Spring / Summer 2014 Workshop Schedule

Time to get your smithing on this summer!  Check out descriptions and schedules below for your chances to join me for some fun in the metals studio!

New this year: I have been invited to participate as an instuctor in Sawtooth School for Visual Art's Summer Art Immersion Program for gifted and talented high school students who are passionate about visual art or are interested in pursuing a career in art.  I'll be teaching a two week session focusing on metal forming and enameling!  Rising 9th-12th graders must be recommended by their art teachers, and apply here!

Summer Art Immersion
Make Your Metal POP! 
Explore the world of metalsmithing. Form metal into shapes using hammers and stakes. Learn about using 
vitreous enamels and kiln firing to create bright and beautiful enamel surface treatments on formed pieces 
that will really make your metal pop.
The application deadline is June 6^th. Scholarship Application deadline is May 23^rd.

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
Session I - 2 weeks
June 23 - July 3
10:15am-12:15pm

Adult Classes

Champleve Enameling Workshop
Champlevé is an enameling technique in which troughs or cells are etched into the surface of the metal and filled with vitreous enamel. The piece is then fired until the enamel fuses, creating a unique look of a smooth surface of metal lines and enamel spaces. Learn the process of creating beautiful enameled pieces to use as jewelry. You’ll get hands-on practice and learn the process from beginning to end. Materials included.

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
2 day Workshop (Sat-Sun)
May 17-18 
10:00am-4:00pm

Taste of Art : Copper Earrings

Taste of Art is a wonderful new program at Sawtooth School for Visual Art.  Spend a fun evening learning something new, socializing with friends and create a lovely piece of jewelry to take home.  Perfect for beginners and anyone who just wants to spend a fun Friday evening out being creative with friends!  Students are always welcome to bring beverages and snacks, but all supplies and tools will be provided. In this class we'll be making copper earrings!

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
Friday, June 27
6:00-8:00pm

Taste of Art : Enameled Pendant

Taste of Art is a wonderful new program at Sawtooth School for Visual Art.  Spend a fun evening learning something new, socializing with friends and create a lovely piece of jewelry to take home.  Perfect for beginners and anyone who just wants to spend a fun Friday evening out being creative with friends!  Students are always welcome to bring beverages and snacks, but all supplies and tools will be provided. In this class we'll be making an enameled copper pendant!

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
Friday, July 18
6:00-8:00pm

Metals/Jewelry : Forming
This class is designed for students who want to bring dimension to their metal work. Learn how to bring volume to pieces by shell forming with hammers and stakes, or by using the hydraulic press. There will be demonstrations and plenty of time to develop your skills. Good for beginners and beyond. Materials available for purchase in class.


Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
Six Tuesdays
July 22 - Sept 2  (Skip August 5)
6:30-9:00pm

Adult Art Camp : Enameling
Enameling is an ancient process where powdered glass is fused to metal's surface through heat (a torch or kiln). This fun art camp is for beginners and will emphasize experimentation and will introduce techniques like sifting, stenciling, and sgraffito using enamels on copper. Basic materials included.

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
5 days (Mon-Fri)
July 28 - August 1
10:00am-1:00pm

Etching Workshop
Etching is a fabulous way to add design and texture to your metalwork! Learn different types of resist methods to be used in the etching process, including paint pen, stamping, and heat-applied print resists. We will make samples in copper and explore both traditional acid etching as well as electro-etching processes.

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC
2 days (Sat-Sun)
August 30-31
10:00am-4:00pm

Winter/Spring 2013 Workshop Schedule

Here's your chance to get in on the metalsmithing fun this winter and spring!  Keep checking back for additions to the schedule!


Intermediate Metals/Jewelry : Forming
This class is designed for students who have learned the basics of jewelry fabrication (soldering, sawing, etc.) and want to expand their skills. There will be lots of demonstration and plenty of time to develop your skills. We will concentrate this session's demos on forming metal with both hammer/stakes and the hydraulic press. Materials available for purchase in class.

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC

Session 1 : Five Tuesdays
January 15 - February 12
6:30pm - 9:00

Session 2 : Five Tuesdays
January 15 - February 12
9:30am - 12:00

Exploring Enamels Workshop
Students will learn basic techniques in enameling such as sifting and kiln firing. We will also explore fun and contemporary techniques such as controlled over and under firing, inclusions and more. Students will make several samples and will have the opportunity to finish a few pieces to take home.

Visual Arts Center of Richmond : Richmond, VA

2 Day Workshop
Saturday, February 9 - 10:00-4:30
Sunday, February 10 - 1:00-4:00

Jewelry Fabrication Weekend Workshop
This is the perfect introduction to creating jewelry the traditional way, by starting with sheet metal and wire. You'll learn about the basic tools of the jeweler: a jeweler's saw, pliers, hammers, and the torch. We'll cover techniques that will enable you to create beautiful wearable jewelry, such as rings, bracelets, and pendants! We'll work with copper with sterling silver, and will provide all the materials, tools and equipment. No experience necessary - all you need is enthusiasm!

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC

2 Day Workshop
February 16-17 (Sat-Sun)
9:30 - 4:30

Intermediate Metals/Jewelry : Enameling
Enameling is an ancient process where glass is fused to metal through heat. Students will experiment with enameling on copper and are encouraged to explore the possibilities that this process allows. Annie will introduce a variety of enameling techniques such as sifting, stenciling, sgraffito, and basse taille. Students may apply these techniques to everything from pendants and earrings to decorative home items. No experience necessary. Most materials included in the fee.

Sawtooth School for Visual Art : Winston-Salem, NC

Session 1 : Five Tuesdays
February 19 - March 19
6:30pm - 9:00

Session 2 : Five Tuesdays
February 19 - March 19
9:30am - 12:00

NC Black Co. Micro Raising and Forming Workshop
Raising is a process for forming sheet metal into vessel form using the metal's natural response to hammering. Students will explore methods for creating miniature vessel forms. These methods can be used to create sculpture and jewelry as well as vessels. Students will focus on samples in copper and will create a raised vessel by the end of the class. We will also explore other Micro Forming techniques, allowing students to create small, voluminous, structurally sound forms to be used on their own or in conjunction with raised pieces. All tools are provided. This class is taught in tandem by Annie Grimes Williams and Julie Brooks of NC Black Co.
Some metalsmithing experience is recommended, but not required.

Touchstone Center for Crafts : Laurel Highlands, PA 

4 Day Workshop
April 26-29

NC Black Co. Micro Forming Workshop
Micro forming techniques are very useful in today’s market due to the rising cost of
precious metals. Using NC Black Co.’s specially designed tools, students will learn to
use thinner gauge materials to create voluminous and structurally sound forms. Students
will learn synclastic and anticlastic forming, as well as shell forming, all on a miniature
scale. We’ll get you creating small, delicate forms that can be used in jewelry and a
variety of other applications! This class is taught in tandem by Annie Grimes Williams
and Julie Brooks of NC Black Co. All tools are provided.

Columbus Cultural Arts Center : Columbus, OH  

2 Day Workshop
May 4-5

Spring/Summer Workshop Schedule

Want to learn some metalsmithing and enameling techniques?  Here are your chances this Spring and Summer!

Fall 2012 schedule is in the works - Check back soon!

Using the Hydraulic Die Press in the Jewelry Studio

Explore the fascinating realm of forming metal with a hydraulic die press. You can easily add dimension to your metalwork with the hydraulic press. Being able to easily create multiples of a simple form is one of its greatest assets. Students will learn to create original dies in acrylic sheet or other material, then use these dies to make puffed metal forms that can be altered using various techniques and textures. You can make multiples for a series of jewelry pieces, each one with the same outside silhouette but finished differently. The possibilities are endless. Basic Jeweler's Saw skills are helpful, but beginners are welcome.

2 Day Workshop
Saturday, May 19   -   10:00-4:30
Sunday, May 19   -   10:00-4:30
Sawtooth School for Visual Art - Winston-Salem, NC

Enameling for Jewelry and Beyond
Students will learn basic techniques in enameling, such as sifting and kiln firing. We’ll apply these techniques (plus a few other fun things) to everything from pendants and earrings to items for the home - think drawer-pulls and light switch plates!

5 Tuesdays : June 5 - July 3
6:00-9:00pm
Visual Arts Center of Richmond - Richmond, VA

Exploring Enamels Workshop

Students will learn basic techniques in enameling, such as sifting and kiln firing. We will also explore fun and contemporary techniques such as controlled over and under firing, inclusions, and more! Students will make several samples and will have the opportunity to finish a few pieces to take home.

2 Day Workshop
Saturday, June 23  -  10:00-4:30
Sunday, June 24  -  1:00-3:30
Visual Arts Center of Richmond - Richmond, VA

Micro Raising Workshop

Raising is a process for forming sheet metal into vessel form using the metal's natural response to hammering. Students will explore methods for creating miniature vessel forms. These methods can be used to create sculpture and jewelry as well as vessels. Students will focus on samples in copper and will create a raised vessel by the end of the class. All tools are provided. This class is taught in tandem by Annie Grimes Williams and Chuck Kennington of NC Black Co.
Some metalsmithing experience is recommended, but not required.

2 Day Workshop
Saturday, July 14  - 10:00-4:30 PM
Sunday, July 15  -  1:00-4:00 PM

Winter/Spring Workshop Schedule

Feel like learning some fun metals techniques?  Here are the workshops and classes I'll be teaching over the next few months!


Enameling for Jewelry and Beyond

Students will learn basic techniques in enameling, such as sifting and kiln firing. We’ll apply these techniques (plus a few other fun things) to everything from pendants and earrings to items for the home - think drawer-pulls and light switch plates!

8 Tuesdays - Jan 10 - Feb 28
6:30-9:00pm
Visual Arts Center of Richmond - Richmond, VA

 

NC Black Co. Micro Raising Workshop

Raising is a process for forming sheet metal into vessel form using the metal's natural response to hammering. Students will explore methods for creating miniature vessel forms. These methods can be used to create sculpture and jewelry as well as vessels. Students will focus on samples in copper and will create a raised vessel by the end of the class. All tools are provided.  Some metalsmithing experience is helpful, but not required. 

Two 1-Day Workshops

February 4 - 10:00-5:00

February 5 - 10:00-5:00

Cape Fear Studios - Fayetteville, NC

3-Day Workshop

March 22-24 - 10:00-5:00 each day

Radford University - Radford, VA

Jewelry Fabrication Weekend Workshop

This is the perfect introduction to creating jewelry the traditional way, by starting with sheet metal and wire. You'll learn about the basic tools of the jeweler: a jeweler's saw, pliers, hammers, and the torch. We'll cover techniques that will enable you to create beautiful wearable jewelry, such as rings, bracelets, and pendants! We'll work with copper with sterling silver, and will provide all the materials, tools and equipment. No experience necessary - all you need is enthusiasm!

Feb 18-19 (Sat-Sun) 
10:00-4:30 both days
Sawtooth School for Visual Art - Winston-Salem, NC

Galvanic Etching and Champleve Enameling

Galvanic etching, or electro-etching, is a process that uses electricity rather than acid to etch metal. Students will learn forming techniques for their specific pieces, and then we’ll move into champleve enameling, a technique that involves wet-packing enamel powder into the recesses created by etching the metal.

8 Tuesdays - March 13 - May 1
6:30-9:00pm
Visual Arts Center of Richmond - Richmond, VA

Using the Hydraulic Die Press in the Jewelry Studio

Explore the fascinating realm of forming metal with a hydraulic die press. You can easily add dimension to your metalwork with the hydraulic press. Being able to easily create multiples of a simple form is one of its greatest assets. Students will learn to create original dies in acrylic sheet or other material, then use these dies to make puffed metal forms that can be altered using various techniques and textures. You can make multiples for a series of jewelry pieces, each one with the same outside silhouette but finished differently. The possibilities are endless. Basic Jeweler's Saw skills are helpful, but beginners are welcome.

May 19-20 (Sat-Sun)
10:00-4:30 both days
Sawtooth School for Visual Art - Winston-Salem, NC

The Year in Pictures

January First.  Beginning of a New Year. 

And you know what?  I GOT this.  I am all over it. 

2011 was crazy and scary and amazing.  I worked my ass off, and I feel like I am finally moving in the right direction.  Yay!

I took the last few days off to work on some personal projects that I just haven't had time for with everything else going on.  I spent hours this past week going through all the photos I have taken this year, editing and cropping, and just loving reliving all those moments.  Now, I am my mother's daughter, so I pretty much always have a camera glued to my hand.  And I'm a sucker for sunsets and oceans and clouds.   But I'll try not to get tooo carried away.....

January:  I sent in my portfolio for my graduate school application.

Then Mark and I moved to Richmond.  This is the first day of setting up the new studio! 



February: Buster came into our lives and we all enjoyed exploring Richmond together.

March : I revamped the look of my jewelry business, CopperTide.

April: Worked on tool designs and Micro Raising Workshop development with NC Black Co.

May: Chuck and I taught our first Micro Raising Workshop

at Sawtooth School for Visual Art in Winston-Salem, NC.

Then I went to the SNAG conference in Seattle and worked the 

NC Black vendor booth with Andrea and Les.

June:  I launched my new Reef Jewelry line.

July : Traveled to Colorado with NC Black to do a vendor booth at the CoMA Conference.

August : My first outdoor "craft show," the Watermelon Festival in Carytown.



Then took a little time off for the beach, and got to see a hurricane pass by the SC coast.  Amazing.

September : Mark and I launched our new business, CopperDog Studio.

October: Taught my first enameling workshop at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.

November : Started teaching an evening course at The Visual Arts Center, then got some more beach time for Thanksgiving.



December : Made lots of jewelry, dog tags, and festive confectionery delights!

So here's to 2011!  It was a hell of a year! 

2012 : BRING.IT.ON.



VisArts Enameling Workshop

Last weekend I taught a Basic Enameling workshop at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.  It was my first workshop there, and I had a great time.  The facility is very nice, fully equipped studio, friendly people, organized administration, fabulous students! 

Mark and I moved to Richmond this past January, and knew basically nothing about the city.  Someone suggested that I look into the Visual Arts Center as a place to work and to meet some interesting people.  I made an appointment last Spring and pitched my proposals for classes and workshops for the Fall session, and came to find out that VisArts was fully equipped for enameling, with four kilns and lots of old enamels, but they had had no one to teach it in years.  Lucky for me!  I proposed two enameling workshops and an etching and enameling class.  I was able to make my Basic Enameling workshop run with only three people, but I don't think my next workshop, Alternative Techniques in Enameling (Nov. 12-13) is going to make this session.  Oh well.  I already have five people signed up for my evening class, Galvanic Etching and Champleve Enameling, starting in a couple weeks (Tuesday evenings, Nov. 15 - Dec. 20, 6-9pm).  So that will be a lot of fun. 

Anyway, back to the Basic Enameling workshop.  Prior to the workshop, I went into the VisArts studio and made colors samples of all the enamels they had to offer.

I made handouts including some basic info and facts about enamels, descriptions and how-to's with the techniques we were covering, and some tips and tricks that just make things a little easier as you're going.  I made samples of all the different techniques we'd be trying, which were surprisingly a lot, given that this was a basic enameling workshop.  And honestly, it was a lot of fun to revisit those techniques that I don't often use.  In my first enameling class, we were presented with a whole lot of basic techniques like this, and then were asked to take this knowledge and make a piece of jewelry.  Well, that's all well and good, but there were so many different things that I wanted to try, I ended up trying to use several on one piece and it came out looking rather muddled.  I remember wishing we had been given some extra time just for making samples of each technique to try them all out and see what we liked before jumping into a piece of jewelry. 

So that's what I asked my students to do.  The first day, I did demos of several basic limoges techniques, and then the students did their own samples.  After lunch, I showed them a few basse-taille techniques, and they were free to make some samples of basse-taille or anything else they wanted to explore.

Since we only had three hours to work on Sunday, their homework assignment that night was to come up with a piece that they wanted to make based on the techniques we had covered.

Greg made a beautiful landscape tile:

Gwen made a gorgeous leaf-shaped pendant:



I thought everyone did a wonderful job, and we all had a lot of fun!  I hope to see them again in future workshops and classes.  Can't wait for my next class. 

Thanks VisArts and students!



Blogging Slacker!

My, my, my... what the little blogging slacker I have been!  Here it is, the end of October, and I have not posted all month!  I may have had a few other things going on, though.....  here's a brief (ok, mabe not so brief) summary of my 4 jobs + life:

My main business focus has been CopperDog Studio.  I've been using what I've learned so far in my Marketing course to apply it to getting this business started right.  Unfortunately, I am only 5 lessons deep in a 12 lesson course, but I'm learning.....  I got the website up and running.  For those of you who have been following, we decided to go with Big Cartel as our host, and we have already made more sales than I've ever made from my CopperTide site through Other People's Pixels.  (I think I will switch that one over when review time comes up in a few months.)  So, that's going.  We made samples of each style of tag we offer, and came up with a clever display... on a dog collar!

We sent a similar display with order forms, etc. to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, NC.  My friend Nicole works there, and is advocating for us.  We hope to have a good relationship set up with them soon, with 10% of the proceeds from sales made through BWAR donated back to them.  We also hope to set up similar sitiuations with other rescue groups.  This display set is going with us to the dog park this weekend to try our hand at person to person sales.  A little marketing tip on placement there.  The people are there, thinking about their dogs, so just place this right in front of them and start a conversation.

So there's all that for CopperDog, plus filling orders, etc.

CopperTide has fallen a little behind while getting CopperDog up and running, but I've made a few items, and I'm applying for holiday shows.  Check.

Job #3 is with NC Black Co.  I have been down to NC a couple times in the last month or so to work with them.  The first trip was supposed to be just a quick one to take photos of their new hammers for their website and for a catalog.

Well, that turned into a weekend trip with my teaching partner, Chuck, to Gatlinburg, TN to deliver tools to the store at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.  And we got to see some of the glory that is Gatlinburg.  Wow.  That place would make me want to vomit if it wasn't for Arrowmont.  But since this amazing craft school is there, it just makes the rest of the insanely weird tourist trap tolerable, and even hilarious.  It was a great time.  I love my job. 

So anyway, I took some photos when we got back to NC.  Edited them, and sent a CD of images to Grobet for their catalog.  Congrats to NC Black on the Grobet parnetship, by the way!  It's so inspiring to see a small company of talented people finding success!  I'm so fortunate to work with them and call them my friends!  I took another trip down to see them mid-month to take more photos for ther new website - this time, photos of the people behind NC Black.

And we spent some time working on plans and samples for a new workshop offered by NC Black, Etched Anticlastic Neckpieces.

Which brings me to Job #4 : Teaching.  Last weekend I taught an enameling workshop at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.  That was a great time with great students.  The workshop will get its own post tomorrow.  But I just wanted to mention it as another thing I have going on these days.  This was the first time I had taught this particular workshop, so planning was involved.  And that includes writing a handout and making samples, among other thing.  But I really enjoyed it, and look forward to teaching more at VisArts.  In fact, I have an evening class in Galvanic Etching and Champleve Enameling coming up, starting November 15, so I guess I better get on the preparations for that!  Plus, I've been writing class proposals and sending them in for Winter/Spring classes at VisArts and Sawtooth School for Visual Art.  Whew!

Sometimes it's hard to get my mind all organized around everything.  Especially when you throw in life stuff.  Mark and the pets and I have a lot of fun (somewhere in there), but there's still shopping, chores, and cooking to be done.  And there's that looming portfolio situation, and a big decision to be made with that.  But I won't get into that right now.  So hopefully it's understandable why I've been such a blogging slacker lately.  I do plan to get back on that.  And start one for just CopperDog Studio.  So I'm off to check things off my lists, add more things to them, and make Halloween cookies.  Nope, I'm not sorry.  There's always time for Halloween.   Cheers!