I am writing this blog post from my cozy kitchen where stew is simmering on the stove and vegetables are roasting in the oven. This is a new experience for me because I am relaxed. I am relaxed because I am newly retired and do not have to get up at the crack of dawn each day to fight the wind and sleet to my office. I do not have to cram whatever cooking I might choose to do into the nights or weekends. I can go into my studio and work when I want. I actually visited Beading Yoda yesterday for conversation and a cup of tea. (I will share the cache of Huichol beaded earrings I got for her in a later post.) And I am newly-returned from a Jane and Richard Salley metal smithing class I took at the Hacienda Mosaico in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
I learned I could pack lighter and still have everything I need, although I wish I had brought more silver bezel wire.
I learned how to combine leather and silver to make jewelry! I learned how to make a hinge with a pin closure. I learned that you can drop your focal stone on the brick floor and rescue it with a little epoxy glue. If you can find all the pieces.
I learned how to set a coin in a bezel and some soldering tricks that will give me a better result the next time I do it.
I learned how to make this nifty spring-tension clasp! I will be making more of these and working on design variations.
I learned that it was possible to saw out a word in brass without feeling like putting a sharp object in my eye. October 31 is my wedding anniversary so I made this for my husband even though I will have to wear it for him.
I learned that if you execute a new technique perfectly the first time, it will take you thirty tries to do it again. Wait, I think I already knew that.
I learned some new things to do with Faux Bone and mixed metals.
I also learned a lot of other stuff including the location of a few liquor stores. But I dare not reveal everything on this blog.
Many thanks to Jane and Richard and Sam and everyone at Hacienda Mosaico.
Ornamento 
