Carving Wood Earrings with Wire Inlay

This virtual course will provide an introduction to wood carving at the jewelry scale. We will utilize many tools and techniques familiar to the jewelry studio, as well as new ones that make the incorporation of this multifunctional material possible for any studio space! The focus of this class will be placed on carving a wood earrings, which are an excellent small-scale introduction to many carving processes and techniques.

After carving, the class will explore wire inlay possibilities as a surface embellishment. Students can expect to come away with an understanding of the working properties of wood, the tools needed to manipulate wood on a jewelry scale, and a variety of ways to incorporate it into jewelry work. Students must be comfortable working with a rotary hand piece. 

For more information about virtual courses, visit our Virtual Course FAQ page. 

Please read the Materials & Tools tab! 

Meet the instructor

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Daniel DiCaprio earned his MFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University and a BS in Art Education from Nazareth College. DiCaprio currently teaches at UL Lafayette. His prior experience includes maintaining a studio practice, working as a professional goldsmith and teaching Jewelry and Metalsmithing at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.

"My work is an exploration of transitional moments. The process of adaptation and evolution informs my practice by highlighting the instant when something is forced to change. I seek to emphasize this moment of intersection in particular and maximize the tension it creates. Referencing what we are and where we came from, the pieces are created to articulate the tenuous balance between survival and destruction that all life forms maintain in the world."

Visit www.danieldicaprio.com to view more of Daniel's work. 

Materials & Tools

To reduce cost of materials for students, a $70 partial supply kit (tax and shipping cost included) will be sent to the shipping address you have listed on your Metalwerx account.  Kits will be mailed out by September 13th. If you register after this date, a kit can still be mailed to you, but may not arrive by the workshop start date. Please inform us if you reside outside of the US, as your shipping cost will differ and may need to be expedited. Kit fee includes the following items:

  • 1 x Typhoon ball nose bur - with mwx discount (Foredom)
  • 1 x Typhoon bud bur - with mwx discount (Foredom)
  • 1 x ebony - 5/8" x 1 3/4" x 7" (Wood Craft)
  • 1 x flat rate shipping

The following supplies will be used for course demonstrations and objectives. A suggested item and/or vendor has been provided below for reference. Click the vendor name (in red) to be redirected to a page where you can find the item. The quantities needed for each item are listed first. If ordering, please be aware that some items may come in larger quantities than needed for this class. We recommend not opening an item's packaging until the day of the workshop. Student participation during or in-between class sessions is strongly encouraged but not required - observers are welcome.

Metal/raw materials:

  • metal wires - and marching size drill bits (Rio Grande)
  • your preferred findings or wire to make them (Rio Grande)

Hand tool (note the rasp is the instructors favorite brand, but another brand or a course file will also work in a pinch):

Other/miscellaneous items: 

  • hard/stable work surface
  • safety glasses 
  • dust mask
  • kebab skewers, balsa wood, or dowels
  • masking tape or painters tape
  • pencil
  • white marking pencil
  • spring clamps or small ratchet clamps
  • paper - for drawing
  • rubber cement or spray adhesive - optional
  • spray lacquer - Deft and Krylon are common brands
  • small fan and open window - for dust
  • bandaids
Virtual Course
Tuition
$150.00
Material Fees
Price
$70.00
Instructor
Daniel DiCaprio
Level
All Levels
Pre-requisites
No experience needed
Location
Virtual - Eastern Time Zone
Length
  • 0 days
 

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