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J. Alex Darr
"Peaceful Woman"
3/4" x 5/5" x 11/16"
Sterling silver
Lost wax cast

"This ring started its life as a bulky tube of wax. A piece had to be cut, carved on the inside to fit my finger, and then I had to carefully carve the outside of the ring to insure that the wax was even all the way around. The ring was then painstakingly smoothed using a small metal file, sand paper, and then finally lighter fluid (which melts the wax.) At this point all I have, all I had was a thin tube. I then carefully melted a softer wax where I wanted the head of the woman to be. In order to get the detail I wanted, I had to create my own tools, which were made out of sewing needles and wooden dowels. I heated the needle, and then carefully melted the softer wax in specific areas, thus forming the features of the face.

I wanted to convey a sense of peacefulness in the features of the woman in the ring. However, achieving that effect was extremely difficult. Just a few misplaced flicks of the needle could transform a tranquil looking woman into something else entirely. Since I was working up close on a piece of wax the size of a fingernail for hours on end, sometimes I'd lose perspective and ask my fellow artists if this hunk of wax resembled anything like a peaceful woman. Believe me, there is nothing more disheartening as an artist to hear, "Well, it does look peaceful, for an angry man." This began a cycle of frantically working, asking peoples opinion, and then frantically working again. Finally, once I had the features how I wanted them, the ring was cast using a lost wax technique."