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Gold 101
This class is for ideal for anyone who wants to step up their bench working skills, expand their repertoire, and conquer their fear of working with gold. Students will learn how to fabricate with gold, as well as how to add gold accents and embellishments to projects in silver.
Over the course of 10 weeks, students will learn all about gold; from karat purity/alloys, to how fabricating with gold is differs from working with silver. Participants will make gold bezels and a gold band, learn how to melt down old gold jewelry and scraps and turn it into new, workable material, work with gold-filled and bi-metal, and fuse high karat gold to silver with a torch.
Students can expect to leave with assorted samples, but may also work towards finished pieces, depending on what they want to accomplish and how complicated their designs are. Project ideas include a simple stone-set ring or adding gold to an existing project.
This course is for experienced jewelry/silversmithing students who possess basic soldering, fabrication and stone-setting skills.
Meet the instructor
Joy Raskin has been a silversmith since 1984 and has exhibits throughout the United States, Ireland and New Zealand, showcasing both her jewelry and flatware designs. Joy is a native of New Hampshire, having attended public schools in Manchester and Concord and was accepted as a member of the League of NH Craftsmen while still in high school. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Joy is an instructor at Metalwerx in Waltham, MA, The Craft Center in NH, Sharon Art Center, and many other schools.
Joy has received many awards for her work. She was commissioned by the NH State Council on the Arts to create the Cultural Access Award for the Governor’s Awards in the Arts in 2001. Her work is included in many collections, including the White House and Smithsonian Institution. Joy's work is found in multiple galleries throughout New England, including the League of NH Craftsmen Galleries, Boston Society of Arts & Crafts, Guilford Art Center, Millbrook Gallery, and others.
Materials & Tools
Materials include:
- Half round gold wire
- Rose gold, gold filled wire
- 18k and sterling bimetal sheet
- Gold filled sheet
- hard, medium and easy 14k gold solder
- gold colored silver solder
- 14k gold bezel wire
- Any projects in silver that they would like to add gold to
- Old gold jewelry or scraps to melt down and repurpose
- Silver for projects as needed
- Any of their favorite tools