My First Jewelry Class

[brad]

Saturday, I attended my first of two jewelry classes ever.  This two Saturday class is “introductory enamel.”  I have had an old dental/lost wax type kiln for several years, and dabbled with enameling after viewing numerous Rio and YouTube vids.  As educational as those are, and along with a few books, online vids have been my primary source of learning.  I should also credit many of you on this site. 
      Anyway,  it’s hard to beat that face-to-face instruction.  It is a small class in a very well equipped educational shop.  
      Also, I realized, there different ways to get to the same result.  And, how strange it is, to work in other peoples shop, with other folks tools, and other setups!  Brad

[caeterle]

I wanted to try beginner's enamel as a teenager and already had some small blanks, but somehow the friend who wanted to show me never got around to it.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you will be making.
If I took a class these days, it would have be one to one. The silversmith who does the silversmithing class that I went to some years ago is in a different town, though, so it's not going to happen as I just don't have the energy anymore.

[DawninCal]

Sounds like fun and also very interesting, Brad. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you produce. Regarding working in someone else's shop and using their tools, I would think that while seeming a bit strange, it would also be a neat way to see other ways of doing the same thing. One might decide they like their way of doing things the best or they may come away with a better way to accomplish something.

Most of my learning has come from books, Youtube, blogs, from online sites such as this one and just plain old doing. I've found the majority of jewelry makers to be very generous with their knowledge. If the right class came along (small or one on one) being the key words, I'd be very open to giving it a try. The only class I ever signed up for, the teacher didn't show up and the fee I paid for the class was never refunded. That left kind of a bitter taste in my mouth.

Back to your class - do you have enameling projects in mind or is enameling another skill you wanted to add to your bank of knowledge?



Dawn

[brad]

I went to my first enameling class. One teacher, five students. I may have been the oldest? but several were not far behind. Though I had messed with enameling, and watched hours of videos, I still see the value of eyeball to eyeball instruction and hints. I will finish my piece at next week's class, of the two classes. *My Rio "kart" is growing, and so are the $$$! ;-) Brad

[michelle]

Ooh, this sounds quite interesting, Brad! I will be eager to see what you make. Investing in the right class can sure be a leap forward.

[Irith-Rita]

I love some vintage museum quality enamel jewelry I've seen in exhibitions, but somehow am not attracted to making jewelry with it. Perhaps some day I will.

I hope to see some of your creations here.

[brad]

I finished my enameling class. Learned a lot, especially about recovering from boo-boos and things you can do with the layers.  The pic is my of my class project.  Brad

[caeterle]

That is so beautiful, like embers in the ash.

[caeterle]

I moved this to Show & Tell now as there is a picture of the finished piece.

[brad]

My instructor was getting excited, because I took the time to form the cuff first. My plan was transl copper green counter enamel (on the inside), and Orient/vermillion red opaque on outside. My instructor suggested scattering on a dark grey, then a “krackle” layer. I was not excited about any that. Krackle!? Well, another one of those weird enameling terms- it did mean the translucent krackle firing actually cracked. It causes the two colors to bleed through in what seems a random fashion? I need to read more about that.
Brad

[caeterle]

I've seen crackle enamel and like the look, but never thought about it being used in two different colors to make the colors bleed through. Interesting!

I am really fascinated by guilloché enamel like the incredible pieces by Fabergé. I once saw a documentary about the company Victor Mayer which is situated in Pforzheim - also called Golden City because it's known for its jewelry making history - about 50 miles from here. Unfortunately it's just a taaaad outside my price range

[michelle]

Absolutely beautiful, Brad! You are off to an amazing start.

[brad]

Thank you for the kind comments. The intricacies of ancient and European enameling is mind-boggling. Brad

[DawninCal]

It's hard to believe that is your first piece. It's beautiful and I really like the turned out. Me thinks you have found a new hobby to add to your other hobbies. Having seen your past work, I'm confident you'll continue to tinker until you achieve perfection (or as close to perfect as a human can get).



Dawn

[Irith-Rita]

Seeing this I may may begin to like enameled jewelry