Introduction to Jewelry // Silversmithing

This four-session workshop series is designed to introduce students to the materials, tools and techniques of contemporary metal craft as it pertains to jewelry and small scale sculpture.

In week one students will learn how to build a paper model as a prototype, use saws to cut shapes out of the sheet metal, drill holes using a drill press and watch a silver soldering demo.  In the second week of the class students will learn all about filing and sanding the surfaces of their pieces, and each student will try soldering for the first time.  In the third week students will learn all about bending and texturing metal to give their pieces dynamic forms and surfaces.  We'll also learn how to rivet two pieces of metal together - a common cold joining process.   In week four we cover a variety of surface finishing techniques, from polishing to sandblasting to patination to adding a resin to the surface of each piece.  Every student will leave with at least one finished object of his or her own design.  Most students build either a ring or a pendant.  

This workshop is easy-going, fun, and will expose you to the contemporary side of age-old metalsmithing traditions. This class is the perfect foundation for a first foray into metal smithing. From this class, students are able to move into one of our many intermediate silversmithing options, such as Bezel Setting, Prong Setting or Intermediate Silversmithing: Hinges and Mechanisms.  

Students will receive two additional supervised studio session passes, so that students can work outside of class time to complete their pieces. Studio session availability varies week by week. Please consult the online schedule for the Continuing Projects workshop or email Jewelry@3rdward.com.

Interested in more project examples? Check out students work from the class on our tumblr.

Instructor
Max Goodman is a working artist and educator.  A Philadelphia native, Max earned her BFA from the Tyler School of Art with a double major in Painting and Jewelry/Metalsmithing. After finishing her studies and working for several years in the jewelry design industry both for nationally selling firms and as an independent designer, Max spent a year traveling Europe as a wandering horse trainer. In 2009 she relocated to Brooklyn and happily discovered the art-making community here at 3rd Ward. Learn why Max's jewelry classes are unique here.

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