Form & Function: Jewelry to
Give and Keep with Stephanie Lee
2-Day Workshop, December 6-7, 2014

Studio CRESCENDOh
207 N. Broadway St., Suite L
Santa Ana, CA 92701

Join me for a weekend metal-smithing adventure of epic proportions where I will be teaching you the best of my signature techniques and methodologies for beautiful jewelry fabrication! With just a few basic tools and materials we will form, solder and explore various techniques in working with metal to create beautiful, personally significant pieces of jewelry both for you as well as for gifts to give others. Not your typical metal-smithing class, this workshop is all about taking readily accessible materials and tools to fabricate lustrous metal components and modifying one-of-a-kind or sentimental found object for totally original and personal pieces.

We will employ various wire wrapping and wire soldering techniques, fabricate found objects bezels and housings pendants, not-your-momma’s-wire wrapped pendants, link making techniques, closure construction, solder casting and texturizing, sheet metal etching, leather knotting and embossing and more! Be sure to bring plenty of treasures from your personal collection including broken jewelry pieces, small trinkets, and natural found objects (sticks, stones, etc.) to play with. We will breathe new life into these treasures turning them into custom pieces that showcase their inherent beauty or transform them from plain to museum-worthy.

We will also construct small metal boxes to give the gifting pieces of jewelry in. In doing so, we will explore various construction options including mica-windowed boxes that allow a filtered peek of the contents within. Whether you like bright and shiny or aged and patina’d, you will unearth treasures aplenty in these days of our metal-smithing expedition together.

**Soldering and blackening agents will all be used in this class. All measures will be taken to create adequate ventilation as much as possible. If you have extreme sensitivities to these products, consider this carefully before registering.

All metals along with misc. materials and booklet of hints, tips and will be provided by the instructor.

KIT FEE: $15.00: (covers all sheet metals needed for multiple projects + some to take home, brass wire, fluxes, butane, casting clay, leather and fabric stash, etchant and patina agents, misc. tools, heat-safe surfaces, etc.)

SCHEDULE for BOTH DAYS

• Arrive & Settle: 9:00 :: Time for students to arrive, settle in.
• Class Segment A: 9:30-12:00 :: Class time with Stephanie who will demonstrate and guide the 1st part of class.
• Lunch & Stroll: 12:00 PM :: You can choose to brown bag it or take a stroll to one of the many hip and artsy eateries in the historic Artist's Village in Santa Ana, like C4 Dei, Chapter One, and The Gypsy Den.
• Class Segment B: 1:30-4:30 PM :: Class time with Stephanie who will guide the 2nd part of class.
• Show & Tell, Clean-Up & Depart: 4:30-5:00 PM

SUPPLY LIST
Students should bring:

• 1 - 1/2 lb. roll of lead-free solder. This should be “solid wire” solder and NOT “acid or rosin core”. Any lead free solder from a stained glass supplier will work. Lowe’s carries a brand – Sterling or Worthington– that works great as well. (If you want to make SURE you have PLENTY of solder for fabrication and solder casting, you might want to consider bringing a 1 lb. roll instead.)

• items with texture to cast (dig through your junk drawer - old buttons, jewelry, plastic toys. Think smaller than 2 inches. All castings will end up having a front and a back.)

• 5+ foot lengths of various wires in raw brass, copper, or sterling. These wires will solder but if you have other wire you like and want to use that for wrapping only and not for soldering, you are welcome to bring those too. I will be providing a length of 20 gauge brass to each student.
  My favorite go-to gauges are:

  26 ga. (for tiny holes in beads)
  22/20 ga. (for ear wires and wire wrapping)
  18 ga. (for closure fabrication)

• anvil or steel block (check your local steel fabricator for 1/2" + thick scrap steel)

• hammer and ruler

• flat or triangular metal file

• Misc. found objects, trinkets, beads, and baubles

• tin snips and wire cutters

• needle-nose and flat nose pliers

• craft knife and scissors

• rags or wipes

  
  

Optional Supplies:

• Inexpensive brass or copper stampings and filigree such as those you can find at www.vintaj.com or www.fancifulsinc.com
• butane torch and heat safe surface if you have one already and if you are familiar with working with it. I will be bringing torches for everyone but if you have one you already like to use, you are welcome to bring it.
• misc fabric, leather, and lace scraps and pieces

Supplies provided by the instructor:

• Sterling Silver wire
• Sheet brass and nickel-silver for all students - enough for class projects and to take home
• flux
• torches and heat safe surfaces
• blackening and etching agents
• various tools and supplies for all students use

NOTES

• Stephanie will have a limited number of originals available for purchase.
• Due to limited class size, the spot for this class is transferable but payment is non-refundable. Please read about this policy in our Studio Policies.

STUDIO POLICIES
Please read class policies for Studio CRESCENDOh here. By purchasing this class, you are agreeing to abide by the class policies.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Stephanie Lee is an artist, author, and teacher. Learn more about her work at www.stephanielee.typepad.com.

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