When a Tree Helped Me Finish a Ring

The first vision of the design — branches lifting the diamond as if offering it to the light.

In my previous post I shared the beginning of this ring design and the early stages of the wax sculpture.

But like many handmade pieces, there comes a moment when the design pauses. The diamond and the branches that would lift it were already forming, but when I reached the base of the ring, I couldn’t clearly see how it wanted to grow.

So I stepped away from the bench and went outside.

In the yard is a small Japanese maple tree. As I looked closely at the trunk and the way the branches move and divide, the answer suddenly appeared.

The twisting trunk showed me the movement for the base of the ring.
The branches showed me how the structure could naturally rise and support the stone.

Nature had already solved the problem.

Years ago when I lived in Florida, banyan trees first inspired my Leaf & Twig designs. Their roots and branches showed me how nature supports life and weight without forcing it.

This time, a Japanese maple helped finish the idea.

Sometimes the best design teacher is simply looking at the world around us.

The ring begins to take shape in wax, where twisting limbs grow upward to cradle the stone.

 

The Japanese maple that revealed the movement and structure for the base of the ring.