NEW TECHNIQUES IN CREATING BOTANICAL JEWELLERY WITH NICOLE RINGGOLD (podcast episode)
In this week's episode of the Jewellers Academy podcast, host Michelle Lierre chats to Nicole Ringgold who is a silversmith and the author of the upcoming book, The New Silversmith. She specialises in creating beautiful botanical jewellery designs.
Listen now:
192: NEW TECHNIQUES IN CREATING BOTANICAL JEWELLERY
With Nicole Ringgold and Michelle Lierre
In this week's episode of the Jewellers Academy podcast, host Michelle Lierre chats to Nicole Ringgold who is a silversmith and the author of the upcoming book, The New Silversmith.
Nicole specialises in making botanical jewellery and you can see some beautiful examples of her work below.
In this fascinating discussion, Nicole discusses her journey into silversmithing, which began unexpectedly while constructing her home in 2009. Despite facing challenges like losing her home and studio to a wildfire in 2014, Nicole decided to pursue silversmithing full-time. Nicole's determination to succeed, coupled with her desire to be a role model for her daughter, drove her through financial hardships and uncertainties. She emphasizes the importance of believing in oneself and taking risks. Throughout her journey, Nicole's resilience and dedication to her craft shine through, inspiring others to pursue their passions despite the obstacles they may face.
Links
Book Pre-orders (in the UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Silversmith-Innovative-Sustainable-Nature-Inspired/dp/0760385696/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1693320283&sr=8-1
Jewellery designed and made by Nicole Ringgold. Copyright Nicole Ringgold
about nicole
My work is inspired by everything I find in my natural surroundings, a plant, an insect, a bird's nest, natural river rocks, a sound, a glimpse, a smell.
I live in Winthrop, Washington, situated in the North Cascade mountains in Washington state. I am an outdoor enthusiast, gardener, wife and mother, farmer, and world wanderer.
My wearable art is hand fabricated. Many people assume that it is cast, dipped or electroformed. I start with silver sheets and wire, saw, solder, file, texture, form, oxidize and polish every piece. My intention is not to replicate the inspiration, but to recreate it with precious metal with as much detail as possible. My goal with every piece is to make the metal appear alive.
Throughout the year I teach master silversmithing workshops in my studio and around the globe.
My book The New Silversmith is scheduled for release April 2024.
When not in my studio, you can find me in the mountains, with my family and chocolate lab, tilling soil in my garden, or dreaming up our next foreign excursion.
Your next episode:
Michelle Lierre dives into an in-depth discussion with Chris of Lion Punch Forge on maintaining and modifying the steel tools that jewellers typically use. Chris teaches us about the fundamentals of steel as a material, the different kinds of steel, how steel behaves differently to the metals jewellers use to make jewellery and how it's possible for jewellers to modify their own steel tools.
