Creations in Silver

April 20

This is our last day in Chiang Mai as we have decided to head a little farther north to the mountain town of Pai.  Since we had to leave our passports at the Chinese Consulate, we are in Thailand until we can retrieve them on April 25^th at which point we are planning a side trip to Laos.  We have decided to extend our stay in Thailand (or Laos, however you choose to look at it) and shorten our stay in Hong Kong which we have come to learn is quite expensive for our budget.  Annie and I have decided to take a silversmithing class today and are due at the studio by 10:30.  We are able to get in breakfast and a quick swim before heading out to the Nova Lab where we will be making a sterling silver ring.  The boys have opted to hang out at the hotel and conquer some lingering school work while Annie and I create our jewelry.  We arrive at the studio and are escorted up the stairs to our work stations.  We each are asked to sketch out our ideas for a ring.  Annie is a natural draftsperson and produces some amazing drawings of ideas she would like to make….I, on the other hand (pun intended) cannot seem to draw a round circle for my interpretation of what a ring looks like.  The kind teacher pretends he understands what I have in mind and then we get to work.  First, we have to weigh the silver and after that we heat it up and stretch it out in a roller thing.  Then, we draw a template on paper which we glue to the surface of the silver.  I have to cut mine out with a saw, while Annie is able to proceed with making hers round.  After mine is cut out, I can put some texture on the metal while Annie solders her ring together.  Soon it is time for our lunch break and we head back to the hotel to see where the boys are…nowhere to be found.  We eat lunch with a cute Scottish woman, Amanda,  who is staying at our hotel.  After a quick but delicious lunch, we return to the studio for the final stages of creation.  We shape, heat, hammer, clean, shine, sand, anodize and polish our creations until we are pleased as punch with our new baubles.  Can’t believe we did it!!!  We return home to show off our rings and we all take to the pool.  Later, we have dinner at, you guessed it, the Kafe…..we are regulars now and they can see us coming.  We return home to get packed up for our journey tomorrow.