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                 Forged in our Imagination

Arn Krebs Arts is proud to offer forge patterned Mokume. This is a premium pattern as it requires extensive skill and experience to produce. 

All Mokume is patterned using two techniques, carving and forging or a combination of the two. Most Mokume is patterned by twisting and carving or carving alone, very few Mokume artists pattern their Mokume using only forging and Arn Krebs Arts is one of the few!

The forged patterns have several advantages over carved patterns. They are more durable as the pattern runs through the ring and will never change even as the ring wears. Forged patterns also offer the opportunity to book match a mirrored pattern on one ring or make a set of rings which have mirror images. Forging the pattern also offers an insight into the process and our inspiration as the pattern is a record of exactly what has happened to each layer, much like geologic and growth processes are revealed by the eroded shapes and patterns in rock in mountains, valleys and canyons or the grain of wood. Forging the pattern in Mokume also expands the possibilities for patterns exponentially, allowing for different aesthetics and the ability to tap into a thousands year old history of pattern welded and damascus steel patterns. This blend of the old and new anchors us to our roots and allows us to reach our branches for the sky! 

All our rings are made start to finish in our studio and are always solid Mokume, not thin veneer of Mokume over other metal or a thick liner. When you buy one of our rings you can be sure you are getting an heirloom quality piece of jewelry as unique as you are. 

If you would like to commission a new piece or pattern specifically for you, we are always excited to work with you to create your ideal piece of jewelry. We have many patterns and metal combinations available which are not published or represented in our portfolio, and our design philosophy allows us to integrate seamlessly any stones you may want to highlight or include in the design. We strive to create jewelry as meaningful to you as it is to us.

We are so lucky to have such a great crew of friends and family, far and wide, who help to make our business a success!   We wanted to send out a thank, you along with some faces to see, of the people behind our studio practice and our daily life.  

Thank You !

www.susanfredastudios.com

Gallery 4, our home base for the past 10 years is going through changes…….partner Bob Smith has retired and Arn and I have taken over his half of what we know as Gallery 4.

 It's sort of like exhaling to be in such a big space. I feel like our work can breath too. Lot's of space to really see the work.

 I'm inspired to work bigger and have begun making molds to cast glass into.

Arn is making the most beautiful rose cut diamond rings in the archaic style of 22 karat wrought gold.  

 Soon we will have an opening and you will all receive an invite to see the new lovelys. 

Extremely hard to make!!  Especially when it is made entirely by hand as Arn does in our Tiverton Studio. It is a labor of love as each ring is exquisitely crafted and  designed for optimum beauty and design. 

Arn chooses not to line his rings with silver or gold and rather to let the beautiful wood grain patterning of the mokume shine through to the inside of the ring.  The integrity of the metal is featured this way and assures that you are getting a quality ring, not a thin sheet of mokume hidden by a liner.  The texture and feel of mokume is something to be treasured. 

~Mokume gane is an ancient metalworking technique in which layers of precious metal are alloyed together with heat and pressure then twisted, carved and forged to create beautiful organic patterns.  The metals we use include gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium.  

Mokume Gane translates from Japanese as "wood eye metal" which reflects the wood grain patterning admired by the Japanese craftsmen. This rare metal lamination process is similar to damascus and was developed and used by Japanese swordsmiths in the 17th century for the adornment of samurai swords.