Masonic MarkersNovember 2012 Brass A member of the Masonic Order commissioned me to create unique marker chips that he could give to friends and associates so that they could cash in favors from him at any time of need. He wanted the markers to reflect the principles of the Order without being too stereotypically Masonic, partially because the Compass and Square logo is copyrighted but mostly because he wanted them to be unique. He also wanted them to reflect his

For the design I borrowed from the floral morbidity of sugar skull designs popular during the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos to appeal to both the hippie and metalhead aspects of my clients' aesthetic

they accepted my proposal and chose Psalms 36:10

The fact that the stone is friction-set in the bezel and has no back also allows light to shine through the entire piece

May his memory be for a blessing

because it can look blue-green by daylight or fluorescent light and purple or red by candlelight or incandescent light

a foundational percussive instrument in traditional Hawaiian music

It also vaguely makes the word look like the symbol ॐ (om)

I'd nearly forgotten that I had it

we decided to incorporate water imagery into the design to represent his family

The first step of the transformation was to take the engagement pendant and cut away the excess metal to create a smaller washer that would transform into the appropriate size (this of course was done only after a lot of experimentation with copper blanks to make sure I had the correct size)

so I wound up making him a second ring with a solid back that would hold up better in most situations

Venus is unusual in that it rotates on its axis in the opposite direction of all the other planets in the system