Illuminating, Embracing, and Unraveling: Filigree Ring Highlights

If you’ve ever taken a beginning figure drawing course, odds are the instructor had you do a blind contour drawing in which you look at the person you wish to draw (or in a mirror) and not at all at your paper. You’re also not allowed to lift the pen or pencil off the page. The idea is to learn to look at the subject more than the paper and to develop a feel for where the pencil or pen is moving in relation to where you’re moving your eyes.

Honestly? I absolutely hate doing blind contour drawings!!! The only thing I’ve ever learned doing one is how to cringe at my paper and maybe laugh. I do, however, love the idea of continuous lines that emerge without “lifting the pencil” or at least without putting down the pliers.

Lumiere, Russian Filigree Ring, 2006; 22k gold, 18k gold, fine silver, Koroit opal; .875 x .625 x .125 in; Collection of Kelley Keogh — *Lumiere,* Russian Filigree Ring, 2006; 22k gold, 18k gold, fine silver, Koroit opal; .875 x .625 x .125 in; Collection of Kelley Keogh

One of my favorite Escher-like, artistic quirks is to create filigree frames that are wildly continuous, and all from one length of uncut wire. Maybe it’s because I get to look at the wire. Maybe it’s because there is no subject to look at in the first place. I draw a diagram of how much space the filigree should take up in its flattened state. The rest of the design emerges completely out of my imagination: an elegant, spontaneous, freeform, noodly doodle that I intend to stand the test of time.

Lumiere's maze shank frame being formed in preparation for filling the cells with filigree wire — *Lumiere’s* maze shank frame in progress

I began this concept with earrings so that I didn’t have to limit myself to making formally mirrored pairs but rather, ones that visually balanced each other, and only on deeper investigation, don’t actually ‘match.’

Labyrinthine, Maze Shank, filigree ring; sterling, fine silver, Koroit opal — *Labyrinthine,* Maze Shank, filigree ring, 2009; 22k gold, sterling, fine silver, Koroit opal

When I got the idea to employ the concept for rings, I dubbed them ‘Maze Shank Rings.’ Imagine the Chartre labyrinth unraveling, elongating, and generally running amok.

Riptide, filigree ring with maze style shank and chased bezel, 2010; 22k gold, sterling, fine silver, Peruvian opal; private collection — *Riptide,* filigree ring with maze style shank and chased bezel, 2010; 22k gold, sterling, fine silver, Peruvian opal; private collection

As spontaneous as this can feel, these rings require careful engineering to be comfortable to wear so that the edges that meet the skin do not dig in or pinch. That adds time to their creation that their asymmetrical designs might have otherwise have saved, but the result is so worth it.

Jellyfish, Maze Shank, filigree ring, 2005; 22k gold, 18k gold, fine silver, Koroit opal — *Jellyfish,* Maze Shank, filigree ring, 2005;
22k gold, 18k gold, fine silver, Koroit opal; private collection

In case you’re curious, yes, I do teach my process for this project! To help those new to filigree explore their own voices, I included this project in my Beginning Filigree and Beyond course online. In this new iteration of my filigree course, I’ve also included how to create coiled filigree, Nordic/Scandanavian florets, and a few other surprises. This course is available now, offers unlimited access, and comes with 3 yearly live Q&A sessions via Zoom. There’s another live session coming up in September.