teaching part 5

textured bangles (hammered, chased) with riveted clasp
by sarah james

my class ended on saturday. we cleaned the studio and had a class show and tell together, followed by a school show and tell with all the students. i am very excited about the pieces my class made and how hard they worked. like i said a few days go, i gave them a lot of information over those 5 days and they responded with energy, enthusiasm, and hard work. i had a great time teaching them and spending time with them. i have posted an image of a piece by each student and added lots more on flickr. teaching a one week class was challenging - it's not a lot of time and i think it's very important to strike a balance between demonstrations and work time, structure and freedom. having such a fantastic group made things a lot easier, though!

mushroom rings (dapped, hammer texture) by alexis dunfee

"C" ring (etched/roll printed) by chris keener

etched minimalist pendant with tab setting by stacey lanning

box necklace with etched/roll printed text & gold details
by lisa shepard (work-in-progress)

roll printed, dapped, and riveted copper pendant by kathleen franza

contemporary sandblasted earrings with burnished edge detail
by pam adan

leaf cuff (roll printed, hammered, oxidized) with keum bo detail
by joann graham

deconstructed plaid brooch by joyce dunfee
(roll printed, work-in-progress)

unfortunately, i was not able to get any pictures of annetta brady's final work because she had to leave early on saturday. annetta made some great pieces with modern, minimal geometric patterns and details.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 4

yesterday i showed my students keum bo and gold leafing. keum bo is a korean technique of fusing pieces of thin gold to sterling silver. i also demo-ed leafing, an inexpensive low-tech alternative. this was a fun demo to teach. not only because keum bo is such a cool technique with beautiful results, but also because we got silly and leafed a few random things in the studio, like the cap of the peroxide bottle from the first aid cabinet.

kuem bo sample

gold leaf on peroxide bottle cap

more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 3b

yesterday i showed my students acid etching, a long demonstration with many steps. it makes for an intense demo because of it's many parts but also because of the fact that acid is involved which for some students can be a little scary. once the demo was over i asked everyone to prepare a few pieces for etching and to have at least 3 etched by 10am the next day for our daily show and tell. they got to work immediately and did not waste any time. the studio felt like a bee hive. then this morning they shared their pieces and yet again i was very pleased with what they had made. this is a hard working group.


more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 3

this morning when i arrived at school

we started today by "unearthing" our samples from the tobacco and sawdust mixtures we made on tuesday. the sawdust yielded some great blues but the tobacco was rather un-inspiring. the salt and ammonia was also pretty dramatic.

samples from tobacco (see top, bottom left) and sawdust (all others), both mixed with ammonia and vinegar

salt and ammonia

more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 2

it's wednesday...class is going really well. i'm giving my students tons of info and they are so responsive and into it. they are working hard and doing some great work. yesterday we began with a demo on texturing with hammers and chasing tools and later we covered patination. we now have a bunch of yogurt containers filled with tobacco or sawdust and ammonia and vinegar. we buried our samples in the mixtures and will unearth them tomorrow morning. these mixtures will turn copper different shades of green and blue and also create interesting textures.

samples form the class - my students have been making lots of samples. yesterday we had a quick show and tell. everyone did great work and each had at least one sample that was unique and innovative. i choose one sample from each student and challenged them to push it further.

more images including close-ups on flickr.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 1

my class has begun and it's going great! i shook the nerves and now i'm having so much fun doing demos and interacting with my students. i have a big group, all with varied backgrounds and skill levels and all very excited to learn and work. sunday night we did our introductions and talked a little about what the week will look like. then monday morning we began with a 45 minute lecture on details, surface design, and complementary findings. the talk consisted of nearly 80 images of contemporary jewelry incorporating the different techniques and topics we will be covering like roll printing, acid etching, and handmade clasps.

an image from the details lecture - rings by ann havel

next i demo-ed a bunch of basic texturing and finishing techniques with sand paper, files, and sand blasting. after lunch i showed them roller printing and everyone started making samples. i have a few beginners in the class so gave them a sawing, filing, and piercing demo followed by a dapping demo.

thanks for reading.

it's the little things

my class "it's the little things" begins today...i am really excited and just a bit nervous (which i am sure will go away once class starts). i just finished packing up my studio and teaching materials and will move into the metals studio at school in a few hours. my lovely assistant, caitie sellers, is coming down to my studio shortly so we can go over the syllabus and other class-related stuff. this is going to be a big week that is sure to fly by - i have two demos (many of which are multi-faceted) planned monday-thursday and then friday is a work day for my students to explore techniques or work on specific projects. i'll try to post as much as possible...

...and one more thing...i was thinking about the class on friday and that's when it hit me: i'm teaching at penland! i started crying! looking back to 1999 when i came here for the first time i wasn't even thinking that far ahead and i never would have imagined this was possible. i know, this is not my first time teaching here but i am still in awe. this is such a special and important place for me. i am absolutely thrilled to give back in the form of teaching.

bracelets by caitie sellers

be sure to check out caitie's great blog - what not and such.

thanks for reading.

the power of limits

"fragile" - a brooch from the exhibition "delicate beauty" (and my favorite marcia piece)

i will be assisting marcia macdonald this summer in her 5th session penland class "the power of limits." i met marcia at the snag conference and later was a visiting artist with joanna gollberg and geoff giles in her summer '08 class at penland. a few weeks ago i got to visit with her on my way back to penland from eastern nc. what a treat to see her then and what an honor it is for me to be her assistant this summer. i'm also excited to be a student in her class! the subject sounds really good to me and i think i will learn a lot. here's the description:

"Creativity is sometimes assumed to be a wild, unfettered, unconscious process, but self-imposed constraints can enhance the creative process: think haiku, minimalism, Twitter. Using nature as a springboard for inspiration, we will create design challenges that address concepts such as stylizing, editing, limiting, and purging. We will work with metal, wood, paint, and found materials with minimal tool use. Lectures, demonstrations, and plenty of individual instruction. This class is for students who have learned the basics of jewelry fabrication and want to advance conceptually and technically. Basic sawing, filing, and soldering skills required."


thanks for reading.

penland summer catalog

the penland summer catalog is out and i am psyched to have my work pictured on the metals page. it looks good! my class, "it's the little things," is 7th session from august 29-september 4.



to get a copy of the catalog for yourself, please call the penland office at 828-765-2359. if you have questions about my class, please feel free to email me at amy@amytavern.com

thanks for reading.

teaching at penland

i am teaching at penland next summer - 7th session, august 29-september 4, 2010. the class is called "it's the little things" and it will focus on surface design and details. we will cover all sorts of surface design techniques and designing/making complementary findings. we will discuss the importance of detail, however subtle or elaborate, and there will be lots of sample making and some fun projects. i've been thinking about this class for about two years and i am excited to both have an opportunity to make it happen and to teach again at penland. more details to follow.

if you would like to see a complete list penland summer 2010 classes, please visit the penland website.

thanks for reading.