Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Studio Class Schedule

One of the benefits of having a commercial studio space is being able to offer classes! I have spent the last month figuring out what classes to offer first and have come up with the following schedule for the next few months:
Stamp your Heart Out -

Monday, November 26 6pm to 8:00pm $45

Welcome to the craze! Stamping on metal is a wildly popular technique. It is fun, it is easy and the design possibilities are endless! From letter stamps to design stamps this class will introduce you to the world of stamping on metal for creating simple and fun jewelry.

Class fee covers use of tools and materials for completing at least two projects in this two hour class. Tool kits will be available for purchase.

DIY Holiday Gift Workshop

Thursday, November 29 6pm to 9pm $55

No experience necessary! Learn to use a jeweler's saw, files and hammers to create a set of earrings and matching pendant to give as a gift (or keep for yourself) this holiday season! Each student will create a pair of nature inspired earrings and a matching pendant. No previous metal working experience needed!

Class fee covers use of tools and materials for completed a pair of earrings and a pendant with chain in this three hour class. Tool kits will be available for purchase.

4 Week Beginning Jewelry Making Series

Wednesdays January 2, 9, 16, 23 6pm to 8pm $135

This 4 week series will introduce the beginner to the wonderful world of metal working. Learn to use a jeweler's saw, hammers, design stamps, the rolling mill and more in this 4 week class. Each student will create several pieces of jewelry over the course of the series. Beginning techniques and studio safety will be covered. No previous experience necessary. Class space is limited to four students as I want to be able to give each student plenty of attention throughout the class series.

Class fee covers the use of tools and materials to use in class over the 4 week class series. Tool kits will be available for purchase.

Please visit the Class Registration Form page to sign up for classes or for more information on current or upcoming classes.

If you would like to receive information about current and upcoming studio classes, please enter your email below.

This is a very low-volume email subscription.

If you have any questions or have an idea for a class you would like to see on our schedule, please leave a comment below (please include a good email address for me to reply to). Thanks!

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Sunday, November 04, 2012

EtsyMetal Blog Carnival: Why Do You Make Jewelry?

A new month brings a new EtsyMetal Blog Carnival post.


This month's EtsyMetal Blog Carnival topic:
Why Do You Make Jewelry?

Think hard! Dig deep.

One would think this would be a no brainer for me to answer. And actually, it is.

I make jewelry because I want to.

Simple enough, right? Yeah, maybe too simple.

Perhaps the question should be "Why do you WANT to make jewelry?" Sure, we are going to go with that.

Let's go back about 20 years, plus or minus a year. My Mom was a dedicated member of an art group in Las Vegas, NV, called the Desert Sculptors and she was also the director of a local art museum as well. She met lots of really creative folks. To this day, even 1000's of miles away from the SW desert, she still calls several of those people great friends. And for good reasons. One of those reasons being, they let nothing get in the way of their creativity. It is people like that, who artist types like me, really want in their corner. Driven creative types help drive others to get and to stay creative.

One of these creative types is a man by the name of Don Trippy. He is a sculptor, a painter, an artist in every sense of the word. One of the things he did way back when was create a foundry for doing bronze pours in Lorenzi Park in North Las Vegas. He set everything up in the bottom of a long empty public swimming pool. The deep concrete walls of the empty pool would contain any "spills" as well as protect anyone nearby from the heat of the 1000+ degree foundry heat. Paul and I along with my Mom went to watch one of his first bronze pours. With Don all geared up a HUGE silver asbestos suit and a large flame throwing torch, he melted the bronze in a large, black graphite crucible. We all sat in rapt by the fire and the glowing bronze melting beneath the heat of that torch. Once the metal was ready to pour, the crucible was lifted and the molten metal was poured to the awaiting sculpture mold. Hot, fiery liquid bronze splashed and sizzled. There was lots of steam and so much heat. But I sat there watching that metal flow thinking it looked like hot pink lemonade and I was HOOKED. I could not stop talking about that molten bronze and how I wanted to be able touch it. Play with it. Create with it.

Several months ago, my Mom got in touch with Don after several years of little communication which brought him the the forefront of one of our conversations one afternoon. During this talk it dawned on me that it was Don Trippy who told me about the beginning jewelry class being offered through the City of LV Parks and Rec department. I realized at that moment that I really owe him a debt of gratitude for that bit of creative direction. For that night, when I first walked into that classroom I knew that I had found what I wanted to do with my life.

And here I am, 20 plus (or minus) years later. Creating small works of art in copper and silver. And sometimes gold. Each piece I create I pour a bit of my soul into. No matter if it is a simple silver band or a graceful copper flower blossom. That first cut with my saw or the last buff with the polishing cloth. It all started for me, back then, in the bottom of an abandoned swimming pool one sunny Vegas day.

Please continue to read other EtsyMetal members answers to why they create jewelry by visiting the following links:

Cynthia Del Giudice
Laura Jane Bouton
Beth Cyr
Peculiar Forest
Tosca Terán
Nodeform
Mary Anne Karren
My Precious Studio
Deborah Lee Taylor
Anne Walker
Andrea Ring
Gracebourne Design
Danielle Miller
Evelyn Markasky
Inbar Bareket
Jewellietta
Abella Blue
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