The Road

Remember this?

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Well, I had to start over and finish it right.  But it was worth it.  It’s a Gentleman ring I dubbed “the Road Agent”  for a client with a custom-shaped gold obsidian stone.  It turned out great and has this amazing subsurface gold highlight when the light hits it.

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This whole thing brings up the point of mastery, which is something I am constantly talking to my artist friends about.  What is it and are we (or is anyone) that thing?  The skullsmithing industry is a small community.  We all pretty much know each other and most of my instagram is occupied by makers that I follow.  Everyone seems to be a true master of the craft.  But the truth is that I know for a fact that we all regularly and frequently screw up multiple aspects of projects.  Problem with social media is that you don’t see that stuff, usually.  And I get it.  You don’t want clients thinking you’re incompetent.

But the more I think about ‘mastery’ the more the prospect of imperfection comes to light.  Because the more I learn, the LESS CONFIDENT I become in the craft.  I’ll knock out what I think is a series of absolutely awesome pieces and then screw up something as simple as a stone setting or a comfort fit.   Take that along with discussions I’ve had with other artisans that have what I’d call “mastery” and I’d say that mastery and humility come hand in hand.  In other words, if you’re walking around thinking that you’ve GOT THIS then you’re probably a journeyman at best.  If you’re walking around thinking “holy shit there is so much to learn and all of my contemporaries are so inspiring” then you might be approaching legitimate mastery.

I think this is why most artists I know walk around thinking that at some point they’re going to be ‘found out’ and everyone’s going to realize they don’t know they’re shit and it’s all going to come crashing down.  What’s actually happening is that they’re reaching that peak.  Mastery.  And to call it a ‘peak’ is actually yet another fuck up of mine because I don’t think “mastery” is a place.  I think it’s a path.

So, I’ll leave you with a custom skull ring (full jaw) I finished for a client a few weeks ago that might be one of the finest sculpts I’ve ever made.  Path to mastery, right?

…and then…..

I completely screwed up a wax for a totally similar piece that I should have been able to do perfectly.  This is for a client who is getting multiple pieces from me.

Luckily, I’ve been able to send him finished pieces while we begin remaking this one.  In the meantime, yeah, whooops.

So yes, I’m a master skullsmith.  Yes, I screw up all the time.  Yes, I will end up putting a perfect piece in your hands at the end of it.   Here’s to all the other skullsmiths out there and the next time your silver throws too cold and totally destroys your wax tree, remember that we’re all in the same boat.  I’ll leave you with this shot of a skull I put together in Zbrush.  I’ll be casting this soon to begin working on a new Deaths Head line that will be uber-realistic skulls set in slightly smaller rings:

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Batshit.

You have to get your configuration down.

Only certain equally unstable people will understand what I’m talking about (and perhaps those tolerant few who are currently shacking up with those people) but I can promise you that the configuration is a thing.  The wife watches me stand in front of a small black cabinet and strategize about how I’m going to handle a neck,  two wrists and ten fingers worth of jewelry.  Sometimes I’m going to a club in downtown ATL, sometimes I’m going to Costco for deodorant and dip.   Either way, the pieces of jewelry I’m going to wear and how I’m going to wear them is a decision point that I dread every day.  Why would a grown-ass-man worry about something like this?  Well…if you’re asking that question, congratulations, you’re not batshit crazy and you probably have your priorities in order.

Not me, jack.  I care deeply about this stuff and I know a few of you out there are the same.  Why?  Because I’ve made bracelet and ring combos for so many of you.  To be honest, the torque is one of my most popular pieces now and I’ve done a mess of recent projects that have featured awesome torque and ring combinations.

I really think the torque is a great companion piece for the rings because it is the ultimate supporting character.  It isn’t overly flashy or jingle-jangly.  It just sits there – the strong silent type – ready to kick ass and take names if people look closely enough or when they hear it CLANG against the bar top like a cathedral bell when you’re a few shots in.  It’s like having Gary Oldman on your hand.  Then, you’ve got the lead characters – the highly-detailed sculptural rings that get all of the attention (at first.)

Like this series I did for some clients who wanted a torque to roll with a pair of custom Leonids rings.

What a config, right?  You can see the blue and black next to each other over that solid-ass torque just flashing around some juke joint.  Now this gets into wearing sculptural rings side-by-side, which is its own topic of debate since they will inevitably wear on each other.  But I know plenty of people who don’t care, consider it a natural part of wearing custom jewelry, and rock a ring/pinky combo or a middle/ring combo like this.

I’ve done 4 or 5 King Skull and torque combos for people and this is still one of my favorite ways to do a full right hand.

Honestly I just like the contrast.  I dig the simplicity of the torque and the detail of the skull ring together. Also, there’s something about the bulbous shape of the forehead and how it goes with that ball-end on the torque.  It just fits.

Maybe not as literally as this epic Mystery Cave and custom torque combo.  This is from an earlier post, I know, but I’ve had a bunch of questions about it.  See, I can carve into the ends of the torque because they’re not soldered on.  The rings and bracelets are all cast as one piece, so the silver can take a lot of hacking.

To counter the problem of wearing rings side by side, I usually recommend rolling with a pair of rings that provide for a naked finger between them to prevent them rubbing up against each other.  Here, we have a pinky ring (my classic Little Voodoo) and a full size King Skull designed for the middle finger.  That way, the ring finger remains naked and works as a sort of buffer.   This is how I wear stuff.  I tend to go ring/index or middle/pinky.

Then it’s matching all of this stuff to the crap I’m already wearing.  Let’s not forget – most of us have to wear clothes to leave the house.  I realized, as I was thinking about this the other day, that I actually design shit around the clothes we put on in daily life.  For example, the gentleman ring was put together for a suit.  No question.  Can’t you see this peaking out of a nice wool single breast in a meeting somewhere?

But then there’s my T-shirt and tattoo sleeves getup.  Big, chunky, and stoney-eyed with two torques and jade beads to back up the pair of jade stones in the eyes.

Yeah, I could go on and on.  Today’s the fourth, though, so I have meat to grill.  You all stay safe out there and hit me up if you’re interested in getting something made this summer.  I’ve got new tikis on the way soon.