Creative Uses for Pre-Made Components

Of course, baking a pie from scratch is great.  However, there are times when it makes sense to start with a ready-made crust and focus on the delicious filling, especially if you have to make several pies for Thanksgiving! Well -- This concept also applies to jewelry fabrication!

Making every element in a piece of jewelry is wonderful, but there are situations when you can save time by working with commercial chain, findings, settings and other pre-made components.  This workshop will focus on integrating prefabricated parts in exciting ways, while saving you precious time to focus on the beautiful “filling”. A wide range of fabrication techniques and design ideas will be discussed with a focus on methods for modifying pre-made parts.  Flatten and texture an end cap to use as a decorative element, cut apart a commercial chain to add your own unique links, and modify bezel settings or ring bands to keep your work unique.

This is a great opportunity to give new life to that collection of parts and supplies that have been hiding in your studio. Take your work to a new level and discover inventive ways to approach jewelry that includes off-the-rack elements. Morning demos will take up the first part of class each day and then students will have time to work independently. Participants can choose to investigate and experiment with a series of samples, or focus on a particular piece (or pieces, depending on their complexity).

This workshop is appropriate for beginners as well as advanced students. There will be something for people at every level, but soldering knowledge is necessary.