The American Dream: Fairbanks, AK
Kiln-cast glass, sterling silver
This hollow-form statement ring embodies the reality of housing in Fairbanks and exemplifies our personal relationship to the place in which we live. As we often use rings in wedding ceremonies here in the United States, I thought a ring to be an appropriate analogy to describe the relationship between a homeowner and a house. I created this ring in a fit of frustration after the water in my house froze for the second time one winter.
The ring is set with two houses, cast in glass. The houses are cast in clear glass with a subtle addition of dark glass toward the bottom of the house. Both are set side by side in bezels. Although one house appears to be more refined, they both get darker toward their bases. Where the houses transition from their bezels into the ring, a liver of sulfur patina continues the dark color across the metal, suggesting the character of swampy, saturated ground beneath. Regardless of the quality of home construction, poor ground undermines it all in Alaska.