HAMMERWORKS EPIC BODYWEAR

There was a mystical woman in Harlem who had an incredible stone collection, from which I was fortunate enough to gather choice specimens. Upon seeing examples of my work and some of these rocks, my talented friend Timur Civan commissioned me on the spot to create a piece for his mother, incorporating a phenomenal uncut turquoise. I chose to elevate the stone from its setting by fabricating architectural silver risers, to showcase this jagged beauty on the chest. The weighty rock hovers, delicately suspended by front-oriented (beautiful and easy to get to) forged hooks. Everyone loves it, and she wears it regularly.

A friend of mine asked if I ever document pieces in-process. I don’t usually, simply because I don’t think of it. One recent work however, required step-by-step photos, as my client was a long-time soldier, based in Iraq. The commission–a Spartan Warrior Signet Ring–took a very long time, and as a result Dan and I developed a friendly correspondence. We decided I would cast the form from a wax model, using carving and hot tool techniques.

The release of the film “300″ was pure coincidence, and something we both chuckle about, as Dan has dreamed of this ring icon for years. Below you will see the process captions; apologies for poor image quality, they were simple snapshots. Hope it’s informative, even enjoyable.