Blog

Metal Clay Jewelry

January 15, 2020

Learn to work with metal clay, a malleable, metal-bearing material that is perfectly suited for creating jewelry. Use your hands to shape it and a variety of tools to add detail and texture. You’ll fire the metal clay to transform it into a silver object. Add a new skill to your repertoire each week to […]

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Make it Out of Metal

January 15, 2020

Designed as a quick intro to jewelry and metalsmithing, this class will teach the basic skills needed to create a simple ring or pendant, such as sawing, soldering, and polishing. It’s a great starting point for students to get their feet wet with the tools and medium to decide if they’d like to pursue further […]

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Introduction to Metal Jewelry (B)

January 15, 2020

Learn how to transform metals into beautiful works of wearable art. We’ll cover techniques such as sawing, drilling, texturing, working with wire, filing, sanding and polishing. We’ll also cover riveting, soldering with a torch and basic stone setting. You’ll use these skills to make one finished piece of jewelry.

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Metalworking (Ages 13–14)

January 15, 2020

Get acquainted with metal and learn basic metalworking techniques. Students will create individual projects using traditional jewelry tools. You’ll learn how to cut shapes using a jeweler’s saw and heat your metal to soften and reshape your work. We’ll also drill into metal, then utilize bolts, screws and rivets to connect it in new ways.

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Metal Clay Medallions

January 15, 2020

Learn to combine metal clay and a molded element with a custom-made, framed back plate to create a vintage-looking medallion. You’ll learn to use a two-part compound to replicate any flat backed item of your choice and emboss a frame design into an easy-to-use texture sheet. Later, you’ll join these two elements to form a […]

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Wood Adornment: Carving and Jewelry Fabrication – NEW!

January 15, 2020

Create wearable jewelry pieces from carved wood and fabricated metal components. Students will carve wooden forms using hand and machine operations, and set them into jewelry work using traditional metalsmithing techniques. The first few weeks of this class will focus on carving wooden forms, while the second half will focus on fabricating metal to set […]

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Lost-Wax Metal Casting (B)

January 15, 2020

Learn to cast metal using the lost-wax technique to cast work in silver. By creating jewelry models of your own design, you’ll learn about model preparation, investing, burning out and casting with centrifugal and vacuum-casting machines.

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Intermediate Metal Jewelry

January 15, 2020

Take your metal jewelry making to the next level. We’ll focus on design execution, complex stone setting as well as fabricating and soldering with sterling silver. You’ll also advance your polishing skills for finishing pieces.

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Stackable Bands

January 15, 2020

Create a sweet stack of rings from 14-karat yellow gold-filled wire and silver. You’ll learn to solder bands and become proficient at single seams. We’ll also cover fabricating, embellishing and forging simple bands in different gauges and types of metal.

read more

Lost-Wax Metal Casting (A)

January 15, 2020

Learn to cast metal using the lost-wax technique to cast work in silver. By creating jewelry models of your own design, you’ll learn about model preparation, investing, burning out and casting with centrifugal and vacuum-casting machines.

read more

Introduction to Metal Jewelry (A)

January 15, 2020

Learn how to transform metals into beautiful works of wearable art. We’ll cover techniques such as sawing, drilling, texturing, working with wire, filing, sanding and polishing. We’ll also cover riveting, soldering with a torch and basic stone setting. You’ll use these skills to make one finished piece of jewelry.

read more

Metal Clay Rings

October 05, 2019

Learn the secrets to sizing metal clay rings as you form both coil and flat bands. You’ll make a slab “washer” style ring with a custom template, and fire a flat strip that you’ll bend into shape after firing. You’ll also learn how to account for shrinkage, strength and durability.

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Intermediate Metal Jewelry

October 05, 2019

Take your metal jewelry making to the next level. We’ll focus on design execution, complex stone setting as well as fabricating and soldering with sterling silver. You’ll also advance your polishing skills for finishing pieces.

read more

Blacksmithing for the Kitchen and Bath – NEW!

October 05, 2019

Develop your blacksmithing skills and make beautiful and functional items for use in the kitchen or bathroom. Choose from several possible projects including bath tissue or paper towel holders, towel bars, towel ring hangers, cup hooks or small pot racks.

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Blacksmithing Fireplace Tools

October 05, 2019

Stay warm by stoking the fire with a set of fireplace tools that you forged yourself. You’ll learn common blacksmithing techniques, including drawing out and riveting, while creating a poker and shovel. If time allows, we may also attempt a fireplace broom.

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Lost-Wax Metal Casting

October 05, 2019

Learn to cast metal using the lost-wax technique to cast work in silver. By creating jewelry models of your own design, you’ll learn about model preparation, investing, burning out and casting with centrifugal and vacuum-casting machines.

read more

Metal Clay Jewelry

October 05, 2019

Learn to work with metal clay, a malleable, metal-bearing material that is perfectly suited for creating jewelry. Use your hands to shape it and a variety of tools to add detail and texture. You’ll fire the metal clay to transform it into a silver object. Add a new skill to your repertoire each week to […]

read more

Enameled Faux Stones

October 05, 2019

Make a stone-like form out of copper and enamel that can be incorporated into your jewelry designs. You’ll use a disc cutter and a dapping block to make small domes or oval shapes out of copper. You’ll also learn how to cover a domed shape with enamel and fire it in the kiln. Plan to […]

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Enamel Imagery: Graphite – NEW!

October 05, 2019

The history of enameling is a history of storytelling through images. From the Byzantine era to the present, enameling techniques have been used for depicting religious imagery, recording historical events, commemorating the dead, and telling stories. This course explores the use of graphite pencils for applying imagery to enameled surfaces.

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Textured Stacking Rings – NEW!

October 04, 2019

Work with a variety of tools to make three stacking rings with different surfaces. You’ll form and solder each ring using either wire or sheet. Demos will include using a roll mill, flex shaft (burs, cutting discs, silicone wheels), hammers and hand files to help you create a variety of patterns and textures for each […]

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Stackable Bands

October 04, 2019

Create a sweet stack of rings from 14-karat yellow gold-filled wire and silver. You’ll learn to solder bands and become proficient at single seams. We’ll also cover fabricating, embellishing and forging simple bands in different gauges and types of metal.

read more

Spinner Rings

October 04, 2019

Experiment with spinner rings, which allow several rings to be made into one. The outer band supports one or more moving rings. We’ll cover sizing, shaping and soldering sheet metal and wire into rings. The rings will become one using a forming technique known as anticlastic. We’ll also cover basic solder, forging and forming techniques.

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Introduction to Metal Clay

October 04, 2019

Metal clay is a malleable material that can be used to make jewelry and other small, sculptural objects. Make a pair of silver earrings and a pendant that features a coil frame and appliqué focal design.

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Make it Out of Metal

October 04, 2019

Designed as a quick intro to jewelry and metalsmithing, this class will teach the basic skills needed to create a simple ring or pendant, such as sawing, soldering, and polishing. It’s a great starting point for students to get their feet wet with the tools and medium to decide if they’d like to pursue further […]

read more

Introduction to Metal Jewelry (C)

October 04, 2019

Learn how to transform metals into beautiful works of wearable art. We’ll cover techniques such as sawing, drilling, texturing, working with wire, filing, sanding and polishing. We’ll also cover riveting, soldering with a torch and basic stone setting. You’ll use these skills to make one finished piece of jewelry.

read more