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Bold Botanical Jewelry: From Beads to Earrings
This in-person workshop will teach students to transform flat sterling silver sheet into dimensional reliefs for jewelry using the natural world as inspiration!
Over the course of three days in our fully equipped studio, participants will learn to take botanical motifs and imagery such as leaf shapes or floral silhouettes and translate them into metal cut-outs. Taylor will cover how to expertly saw out intricate designs from sheet - providing tips and tricks along the way, how to quickly transform basic metal shapes into the body of a bead form, and how to then sweat solder the botanical imagery onto the bead for maximum affect with an elevated and personalized aesthetic.
Taylor will additionally be covering earring constructions techniques, including how to utilize her bead-building techniques to make “tassels and end cap dangles".
Wrap up the weekend with an overview of methods for incorporating your new botanical creations into fully finished jewelry utilizing beads and stringing supplies directly from Taylor's collection of materials!
Meet the instructor
Taylor is a full-time metal smith and mother of 2 in St. Louis, MO. She began creating jewelry in 2003 as "The Rare Bird", transitioning from bead work, to wire work. She’s now a self-taught metal smith, building pieces by hand from precious metals, preserving organic flora in sterling silver using lost wax casting techniques, and setting gemstones. She has been featured in Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine, Easy Wire Magazine, and ArtJewelry Magazine.
Taylor is deeply inspired by flowers of all shapes and sizes - the emotions and feelings they convey in every leaf, curve of the stem, softness within the petals. She often incorporates their silhouettes or creates organic castings of actual plants to use in her work. Each piece is built one at a time, completely by hand, with its own story, originality, and attention to detail.
Taylor’s creativity is fueled by one of her favorite Psalms - “May God establish the work of my hands.” (Psalm 90:17)
Follow her processes on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/taylorsaleem.
Materials & Tools
There is a $80 materials fee for this workshop payable upon registration. It includes a substantial sheet of sterling silver, sterling silver tubing, multiple feet of sterling silver wire, saw blades, drill bits, 3M sanding pads, mounted sanding cartridge, buffing block, silver sheet solder, and a diamond needle file set.
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4-ply waxed linen thread
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Pencil and paper - for notes
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Fine-line Sharpie
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Closed-toe shoes - mandatory
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Beads of choice (can be seed beads, stones, etc)
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The instructor will also have selections of beads / stones for students to purchase from.
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