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Lucky Brass Rings
“It is not enough to reach for the brass ring. You must also enjoy the merry go round.” – Julie Andrews (This Week, ’66)
Story
Did you know a brass ring is a lucky thing? Way back in the US during the 1890s, when the carousel became a popular funfair attraction, a little extra challenge was built in to tempt people to take a ride. While going round and round, the riders would try to grab a ring from a suspended device. Most rings would be made of steel but one or two would be brass. The lucky ones who snatched a brass ring would win a prize – like a free extra ride! That is why expressions like ‘grabbing the brass ring’ and ‘having a shot at the brass ring’ exist in American English today.
Since we could all do with some luck and aspiration, I created this series that focuses solely on brass rings, including rings from other series since the material rather than form or technique is leading. Some of the Lucky Brass Rings have a ‘silver lining’.
Form
So far, circular, oval and organic forms feature in this series, but anything goes as long as it is brass.
Technique
Lucky Brass Rings are all made with a saw and file but otherwise the techniques vary widely – from chasing and repoussé (when you use a hammer and punches to create relief down or up into metal) to cold connections (with rivets to connect separate pieces) and basic soldering.
Material
Salvaged or offcut scrap brass and alubronze (19th century Paul Morin). Some of the rings are lined with silver (either repurposed or certified ‘recycled’ from Cookson Gold).
“…a small iron stove, fed with pine-cones, gave a a cozy, firelit warmth to the room, catching the deep glow of the old brass and copper utensils hanging about the walls.” – Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, vol. 1, 1868)
01 Jewels/
Lucky Brass Rings
“It is not enough to reach for the brass ring. You must also enjoy the merry go round.” – Julie Andrews (This Week, ’66)
Story
Did you know a brass ring is a lucky thing? Way back in the US during the 1890s, when the carousel became a popular funfair attraction, a little extra challenge was built in to tempt people to take a ride. While going round and round, the riders would try to grab a ring from a suspended device. Most rings would be made of steel but one or two would be brass. The lucky ones who snatched a brass ring would win a prize – like a free extra ride! That is why expressions like ‘grabbing the brass ring’ and ‘having a shot at the brass ring’ exist in American English today.
Since we could all do with some luck and aspiration, I created this series that focuses solely on brass rings, including rings from other series since the material rather than form or technique is leading. Some of the Lucky Brass Rings have a ‘silver lining’.
Form
So far, circular, oval and organic forms feature in this series, but anything goes as long as it is brass.
Technique
Lucky Brass Rings are all made with a saw and file but otherwise the techniques vary widely – from chasing and repoussé (when you use a hammer and punches to create relief down or up into metal) to cold connections (with rivets to connect separate pieces) and basic soldering.
Material
Salvaged or offcut scrap brass and alubronze (19th century Paul Morin). Some of the rings are lined with silver (either repurposed or certified ‘recycled’ from Cookson Gold).
“…a small iron stove, fed with pine-cones, gave a a cozy, firelit warmth to the room, catching the deep glow of the old brass and copper utensils hanging about the walls.” – Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, vol. 1, 1868)
01 Jewels/
