and get it to you.

Rings from my collection “Impressions of Nature”

Jewelry Cleanup after Casting

The Raw Casting

After a ring is cast into metal it has this casting skin on it that prevents the metal from shining. Also the surface is semi smooth for smooth waxes and a little more rough for waxes that were not that smooth before casting. The color is also a little different. Just after casting the metal is a bit oxidized which means it’s black on the surface with a hint of the metal color mixed in. It needs to be “pickled” or put into some acid that will get rid of the black surface and make the metal a nicer color. For silver that is a dull white and for 14k yellow gold it’s a dull yellow. Now it’s ready to go to the cleanup process where the casting skin can be taken off.

Just after casting. The ring is now ready to go into the “pickle” or acid to get the black surface to a clean surface.

These silver castings have already been pickled to a dull white color. Some of them have been cut off the tree.

The cleanup process

Cleaning up the jewelry after casting can be a lot of work, but it’s rewarding. Bands are probably the easiest to clean up. Some engagement rings can be very difficult and time consuming. So let me explain the process so you can have a better idea. I’ll go through the general idea.

After a ring is cast the sprue has to be cut off which is where the metal was poured into the impression of the ring (see the image above). You do that by grinding it off until smooth with the rings surface. I usually will get it as close as I can, but not quite all the way. I can then use a finer grinder or even a file to help file it down. Then sand paper at various grits can be used to get the surface super smooth. This is the general idea. I’ll go over wedding bands and engagement rings in the next parts.

Sanding the sides of a ring after it had been blackened.

Wedding Bands

So wedding bands are usually simple and straight forward. Again, once cut off it has to be grind down so that it’s non existent. As you get close to the actual ring surface while grinding you have to slow down and take your time and use less aggressive methods. Then the whole ring has to be done in this way to get every surface clean and smooth as possible. Now it’s ready for polishing.

Silver rings that have been blackened and a light satin finish applied. Ready for polishing.

Engagement Rings

Engagement rings are sometimes a bit trickier to clean up. For these more difficult rings you need to used small files or even a small amount of sand paper wrapped around the tip of a mini file to smooth hard to reach areas. Also using a rubber wheel can help out a lot. This is attached to your flex shaft. It spins very fast and can speed things up if you are careful. Leaving it too long in one spot can dig into the surface and ruin it. So be careful and take your time. There are times you even need to use dental floss with polish on it to polish up hard to reach areas. Although there are some places you can’t get to there is a solution to at least brighten it up. Using a magnetic tumbler with tinny steel needle like pieces are used to tumble the ring and get those non accessible areas. Once the ring is cleaned up to the best of your ability and as smooth as it can be it’s ready for polishing.

Rendering of a platinum engagement ring I designed many years ago.

Conclusion

Cleanup after casting a ring is a very important process to go through. This will determine how much easier the next step of polishing will become. It makes the ring clean and free of blemishes and rough surfaces getting it ready for polishing. I have to say that I don’t think many people know what’s involved in getting a ring ready for final viewing. Usually it’s seen as a highly polished and perfect piece of jewelry, but it wasn’t always like that. It is quite the process that takes progressive steps along the way until its shine goes through. I hope this explanation helps a little bit to visualize the process and maybe think about the craftsmanship that goes into making a finished jewelry piece.

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Lost Wax Casting

What is lost wax casting? I’m glad you asked because I’d love to explain what this is. It’s a process in which you take a wax, invest it and then cast metal into where the wax was. This is the most simple explanation. I’ll go into more depth in just a minute.

So I’ve been casting my own silver for a long time now. I enjoy it very much. I feel it helps me fell more complete as an artist. This is because I am able to do the whole process myself. I design something in my head or on paper and then can build it in CAD without having to rely on someone else’s ideas or influence the design. I also don’t have to micromanage a designer to pull out what’s in my head. I can then get a precision wax made of what I built in CAD. From there the wax is sprued up into a wax tree. This tree can then be weighed and covered in a metal flask. The investment is then mixed and poured into the flask. Once dried the rubber bottom is then removed and you’ll see the wax sitting there. You put that part face down inside the kiln. During this process the wax melts out and leaved the impression of the art piece. Once it finishes an 8 hour cycle and brought down to the proper temperature, the flask is removed and placed on the vacuum cast machine. There are other types of casting machines, but vacuum casting is the method I use. I then take silver and heat it up to the proper temperature and then pour it into the flask where the wax once was. The silver solidifies and cools off. I can then quench it in a bucket of water and remove the silver casting. If everything worked as it should, the jewelry item is with all the details the wax had. Then the sprues (which are the wax rods that connect the opening where the silver is poured in to the jewelry item) are cut off and the jewelry item can be cleaned up and finished. It’s a lengthy process that is very rewarding as an artist. I do not cast gold even though I could and have before. This is because it’s a bit costly for me right now. Maybe in the future I can. Anyway, that is the process of the lost wax casting. I hope you enjoy the process.

Garden House Plans Approved

It has been a little over a year now that we purchased this land. We started right away to get the plans for a house done. The process was a long one as you can see. The long wait was lack of knowledge and research that I had to do as I was trying to make my plans. With a long story short, I turned in the plans, which was a three month wait, and they were redlined. This means that the county went through the plans and marked all the errors. I then needed lots of help and thanks to family I was able to finally get these plans approved by the county. So what is next?

Next is to get this home built asap. I can’t wait. We are super excited. Hopefully within this month we can get it all worked out to get started.

I also need to clear a huge pile of trees and branches. I’ll need some help to speed things up. Once cleared that acre will be ready to go for building. Last night I was working in the moonlight separating the branches while listening to music. It was such a great time. The weather was perfect and I could not have been enjoying some good old work more than then. For sure these are times to remember.

Pile of trees that I started to cut up

Trash Removal

So we were able to have a project happen. :) We are so thankful for a friend and the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to come and help us with loading up a 40 yard bin full of trash. It took about half the day for us to fill it. The missionaries were so kind to help out and it saved us so much work. We would still be loading this thing if it weren’t for them. Now that the bulk of it’s in there we can order another bin to handle the more manageable leftovers that’s laying around. There are so many weeds (mallow) that there is a lot of small trash that is hidden now. I’ve come to the conclusion that there will always be small amounts of trash in the dirt. The long term plan would be to pick it up as you see it. The only other way would be to scrape the top layer of dirt off and replace it with fresh dirt, which would be too costly. Either way it’s looking better. Can’t wait to keep working at it.

This weekend we will start loading up another 40 yard dumpster. This time it won’t be as full, but will have a heavier load. We get 4 tons and then we have to pay for every ton over that. We have two weekends to do it. I hope we can get a lot done. This time no help. EEEEK. From here we will be able to get the little stuff out over time. Yeah. Looking good.

Garden Beds

I love gardening and I wish I had more time for it. last weekend I was able to make one more garden bed 18’ x 5’. I had planned on making two more of them, but only had time for the one. The next few weekends are busy. I had to get some seed into the ground for this growing season. My family and I were able to plant more carrots, some lettuce, three or four types of tomatoes, broccoli, onions, sweet snap peas, sun flowers, basil and thirteen types of peppers. I think that’s all. Hopefully something comes up. I’ve never had much success with tomatoes from seed, but I did a whole row of them. I hope at least a few come up. Anyway, if all of it grows we will have more that we need. I plan on doing what I can to preserve extra and then give away the rest to family and friends.

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Garden Beds

Ok so another week passed and I didn’t post. There is another garden bed as you can see. This time my daughter Anja wanted to learn and took the initiative to do it herself. I helped and guided, but she did most all of it from pick axing the ground, mixing the dirt, making the frame, adding more dirt and then the water spraying system. So proud of her. We had a freeze one day that I think was the last, but it did some damage to the citrus trees. The leaves are falling and since they are just freshly planted I hope they can recover now. Because of the frost I feel no seeds have come up after the time frame they should be coming up. I may plant more just in case or maybe the seeds know and are waiting for the right time to pop up.

added another garden bed to the right

Slowly but surely we will get this garden dirt better and better every year and hope this all works out. I did run into a slight problem. Finishing off the water system by adding the last spray heads dropped the water pressure too low to work for these three beds. We took out a few spay heads to try and spread out the water. We managed to get it pretty good, but not perfect. I’m thinking I may just take out the water pressure regulator that is set at around 30psi and just not have one. The pressure is low anyway at around 42psi. That just might fix the pressure though. This also gets me to worry about the water pressure in the house. Hopefully we can maintain a nice pressure from the street that is so far away. We’ll see when that time comes. For now the garden is starting to take shape. A place to come to and take care of. It has taken almost a year to get to this point, but it can only keep improving from here. Until next time. :)

A little update on life

So the holidays were great! It’s a wonderful time of year where we can all enjoy good spirits and family. Now that the new year has started I have hopes that life will continue to grow and expand and mature as the year goes on. I will go through what my plans are for this year.

First off Dana Arts will be posting a new design every month for this year. Keep an eye out for these new and exciting designs. I love designing and want to keep the flow of creativity going through the year. This means creating new design even when there are so many other things I have to take care of in life and in the business. I hope you will be as excited as I am to see each new design as the become available. I’ll try and promote each one through the month so you can have a look at it. I hope to grow Dana Arts this year as much as possible. I need your help to spread the word and continue buying rings that you love. Every bit helps when you are a small business like me with no employees.

American Flag Star ring with and eagle on the inside.

The Garden House. Well the plans were submitted on December 8th. I called today and it has gone through various steps and it’s in the actual plan review stage. They say it will now take another 30-40 business days. Really? They blame it on the holidays and being backed up. They say they are a week ahead and we should have them reviewed by the end of February. That’s a total of 3 months. Wow! I really hope there are no revisions that have to be done because each revision will take another 2 weeks for them to review and hopefully I won’t need weeks to make the changes, but it’s possible. I’m starting to have the feeling the house will not be completed before my son returns from El Salvador in November. I was trying so hard to make that happen, but it will be close. I’m so tired of waiting. Once the plans are approved I know things will move forward and wont' worry so much.

The Garden at the Garden House. Well I have finished the second strip of garden box. They are both 5ft by 15ft. The next ones will be a little longer. I need to pull weeds and then start mixing the dirt. I would like to get a few more done before spring planting. The new Home Depot just opened here in San Tan Valley so I can make shorter trips for the things I need. for building, so that is a plus.

The driveway. We need to be working on this. I have a friend that will come help me cut some 23” pipe that will hopefully go in at the front of the driveway. I need to destroy a little of the old cement of the old spot for the pipe so this new one can go in it’s place. I then would like to brick lay the end of it and then fill the top with cement. The top cement layer will be thin as this pipe is in reality too big and should be smaller, but that is what size is there and our wonderful neighbor is so kind and generous to give us that pipe. So I’m humbly thankful for their generosity. Once the driveway is fixed we can get rid of all the trash that is on the property. It will feel good to have it cleaned up a bit more. Each new stage is challenging and I am up for it. This is where I want to live and improving the land is a way to make life happier.

Broken part of the driveway.

We all need something in life that keeps us going and keeps us happy. For me it’s believing in God and Jesus Christ and all they do for me as I strive to follow the gospel that has been taught. My family and the joy they bring to me everyday. My work that to me isn’t really work, but play time. My new home where I can create a place of peace and beauty for my family and I. A place of safety where we can all grow together. This is what life is all about. With this we can also then think about serving and helping others the best we can and know how to. We are all here on this journey through life and it’s wonderful to serve and help others the best we can. It only lifts our souls and make life that much easier and joyful. I hope this year that we all can progress together on this journey of life to live it to it’s fullest.

The Garden House Plans are submitted

I’m so excited to announce that after 8 months of figuring out how to get and make plans for our future home has been submitted to the county for review. It will take 40 business days for the county to review the plans. I figure there will be some changes that will have to happen and they will red line lots of it, but I am relieved that the first step is done. I’m sure we will be able to work on what ever changes are necessary, but right now I don’t know what they would be so I’ll wait. Once all the necessary changes are made and they are approved, I’ll keep you all updated. To me this is the hardest part of the whole process. The not knowing, uncertainty, the research, the feeling of being alone in this, my lack of understanding, the pressure, and the list goes on. I know this is the right path for my family and I so I keep at it with all I’ve got.

Now that the plans are submitted I will concentrate on fixing the driveway. The tube that goes over the irrigation ditch is breaking on the sides. It’s caving in and needs repair or replacement before any large trucks can drive over it. I found out that I don’t need a permit and I can do it myself. So the planning begins. I am analyzing it right now. Only the last 3 feet of it is damaged and mainly because the metal tube on the inside is rusted out. The rest seams fine. So I may just repair the end, but maybe the whole thing too. It may depend on how much pipe I have to buy. If it comes in only long sections then I may have to buy it and instead of waste it I’ll just replace the whole tube. Ripping all that out will be quite the project too. Such fun times, but I need to get on this and have it done by the time my house plans get done being reviewed. This way I’m prepared for the next steps. The first thing after the driveway is fixed will be to get the trash hauled off the property. Can’t wait.

The pressure is on. I need this all to go as smoothly as possible because I only have one year before Lucas gets back from his mission in El Salvador. I need the house done by this time. So yes, the pressure is on to get all this done asap. I do great and even better under pressure. I just hope the builder and crews can and will do the same. :) A lot still just depends on how smooth this plan approval goes with the county. So wish us luck and if your religious, keep us in your prayers.

The front of the Garden House

Photo Editing

So I’ve always loved photography and have been playing around with it most of my life. I’ve also been playing around with Photoshop for just about as long. I am no expert and still am amazed at how other people in such a short time have, what I feel, surpassed me in so many ways. I guess I’m a slow learner. lol. Seriously I still don’t think I know what I’m doing, but I am getting more comfortable in trying to achieve what I like. Maybe there is just no end to the learning process so I’ll never master it. I really love how filters and editing photos can create feeling and a look that can not be achieved by just a snap shot. Yes, it’s best to get a photo near perfection when taking the photo, but post processing is so amazing and fun. Sometimes filters help with an image where I had low light and I could not get a clear shot. Photoshop can help with that and filters can also help create a look that helps the photo or saves the photo where normally I would just have to trash it if were on it’s own.

My daughter recently wanted a photo shoot for her 16th birthday. I hope I was able to create they type of feeling and photos that she was wanting. I was able to be a little more creative than usual. I have a long ways to go, but each time I practice i learn new things.

Here are a few from that session in the forest.

Again, Not perfect and probably sloppy, but it’s fun. What more can I say. I enjoy doing it and I get sucked in. Some people might not like photos that are edited or filtered, but I do. It’s being even more creative after the shot has been taken. I have never done any creative photography for anyone besides myself or family, but I’m always willing to give it a try. If you like my style then let’s get creative.

Garden Update

Finally I finished the irrigation for the garden section of the yard. I have one strip that I mixed in some manure into the dirt and then a good top layer of soil. I’ve planted and already have Sunflowers, Carrots, Lettuce, Kale, Sweet snap peas, Green onion, Garlic, Sweet Basil, Cilantro, and maybe something else. We managed to cover the small row with a mesh that should keep out the birds and wild chickens while everything spouts. Once the plants grow up a bit, I’ll take off the mesh and hope for the best. I plan on having five more strips of garden like this one. I finally have enough area where we can have enough to eat and not just a taste of the fresh veggies every year. I have all the valves hooked up for the other areas, but I don’t have the final way it’s going to be done yet. There is still a lot to do, but I’m going to wait on those parts until the house gets built. I don’t want to get too far along and then have to ruin part of it when the house gets built. What I have is enough for now. A fun winter garden.

This is the first row that is 5’ x 15’