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![\"Amethyst](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/2-15-cogswell-ring.jpg\")
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A selection of samples by John Cogswell.*<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The workshop explores the fabrication of a trio of ring styles, a forged shank and bezel-set cabochon stone ring, a hollow constructed ring, and a tension-set ring with a faceted stone. It is aimed at students with competent fabrication and soldering skills.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rings by John Cogswell.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The finger ring is a powerful piece of jewelry. So much can be inferred from even the simplest band. A ring can tell the world whether you\u2019re the Pope or a promised virgin, a Super Bowl winner or high school grad, married, or filthy rich. Every culture in history is known to adorn their hands, except the Assyrians, Celts, and the Eskimo. George Frederick Kunz, a former vice President of Tiffany & Co., wrote in 1917 that Admiral Peary discovered the Eskimo had no interest in the lot of rings he\u2019d brought to the Arctic to use as barter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John’s book is a must for a jeweler’s library.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCreative Stonesetting,\u201d is considered essential for the jeweler\u2019s library. It is loaded with beautiful illustrations and has clearly written information for constructing dozens of elegant and innovative designs. The book has inspired jewelers the world over.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Classroom white board diagrams by John Cogswell.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This workshop will take you beyond bezels and prongs for rings. John emphasizes process over end production, focusing on techniques to build skills for precise fabrication and perfect sizing. \u201cEveryone wants to go home with a finished thing. That\u2019s wonderful, but the most important thing is the getting there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John Cogswell leading a class.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n He recently retired from State University of New York but says, \u201cRetirement is a myth.\u201d For the last thirty years, John led about a dozen workshops a year across the country, all while teaching at prestigious institutions such as the Parsons School of Design, the Pratt Institute, Hofstra University, and SUNY.<\/p>\n A health scare convinced him to scale back his schedule. He now happily spends more time at home with his wife of 35 years, Barbara Chapman–\u201cShe let me keep my name when we married\u201d–and the adopted family of neighborhood feral cats that they\u2019ve rescued, neutered, and released.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have ten cats. I love them all, I love them all differently. It\u2019s the same thing with rings,\u201d he says. There is no one style that he prefers among others.<\/p>\n A few days after this conversation, Storm Linus plunged temperatures into brutal cold and blanketed the neighborhood with sixteen inches of snow. Here’s wishing the Cogswell household an easy dig-out, plenty of warmth, and healthy cats.<\/p>\n This is <\/strong><\/em>not<\/strong> one of John’s cats!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n There are still seats available for \u201cThree Rings in Three Days.\u201d To learn more about this workshop, click here<\/a> or contact Metalwerx at 781-891-3854.<\/p>\n –by Yleana Martinez<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/2-15-Cogswell.ThreeRings.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Creative](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/2-15-Creative-Stonesetting-cover.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Grumpy](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/2-15-Cogswell-Grumpy-Cat.jpg\")
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