Jewelry Designing (Level 1)

The LEVEL I beginner’s session starts from square one. It is the starting place for both the complete novice as well as the student who already has some prior experience with assembly-based jewelry design (plier/wire work, beading, cold-linking).

This session provides hands-on instruction in the fundamental fabrication techniques employed at the jeweler’s bench. It is also centrally focused on establishing a tacit understanding of the various jewelry metals as art material through practicing high-temperature silver soldering and metalsmithing. This means manipulation of the metal DIRECTLY as your medium. You will understand and work with the various elemental and alloyed metals traditionally employed in wearable objects, jewelry, and adornment.

Demonstrations are provided through conventionally formatted exercises, which each student then practices. Once the technical objective of the exercise has been accomplished, students are strongly encouraged to apply their newly earned skills to Self-originated design concepts.

This is when things begin to get really interesting, with each student exploring the creative problem solving that novel forms necessitate. In this way, each students benefits not only their own creative explorations, but those of their fellow students as well.