Pierced and Layered Patterns - Virtual Workshop
Join Brie Flora as she dives into her process of intricately piercing, layering, finishing, and tab setting sheet metal. Starting with an explanation on the fundamentals of sawing, students will gain valuable insight into how best to apply a design onto the metal surface, where to pilot holes for a fully enclosed pattern, and how to then pierce your design from 24 gauge metal sheet, which allows for larger pieces of jewelry without the added weight. Students will also learn about overlaying two or more layers of metal, proper prong placement, how to finish and refine your jewelry in the final stages of completion, and many more tips and tricks that will aid in making a set of earrings and/or pendant. Creative approaches to earring wires will also be covered!
Class will be held live via Zoom during the designated time frames on August 11th and August 13th. A link to the Zoom room will be sent via email.
Please read the Materials & Tools tab!
Meet the instructor
Brie Flora is a contemporary jeweler and educator currently living in east Tennessee. Brie is a graduate from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a dual degree in Metalsmithing & Jewelry and Art Education May 2015. Her wearable jewelry plays with symmetry and consists heavily of line work, negative space, patterns, and color. She pulls elements from nature, fantasy, & fiction to create unique works of wearable art with a minimalist aesthetic balanced with pops of intricate marks and illustrations.
Brie has been featured in over 10 group exhibitions, recently including Touchy Feely at the Baltimore Jewelry Center in Baltimore MD, and HOTDOG! Show Chicago at the Ornament and Object gallery, Chicago IL. She also created and curated the first vol. of “Guidelines – A contemporary jewelry project” that featured works by 15 jewelers and makers including herself. “Guidelines” was on view during Adorned Spaces at the 2019 SNAG Conference in Chicago, and then up for a month-long exhibition at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, TN (for more information go to @guidelines_jewelry on Instagram).
Materials & Tools
Students will need to have the following materials in preparation for this online workshop. If you do not already have them, we have provided a recommended item and/or a vendor from which you can purchase these items. Click the vendor name to the right of each item to be redirected to the a page where you can find or choose the item. The quantities you need for each item are listed first. Please be aware that some items may come in larger quantities than needed for this class. Please order these materials as soon as possible due to longer than usual turn-around times. We recommend not opening the packaging until the day of the workshop.
The instructor recommends the use of at least two types of metal if you desire contrast, but it is not required to learn the techniques.
- 1 x 4 inch jeweler's saw frame (Rio Grande)
- 2 x Laser Gold saw blades 12 pack - 2/0 (Rio Grande)
- 2 x Laser Gold saw blades 12 pack - 4/0 (Rio Grande)
- 1 x bench pin (instructor recommends Rio Grande OR economy Rio Grande)
- 1 x stepped round chain nose pliers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x needle file set #2 or #4 cut (Rio Grande)
- 1 x flat nose pliers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x Burlife - or candle wax (Rio Grande)
- 2 x 6x6 inch 24 gauge metal sheet - copper, brass, or silver (Rio Grande)
- 1 x rawhide or plastic mallet (Rio Grande)
- 1 x 2 feet 19 gauge sterling silver wire (Rio Grande)
- 1 x wire flush cutters (Rio Grande)
- 1 x hand drill or flex shaft or mini drill press (Rio Grande)
- 1 x 1.02mm #60 drill bit 10 pack (Rio Grande)
- 1 x steel block (Rio Grande)
In addition to the above items, you will want to have the following items available:
- hard work surface to hammer on
- rubber cement
- computer with printer OR sharpie an paper (for creating your patterns)
- safety glasses
- flex-shaft, hand drill, or drill press (if you do not have one of these, you can purchase the hand drill listed above)