Based on the book 1000 Rings, curated by Bob Ebendorf and Marthe Le Van, published by Lark Books, Velvet da Vinci has organized a touring exhibition based on the inspiring and creative work shown in the book. The book is a top-notch survey of contemporary jewelry.

Using the book as a starting point, Robert Ebendorf of East Carolina University of Art in Greenville, N.C and Mike Holmes and Elizabeth Shypertt of Velvet da Vinci have curated an exhibition with 100 artists from the U.S. and 100 international artists, all making rings. The artists have used a wide variety of techniques and materials, some traditional, some not.

The exhibition will be the inaugural show for Velvet da Vinci’s new gallery space on Russian Hill in San Francisco from November 12 to December 31, 2004. It will then travel to:

• Obsidian Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, February 1 -March 31, 2005
• Gallery M, Cleveland, Ohio, June 1 - July 17, 2005 (during the 2005 SNAG Conference)
• Shaw Gallery in Northeast Harbor, Maine, August 1 - September 30, 2005
• Facere Gallery, Seattle, Washington, Feb 1 – 20, 2006

The ring is universal. Many human interests feature at least one. In chemistry, there is the benzene ring; in anatomy, the inguinal ring; and, in astronomy one can find an assortment of rings, including the Ring Nebula and Jupiter’s rings. You can calculate a tree’s age by counting its rings, and you may even hear stories about crop rings that mysteriously appear in farmers’ fields. In sports, the ring is the venue for boxing matches, and in gymnastics, rings is an actual event. History has its various rings as well, like the Whiskey Ring, a Nineteenth-Century cartel of U.S. distillers. In the arts there is Wagner’s Ring and Ring Lardner. Even children’s games have rings, such as ring around the roses. Cigar bands are ring shaped and their smokers’ blow smoke rings.

But the subject here is jewelry.

The ring is the most widespread ornamental accessory, and its value does not always have a direct correlation to the materials that comprise it. A ring can be formed from valuable materials -- gold, platinum, diamonds, gemstones -- or it can be a humble string tied around a finger. A ring can be woven, kiln-fired, carved, poured, forged, whittled, extruded, or sculpted. It can be made of metal, glass, bone, plastic, or, once more, smoke. Beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder.

Whether a simple circle or a fancy frill, the ring has many associations: To the wearer and the observer alike, the ring symbolically can represent a variety of states of being: love and marriage, authority and station, accomplishment, fraternal bonds, or even moods. A ring also can be pure adornment. Fun. Vanity. As a result, the ring can communicate powerfully. It can evoke a memory, transmit a message, signal a rite of passage, symbolize social, political or religious affiliation, advertise status, and express personal style.