a wrapturous blog

Registration for Haliburton Classes August 2010 Begins!

Registration for my classes at Haliburton School of the Arts is now open!

I’m very excited to be heading back for my third year teaching at Haliburton!  I will be teaching two classes, Wire Jewellery I (August 2-6, 2010) and Wire Jewellery II (August 9-13, 2010).

The school is nestled in the heart of Ontario’s Cottage Country near the shores of Head Lake.  Come for a peaceful and relaxing week, and have fun making jewellery!

See my classes page for course descriptions and a link to register!

YOJ09-30 Copper Art Nouveau Cab Bangle

Copper Art Nouveau Cab Bangle (2009)
Copper, dyed paua shell
Constructed, cold joined
L 8 1/2 inches x W 1 inch

Over the next couple of days I’ll be posting the work produced by my students in Wire Jewellery 1 and 2, but for this week’s YOJ entry, I’m posting my teaching sample of the AN Cab Bangle.  This project ended up being quite challenging for the students and took an entire day for the class to complete.  That was something I hadn’t anticipated, so there’s going to be a scheduling adjustment for next year’s class.  What really impressed me was that everyone showed a lot of persistence in doing the project, which had a few tricky steps in it.  One lady, Janice, was so determined to do it – despite how much it was frustrating her – that she refused any suggestion by me to modify it to something simpler.  That caused me to joke that she was channeling her inner German:  “I VILL complete zis bracelet!”  The class cracked up laughing.

The next day, Janice came to class proudly showing off the bracelet, which she had attempted again on her own at home.  She said that she’d found the instructions very clear and easy to follow.  She had every right to be proud:  her bracelet had turned out beautifully!

Scenes of Haliburton, Ontario

Some photos taken during my stay in Haliburton.

[View with PicLens]

YOJ09-29 Freeform Bangle

Freeform Bangle (2009)
Copper
Constructed, cold joined, liver of sulphur patination

I’ve been in Haliburton for the last week teaching the Wire Jewellery course, so this week’s entry is one of the projects made during the week.  This is the “freeform” bangle we made on Thursday.

Week 2 and Wire Jewellery II start tomorrow.  Four of the ladies from last year have signed up again, and one from last week is in the class as well.  So there are going to be lots of familiar faces!

I’ll write more about the classes after next week when I’m home again.

George Brown College – 2009-10 Class Schedule

The 2009-2010 classes for Wire Jewellery at George Brown College have now been posted!  Here’s the schedule (quoted from the GBC website):

Wire Art Jewellery 1

October 18-November 8, 2009
Course Number:   JEWL 9038, CRN# F10447

February 21-March 14, 2010
Course Number:  JEWL 9038, CRN# W45521

Learn the foundational skills needed to make wire jewellery. Make chains, earrings and findings using cold-joining techniques. Learn to manipulate different gauges of wire. Complete three bracelets, one necklace and four pairs of earrings. Create a piece based on a design of your own.

Note: A project kit of basic tools and wire will be supplied in the first class, but you must provide beads. The supplies required will be discussed in the first class.

Cost:  $412, plus cost of beads
Location:  Casa Loma
Hours: 20
Day/Time:  Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 pm.

Click here to register.

Wire Art Jewellery 2

April 11-May 2, 2010
Course Number:  JEWL 9050, CRN# W45608

Refine your ability to control wire by creating bracelets, pendants and rings using multiple wires, twisted wires and binding techniques. Learn how to calculate the price of a finished piece of jewellery.

Note: A project kit of basic tools and wire will be supplied in the first class.

Cost:  $450
Location:  Casa Loma
Hours: 20
Day/Time:  Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 pm.

Click here to register.

YOJ09-27 Art Nouveau Cab Bangle

Art Nouveau Cab Bangle (2009)
Sterling silver, bloodstone
L 21.5 cm x W 2.5 cm
Constructed, cold joined

Although it’s supposed to be a calming stone, I’ve always found bloodstone to have a kind of overpowering “in-your-face” energy that’s difficult to deal with.  For the last few weeks, though, I’ve been wearing it while working on my tutorials, and it’s been helpful for keeping my energy levels up and focused.  I love the red spotting on this cab, and the slight yellow cloud overlaying the green.  This was part of a group of cabs I bought when The Nautilus closed 10 years ago.  The Nautilus was *the* place in Toronto to buy rockhounding and lapidary supplies.  Located in the far, far east of the city, I remember it taking an obscenely long time to get there on city transit from where I lived in Little India.  But what a treasure trove!  The owner, Roy MacLeod, was a passionate rockhound and filled his store with all the bits and bobs needed to work with and admire rocks.  Sadly, Roy didn’t live to see the millennium, and the closing of his store left a void that still hasn’t been filled.

In designing the Level II course for Haliburton, I was thinking about what skills would be most useful for the students to learn.  In Level I, they learn the basics:  working with single wires, developing dexterity with tools, etc.  There are very few multi-wire projects.  In Level II all but two of the projects are multi-wire pieces, and the students have to deal with doing steps early on that don’t actually come into full use until much later in the construction. Wire control becomes very important.

One of the things Level II focuses on is settings:  half of the projects deal with some form of stone setting.

I think this is by far the most complex of the projects I’ll be teaching.  Hopefully by the time we get to this point in the course, the students will have enough confidence to tackle it.  If not, it’s easily adapted to something simpler.  I’ll let them decide how energetic they want to be.

This tutorial will be available for purchase and download off my website after I get back from Haliburton.  I’ll post the link when it’s up, along with more photos.

YOJ09-22 Viking Knit Bracelet

Viking Knit Bracelet (2009)
Fine silver, sterling silver
Nalbinding, cold connected
L 20.5 cm x W 0.4 cm

I’m hard at work on the tutorials for my class, so this week’s project is the product of that work.  I’ve been doing a lot of photography, and editing and layout.  I’ve been pretty much eating, sleeping and breathing the project.  The first tutorial is finished, and the second is well in hand.  Four to go… and six weeks until the classes start.

More photos:

“The Vik-Knit 3000″

In preparation for my class at the Haliburton School of the Arts this summer, I asked my beloved husband to prepare some tools for the viking knitting segment.  My older son, Thumper, was very keen to help.

Thumper has recently become complete fascinated with machinery.  I’m not sure if this is a reaction to the movie “Wall-E”.  Anyways, he’s been drawing fantasy machines and coming up with all kinds of interesting names for them, most of which end in some denomination of 1000.  “This is a Cheese Grater 2000!”  “This is a Hopping Frog Truck 3000!”.

So, of course, he was very interested in what Daddy was constructing.  It’s just simple dowel holder, which gets clamped to a work surface.  Thumper decided it needed a name.  After asking what it was used for, and being told “viking knitting”, he said “Let’s call it the “Vik-Knit 3000!”"

I keep trying to come up with a “Ginsu Knife” type infomercial to go with the name.  “The Vik-Knit 3000 will make your viking knitting a breeze!  Clamp it to the desk and you’re ready to go!  It will practically do the knitting for you!  But wait!  There’s more!  Order the Vik-Knit 3000 now and you’ll get two – count ‘em – TWO! different sizes of dowels!”

LOL.  Anyways, it was just too cute not to share.

New Classes – Haliburton School of the Arts

I’m happy to be teaching at Haliburton School of the Arts again this summer!

Two courses are offered this year:  Wire Jewellery (July 13-17, 2009) and Wire Jewellery II (July 20-24, 2009).  Course descriptions and registration links are available on my Classes page.  Check out the Student Work from last year’s class as well!

YOJ09-02 Standard Form Ring

Standard Form Ring (2009)
Sterling silver, carnelian
Size 10

I wasn’t intending to post this as my second entry for the YOJ, but it’s now Sunday, the due date for this week, and the piece I actually wanted to post isn’t finished.  I’m “tweaking”.  It feels very much like I’m doing a science experiment.

So… in the meantime…

I’m going to be teaching at Haliburton again this summer, and I have a bunch of tutorials I need to write in preparation for the class.  Last fall I proposed a second level wire jewelry course, which was accepted.  One of the projects is going to be the Standard Form Ring, aka Pharaoh’s Ring.  (Why it’s called the “Pharaoh’s Ring” is a mystery:  I haven’t been able to find any historical examples using wire.  References to cast versions, yes, wire, no…).  It’s called the “Standard Form Ring” because it’s one of the all-time classic wireworking ring patterns.  A version of this ring was published in Moods in Wire by Ellsworth Sinclair, Beginning Wirecraft by Jessie Donnan, and in the Wire Artist Jeweller Magazine (June 2003).  It’s a substantial ring, usually worn by men.  I started writing my version this week, in between printing off “printing sheets” for Number 2 Son, who likes to do “homework”.

(Edit Jun. 25/09:  Thanks to some excellent detective work by Helen Goga, a historical reference for the Standard Form Ring has been found!  Mr. Thomas Vincent Phelan received a patent for the ring design (US Des. 150,726) in August 1948.  The patent lasted for 14 years, and the design went into the public domain in 1962.)

My own personal artistic proclivities don’t lean towards classical wirework, so I haven’t made this type of ring before.  I followed the WAJ instructions for my first two attempts.  I often tell my students that they shouldn’t worry about what their first attempt looks like:  usually with the first one, you’re just trying to get your head around the steps, so clumsiness is part of the process.  It’s no different for me.  This ring was attempt number 3… and I’ll likely make at least two more in the process of refining, writing and photographing the steps for the instructions.

There are useful wireworking skills to be learned from doing this project.  There are definitely some “tricks” to getting it to look nice.  Notes are being scribbled…

Some other views: