What I Learned in Jane and Richard Salley’s Class This Time

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Faux Bone, Hacienda Mosaico, Hand Made, Hinges and Catches, , , 6 Comments on What I Learned in Jane and Richard Salley’s Class This Time

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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.

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I learned I could pack lighter and still have everything I need, although I wish I had brought more silver bezel wire.

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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.

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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.

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I learned how to make this nifty spring-tension clasp!  I will be making more of these and working on design variations.

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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.

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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.

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I learned some new things to do with Faux Bone and mixed metals.

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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.

What I Learned from Susan Lenart Kazmer

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Baltimore, beading, blogging, Blogroll, Craft demonstration, Craft in America, Crafting Traditions, Damascus Maryland, Design, dumpster diving, Hand Made, Happy, Hinges and Catches, inspiration, Metal Work, Metal Working, mixed media, Personal Growth, Personal History, Polymer Clay Express, problem solving, recycled art, recycling, repurposing, Silversmithing, Susan Lenart Kazmer, The Artway, Travel, Wire Working, , , , , , 3 Comments on What I Learned from Susan Lenart Kazmer

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Mike Models Susan’s Bracelet

If you read this Blog last week, you know that I was heading down to Damascus, MD to take a class with Susan Lenart Kazmer at Polymer Clay Express. The two-day class was fantastic. Here’s some of the things I learned:

I learned how to drill a hole in a stone.slk4
I learned how to fabricate a cone out of metal.
I improved my torch enameling skills.
I learned how to make and use different kinds of rivets.
I  learned a cool way to put a red patina on copper.
I  learned how to preserve found items like paper and twigs with resin and incorporate them into my jewelry.
I  saw an ingenious way to make hinges that I’m going to try because now I am more confident in my sawing skills and I think I can do it!
I  saw how to make dapped forms to turn into cool rings and pendants.
I  learned new ways to incorporate fiber with beads and metal.

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Now every day the sidewalk holds more treasure than ever before.

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Thanks Susan for teaching this class and Terri for telling me about it and giving me a ride! 

Thinking about Design

By: ornamento.blog
Alexander Calder, Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, beads, Brass, Charles Lewton-Brain, Crafting Traditions, Design, Elise Winters, Hinges and Catches, history, inspiration, jewelry, Materials, Metal Working, mixed media, Personal Growth, Personal History, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Polymer Clay, problem solving, risk taking, Uncategorized, Victoria Hughes4 Comments on Thinking about Design

A book I heartily recommend is Hinges and Hinge-Based Catches for Jewelers and Goldsmiths. It covers more than hinges and catches. You’ll find information on soldering and construction, some tool making ideas, and tips on solving technical and design problems. Even if you are not a Metalsmith, I recommend you read the book for examples of author Charles Lewton-Brain’s approach to creative thinking and problem solving:

“Thinking is the most important thing you can do as a goldsmith and a jeweler. Solving problems is what being an artist or craftsperson is about. Utilizing contrast and comparison helps in analyzing a problem. Look for patterns: if something looks like something else, there is probably a relationship, a link. . . .[from which]one can gain a deeper understanding of the principles behind them. This is the same approach used by scientists and art historians; one understands systems and problems by using contrast and comparison.”

In the same vein, I recommend you go to the Polymer Art Archive and read  Rachel Carren’s explanation of why one of Victoria Hughes’s necklace designs works so well. Sure, we all read about design and take classes where teachers use abstract terms and diagrams. Maybe you could take a test on the class and get an “A,” but most of us are not going for the grades at this point. We want to improve our designs. Carren, provides a concrete analysis of how a master approached a design. How cool is that?   The Polymer Art Archive contains some more examples of  Carren’s  insightful commentaries on design.  Well worth a read. 

Finally, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is hosting a not-to-be-missed exhibit of Alexander Calder’s jewelry. The exhibit runs through November 2, 2008 at the newly-opened Perlman Building. This is the first exhibition devoted solely to Calder’s jewelry. What’s especially nice about it is the large number of pieces are displayed in glass cases so you can see the front and back.

Calder used cold connections and basic fabrication techniques to make his jewelry, but this didn’t limit him. All of his designs were well thought out and seem fresh 60 years later. If you can’t make it to the Museum, you can always order the exhibition catalog on line. Or you can do both like I did.