AA Logo

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi James, Guess I’m the resident drunk in the Orchid Group……
Been sober in AA for 21 years so far.

We got a ton of slogans, no symbol, 12 steps, 12 traditions, 12
promises…

I make a huge amount of AA jewelry, all centering around the Circle
with the Triangle in it, with the point of the triangle up.

This used to be the AA symbol, on every piece of literature, on our
bumper stickers, on our yearly ‘chips’ to signify length of
sobriety.

About 2 years ago, (I think this is how the story goes) , through
giving permission to someone to publish the symbol, it violated a
copyright law and ended our right to use the symbol.

But the good news is that we (as individuals) still use it.

There are usually ‘recovery stores’ in most every medium sized town,
with lots of jewelry and ideas.

For periods of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and then yearly after
that, we give ‘chips’ to designate how long we have been sober. It
is a coin, about the size of a half dollar, with a Triangle on it,
the coin itself being the circle, and the number of years sober in
the center of the triangle. If you want to make a belt buckle with
one of the coins, I can get you the measurements at home, or you can
buy one at the AA central office in most towns.

I make dichroic glass pendants with the circle and triangle,
necklaces with a circle of wire and a stone mounted in the circle cut
into an equilateral triangle (all 3 sides are equal).

To determine the exact location of the points of the triangle in the
circle, do the following:

  1. Draw a circle.

  2. Use your dividers; open them up to about the diameter of the
    circle.

  3. Mark a spot on the top of the circle.

  4. Put one point of the dividers on the spot you just make, and walk
    the dividers around the circle, putting on the next spot at about
    4:00 o’clock, the next at about 7:00 o’clock, and the next back up to
    the original starting point.

  5. If the point went past the original starting point, decrease the
    width of the dividers by 1/3rd of the amount you were off and do it
    again.

  6. If the point didn’t reach the original starting point, increase
    by about 1/3rd of the distance you were off.

If you want more slogans, contact me offline at
@randysmi and I’ll be happy to help.

Love and God Bless
-randy
http://www.rocksmyth.com

2 
   To determine the exact location of the points of the triangle
in the circle, do the following:

Wouldn’t it be easier to do the triangle first, then bisect each
angle and where those lines cross, center a circle with a diameter
from the center to a triangle point?

Tas ← who actually LIKED geometry

3

Hi All,

Well Randy, move over, because you’re not the lone resident Orchid
drunk. I’ve been clean and sober in AA for 19 years so far. So
much for my anonymity.

I have been making pendants featuring the circle with the
equilateral triangle inside (point up) since I started getting back
to making jewelry again about a year ago. I fabricate them out of
12 ga. sterling sheet for a nice heavy feel and bezel set a
triangular cabochon on the center triangle and add a bail. I have
used lapis, turquiose, black jade, and chrysoprase in them. These
are popular even among those members who are more reluctant to let
it be known that they are members because of the stone in the
center. It just looks like a simple, clean design to the
uninitiated. In fact, I have shown them to many people not
associated with AA and have yet to have anyone ask me if the symbol
means something. Without the stone it looks more like some type of
symbol.

I recently completed a pendant with an intarsia cabochon of sodalite
for the triangle and red jasper for the surrounding circle. I do
not have a website but for anyone who is interested I would be happy
to email some pics.

The circle with the triangle would get my vote for Jame’s belt
buckle design theme. It is a simple design that is widely
recognized by fellow members, but not by very many others (except
for about 5,000 Orchidians now). It also has some meaning to it.
The three sides of the triangle represent unity, service, and
recovery.

Dale

4

I was blessed to find out I am not the only recovering person here.
I am a recovering addict of almost 14 years (on Christmas Eve 2003).
I have been approached about doing NA (Narcotics Anonymous) logo
jewelry from various persons, but I really do not even want the
challenge as I am mainly a wire worker (that would be a nightmare
for me actually!) nor to deal with the World Service Office (for
approval of using the logo, etc.). Anyone new in their recovery,
especially someone who is really set on making thorough life
changes, deserves and cherishes tokens of love and support from
their “non-recovering” supportive peers… What an awesome thing you
want to do for your pal! I would have to go with many here who said
that the logo would not be a necessity (unless it was an abstraction
of such) for the outer part. I do believe that an inscription where
only the wearer sees – and knows – is a good thing. One thing I
remember my area service committee doing one year as a fund raiser
was coffee cups with “clean dates” on them… in other words, their
day of surrender to the disease of addiction or as we call them
"birthdays". “One Day at a Time” is the best slogan (in NA we use
this and also “Just for Today”). It is the basis of any solid
problem/worry-solving and the ultimate thought to keep us (all
humans!) focused on the present and not the past or future. Please
let us know what you decide and any links to view your awesome token
of friendship to your friend’s recovery! ~Robin Pittman (Authentic
Path)

PS: Is there a lot of recovering folks into jewelry making? I am the
only one I know around here (Michigan)! Just checking!

5

I want to offer congratulations to all AA members of Orchid! I can
remember how difficult it was to quit smoking some thirty five years
ago and can only imagine how difficult it would be to give up a more
additive chemical.

Stay strong and be proud of what you have overcome.

Marilyn Smith

6 
    I want to offer congratulations to all AA members of Orchid! I
can remember how difficult it was to quit smoking some thirty five
years ago and can only imagine how difficult it would be to give up
a more additive  chemical. Stay strong and be proud of what you have
overcome. Marilyn Smith

Sure, but I wonder what makes you think that cigarettes are less
additive than alcohol. It’s not about one or two chemicals, but about
over 5,000. Anyway, I don’t drink and I quit smoking every day. On a
serious note, it is a big scandal, not to say a big crime, that so
little money is invested in helping people who want to quit smoking.
In Belgium, this is almost no part of the health budget and I think
that it is even lower in the USA. This is not a problem which can be
solved by paternalizing people. Addiction to nicotine is a first
class health problem, which I think can only be solved by an
approach combining psychological support and dito techniques and
by the development of a drug which really acts as a substitute for
nicotine (thus unlike Zybam). Anyway, the statistics speak for
themselves. The slight decrease in lung cancer in the male
population, which correlates with fewer (young) males smoking, is
getting undone by the rise of lung cancer in the female population,
which correlates with more females smoking. Also, lung cancer seems
to hit people quicker, i.e., cancer comes sooner in life (everywhere
in the industrialized countries). Seriously, if there would be any
morality in this world (in the pharmaceutical companies among
others), developing drugs to help people to quit smoking would be an
absolute priority. Best, Will

7

Hello Fellow Orchidians,

I would just like to say Congratulations to all the AA members out
there, and good on ya for staying so strong!!! I am from a family
full of alcoholics and admire the strength it takes to stay sober.
I have yet to make jewellery from the AA logo, but sport two tattoos
with renditions of the logo on my back. It is also a symbol
signifying strength, fire, and protection. It is great to see all
the ideas coming into play with this one…thank you for the
inspiration!

Keep coming back!
Catherine Chandler

8

Hi Again All, Speaking of the possible methods to use to place an
equilateral triangle in the center of a circle, I thought I would
share how I do it.

I use the drawing objects in MS Word to create these shapes. I
start with the size circle that I want. I draw the circle then
tweak in the exact size using the properties. Then I create a
triangle and place it in the circle and adjust it by eye to be as
close to equilateral as possible while touching the circle at its
points. I then use the triangle’s property settings to adjust it to
be truly equilateral and the correct size. Yes, I must use the
Pythagorean theorem to determine the length of two sides of the
triangle because Word only lets you set the width and height
parameters. This part is a bit cumbersome but I only have to do it
once for any given size since I can save the file. Then I adjust
the line thickness for a nice thin line and print it out. I cut out
my template, rubber cement it to my sheet metal and start sawing.

I use Word to create templates like this when I need to create a
relatively simple form. I know it would be better and simpler to use
more of a CAD type program, but since I don’t have one, Word works
well for these.

Dale