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Please join us for this free event! The Jewelry Online Connections (JOC) is an informal way for us to gather and share. After we have a chance to say “Hi” and catch up with each other, we’ll get right into our monthly topic.
Later in the session, you’ll have an opportunity to share a project that you’re working on, get feedback on a design, or get advice from the other participants on how to solve a technical challenge.
We welcome your suggestions for future topics. If you have a topic that you’d like to host, let us know! Send your ideas to jewelry.lead@bainbridgebarn.org
September 30th: Setting Up Your Home Workspace Co-hosts Chris Stanley and Joan Hammond
Want to start making your jewelry at home but can’t afford the setup of your dreams? Come Zoom with Chris Stanley and discover some low-cost options and must-haves to set up your home work space. Chris’s first set up was a table in his bedroom in his parents’ house, his second one was in a closet in his first apartment. “Wherever I have been, with a small toolbox and a few supplies, I can whip out a piece when I need to. You can too.”
Topics covered: torch options; basic toolkit; soldering setup; pickle; how to polish without a buffer.
This session will conclude with an invitation to participate in The Hand Medal Project. This project offers a way for the jewelry-making community to show our appreciation for the healthcare workers who have risked their lives caring for people during the pandemic. For complete instructions, including a template for cutting out the medals, please go to https://handmedalproject.com/en/index.html Come to the session with a medal or two already made, or get inspired by what the other participants have made!
Details:
Instructors: Chris Stanley and Joan Hammond
DATE: Evening of Monday, October 5 TOPIC: Compare and Contrast: Wax Working Tools HOST: Nanz Aalund
Working with wax is much easier when you have the right tools. BARN Jewelry Studio has electric wax pens to work with but a small investment in the right tool will allow you to work at home - easily. So, which tool is good for you? Join the Jewelry Studio for this Jewelry Online Connection session to learn about 4 different hot wax tools (electric and otherwise) and how to use them.
Instructor: Nanz Aalund’s wide ranging career as a jewelry designer, goldsmith, and educator, began with high school shop classes. After serving as a fine jewelry designer and marketing consultant for Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany & Co., Aalund taught jewelry and metals classes at the University of Washington and at the Art Institute in Seattle. Earning a Masters of Fine Art (MFA/Metals) and a Masters of Education/College and Technical Teaching Curriculum (CTTC). Her work has been exhibited both national and international since the 1980s. She authored the book, "Masters Gold,” published by Lark Books in 2009 and her most recent publication, “A Jeweler’s Guide to Apprenticeship” published in 2017 for MJSA, received a Silver Medal in the national AM&P Excel Awards, in 2018
**Limited open studios now available for members. Session may be canceled if there is an increase in coronavirus cases in Kitsap County**
Work on projects of your own choosing in BARN’s fully equipped Jewelry Studio.
Open Studio time allows BARN members, a collaborative environment to finish projects from previous or currently enrolled classes, to work on projects of your own choosing, and to have access to an amazing array of jewelry making equipment. A trained safety monitor is always on duty.
Details to adhere to safe guidelines:
Monitor: Joan Hammond
Questions? Contact jewelry.Lead@BainbridgeBARN.org
Open Studio time allows BARN members a collaborative environment to finish projects from previous or currently enrolled classes, to work on projects of your own choosing, and to have access to an amazing array of jewelry making equipment. A trained safety monitor is always on duty.
Monitor: Sandra Leese
DATE: Wednesday, October 14 TOPIC: Jewelry Resources HOST: Karin Luvaas
In this session, we will be discussing some of our favorite jewelry resources! Anything and everything from helpful websites, books, podcasts, Facebook groups, Instagram, to favorite tools, and more! Come to learn and bring your favorites to share with the group.
Instructor: Karin Luvaas is a local Bainbridge Island artist and jeweler. With an art degree in encaustics, painting and metal sculpture, Karin has studied under acclaimed jewelry masters Michael Boyd, Kent Raible, Petra Class, and Sarah Graham and achieved Graduate Jeweler status under Alan Revere of the world renowned Revere Academy of San Francisco, California. Karin is also a GIA certified Graduate Gemologist and holds a Jewelers of America Bench Jeweler Technician certificate.
This three-session class will focus on Black and White jewelry illustration techniques and allow for practice during breaks, repeating strategic sections of instruction to gain deeper skills. Demonstrations will be shared on the use of drawing templates, different lead hardness, tracing paper, and white highlights to gain realism. Participants will gain experience in illustrating jewelry ideas in front, side, and edge views of rings, pendants and earrings.
Students will need to supply:
Instructor Bio:
Nanz Aalund’s wide ranging career as a jewelry designer, goldsmith, and educator, began with high school shop classes. After serving as a fine jewelry designer and marketing consultant for Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany & Co., Aalund taught jewelry and metals classes at the University of Washington and at the Art Institute in Seattle. Earning a Masters of Fine Art (MFA/Metals) and a Masters of Education/College and Technical Teaching Curriculum (CTTC). Her work has been exhibited both national and international since the 1980’s. She authored the book, “Masters Gold,” published by Lark Books in 2009 and her most recent publication, “A Jeweler’s Guide to Apprenticeship” published in 2017 for MJSA, received a national AM&P Excel Award in 2018.
Monitor: Karen Olch
**This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.**
The first step in designing and making any object is translating the idea into a two-dimensional plan, and that starts with a drawing.
This class is for beginners and people who want to revisit their drawing skills. This class will be useful to you whatever your discipline.
Instructor: Michael Gunderson moved to Bainbridge after a thirty-plus year career in California Public education. His degree is in the arts and has taught classes in art, jewelry, ceramics and the trades, as well as serving as an activities and athletic director. He has always found a great pleasure in communicating with young people.
He thinks of himself as a person who solves visual problems. He proposes a situation and looks to openly create a visual answer, whether it be paint, wood or combinations of media. He is not political in his work - not even angry. He's looking for the fun and the whacky.
DATE: Wednesday, October 28 TOPIC: To Bead or Not to Bead? Demystifying The Art of Bead Weaving HOST: Chris Eisenberg
Description: An introduction or refresher to the joys of bead weaving. Our discussion will include an overview of types of seed beads, basic tools needed and setting up a work space. If you have done some bead weaving, you are invited to share your experiences with it (good and bad) as well as any projects you have made or that are in progress. For those new to this art, let’s talk about what draws you to it or any fears that keep you at arms’ length. Our session will finish with a brief overview of the “Exploring Bead Weaving” series I will be offering at BARN along with a description of upcoming classes and projects.
Presenter: Chris Eisenberg
Chris Eisenberg discovered beading while recovering from an accident and the resulting traumatic brain injury. Beading was her therapy and credits it for helping her become whole again. Chris has a doctorate in classical piano performance from the University of Northern Colorado and am a performance coach and collaborator at Central Washington University. She has previously taught workshops at the Autumn Artist Retreat and in the Iron Mountain Arts studio near Port Gamble.
In this 3-week course, we will meet on Mondays and Thursdays for an hour and a half each day to discuss design exercises and share our creative responses to them. The daily stress and trauma of our current social environment have a way of shutting off creativity. These design exercises are meant to reinvigorate the creative muscles inherent in every human being. Design elements and principles are the basic visual toolbox of every craft. The elements form the basic vocabulary of visual design, while the principles constitute the broader structural aspects of composition. Join us in getting your creative juices flowing again.
Photo credit: BARN's Certificate of Craft Student, Patrick Azcarate 2020
In this two-day class, participants will learn how to measure and mark the hard carving wax used in jewelry making with visible planning lines and precision cuts. We will be practicing 3-dimensional planning and layout techniques for subtractive Wax Carving.
We will begin with the preparation of Carving Wax for ring size and design layout for carving with a classic Dome ring design. Once the practice Wax is completed, participants will be able to apply these new skills to their own designs. The different carving waxes designated by color will be discussed. Green, Blue, and Purple waxes will be available for practice carving. Specialized Wax Tools such as wax saw blades, miter boxes, rotary files, mini lathe, electric wax pens and scrappers will be explained in depth and demonstrated.
Important Information about this class. Please read through this before registering:
Class will begin at 9:30 AM and go until 11:30 AM. During that time the instructor will be demonstrating techniques. There will be a break in the session to allow students to practice some of the techniques presented in class. Local students have the option of working in the Jewelry Studio at BARN (please see reservation details below) or you can work from home if you have tools and bench set up. The online session will pick up again at 5:00 PM and go until 6:00 PM. You will use the same link you were sent in the reminder email to rejoin the online class.
In-Studio Reservations for a practice work session (for LOCAL students): You will have an opportunity to schedule this after you have completed registration. There will be a link to sign up for one of the in-studio practice sessions in the confirmation email. Face masks, safety glasses, and close-toed shoes are required for in-studio appointments.
TOOLS NEEDED:
LOANER KITS: We have 6 loaner kits that can be checked out and picked up at BARN by local students. If you would like to have a loaner kit to use prior to the class, you will need to email the instructor at NanzA@bainbridgebarn.org. These are available on a first come first serve basis.
We will notify the 6 students who reserved kits. Kits will be ready for pick up on Friday, December 4th. All loaner kits require a security deposit of $175 via a check. When kits are returned on Monday, December 7th, you will receive your check back. ------------------------------------------------------------------
Tools for your home workbench:
Students are encouraged to collect/order as many of their own tools as possible before class begins. Tools such as old wood files, Exacto knives, hack saw frames, or Dremel tools with burs can be used for wax carving. If you already have some tools and wish to use your own, check the list below for the required tools for this class.
Order numbers listed below are from Rio Grande Jewelry Suppliers.
MATERIALS WE DO PROVIDE:
Material Kits will be mailed out 10 days prior to class start.
No Lost Wax Casting is included in this class.
Casting by Proxy (casting of your waxes into you choice of brass or sterling silver by BARN jewelry experts) will be available at a date TBD.
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Nanz Aalund’s wide ranging career as a jewelry designer, goldsmith, and educator, began with high school shop classes. After serving as a fine jewelry designer and marketing consultant for Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany & Co., Aalund taught jewelry and metals classes at the University of Washington and at the Art Institute in Seattle. She holds a Masters of Fine Art (MFA/Metals) and a Masters of Education/College and Technical Teaching Curriculum (CTTC). Her jewelry has been exhibited internationally since the 1980s. She authored, "Masters Gold,” published by Lark Books in 2009, and “A Jeweler’s Guide to Apprenticeship” published in 2017 for MJSA, which received a Silver Medal in the national AM&P - 2018 Excel Awards.
These in-studio work sessions are restricted to those local students who are registered for the Wax Carving Basics ONLINE class.
In-Studio Reservations for a practice work session (for LOCAL students): Face masks, safety glasses, and close-toed shoes are required for in-studio appointments.
Please click the register type for the time slot you want to reserve. One session per student please.
Have you ever built a project and then been disappointed by the design result? By making quick, easy scaled models first, you can play around with different design solutions and settle on one that incorporates your favorite elements — before you embark on building the full-size project in wood, metal or other materials. Scaled models are also useful for artists working on projects such as books with popup or fold-out elements.
Designing anything in three dimensions really benefits from using three-dimensional models. In this two-session class, you will learn how to build scaled physical models that are classic 3-D design aids. You'll be working mostly with paper, card stock and basswood, and you will be encouraged to modify your models as you experiment with design and technique.
This two session class covers:
At the first session, you will learn about the tools and materials and make a simple model of a project suggested by the instructor. At the second session, you will make models and experiment with design options for a project of your own choosing. The overriding principle is to have fun both in making models as well as discovering how to further refine your design.
Instructor: Alec Vassiliadis studied models from a very young age. He built lots of scale models of planes, cars and boats, and painted, altered and sometimes destroyed them. "So, naturally, I gravitated to architectural school, where I excelled at building models," he said. After working as an architect for about a year, he gave up on paper as a medium of design and fell back into building models. It did not take long before he was turning his life passion into a profession. He has been building models for architects and industrial designers for the past 40 years.
