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Sculptural Foldforming for Jewelry
Discover and invent new forms! Foldforming lends itself to spontaneity, creativity, and innovation, since forms can be made quickly, using fingers and hammers or a rolling mill. Foldforming makes light, strong, dimensional designs that can be interpreted as earrings, pendants, pins, bracelets, bowls, and more.
Demonstrations will be followed by hands-on work-time. Participants will be encouraged to play and experiment. Students will make many samples in copper while learning a lot of different techniques, but may also choose to complete a finished piece or two in fine silver, Argentium Silver, or traditional sterling.
This class is appropriate for students with basic metalsmithing skills as well as professionals.
Please be advised: we typically close registration for our on-site workshops the Tuesday of the week before the class start-date.
Meet the instructor
Whether using hammers and stakes, or hydraulic press tools, Cynthia's sculptural jewelry and hollowware shows her focus on exploring the fluidity with which metal can be moved, formed, and joined.
Cynthia Eid co-authored the book Creative Metal Forming, with Betty Helen Longhi, published in 2013 by Tim McCreight's Brynmorgen Press. In his foreword for the book, Michael Good says the authors "have succeeded in assembling the first comprehensive textbook on synclastic and anticlastic forming." (More about the book available at www.creativemetalforming.com.)
Cynthia and Betty developed a set of anticlastic stakes, and Eid also works with Knew Concepts and Bonny Doon to help make tools for jewelers and metalsmiths. Lee Marshall has dubbed Cynthia Eid "Godmother of the Knew Concept Saws" since it was her idea for him to produce these saws for jewelers.
Excited about working in sterling silver without the problem of firescale, Cynthia has been working with Argentium Silver since 1999. After meeting Peter Johns (the inventor of Argentium Silver) in 2003, Eid has participated in AS's development. Argentium International, Ltd recognizes her as a Pioneer.
Cynthia Eid's metalwork has won awards for creativity and design, been featured in many publications, and been exhibited internationally. With a BS in Art Education and MFA in Jewelry, Design, and Silversmithing, she has previously worked as a bench jeweler for fine goldsmiths, a model-maker in a gold jewelry factory, and on private commissions. Her work is in museums in the US and UK. Currently an independent metalsmith and educator, she teaches weekly classes at Metalwerx in Massachusetts, and workshops and short courses in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
Materials & Tools
There is a $10 Lab Fee for this class to cover the use of communal consumable studio supplies. There is also a $33 materials fee for this class that is payable to the instructor during class. The materials kit includes:
- Three 6x12" sheets of 24 gauge copper sheet
- Bench knife
- Closed-toe shoes - required in the Metalwerx studio
- Sharpie/permanent marker
Optional:
- Ear plugs
- Apron
- A small "bench knife" will be supplied in the student kit. Any of the following can also be useful tools for opening a fold form. Bring what you have: Straight burnisher, old butter knife or any old knife without a serrated edge, , old letter opener, clam shucker, folding bone, hard plastic food “scraper” or spatula, wooden tools made for trimming clay.
- Your favorite tools - If you have them and want to use them (label them!) Metalwerx has most of what you need, but you may wish to use your own (for familiarity or it might be in better condition).
- Favorite hammers (e.g. planishing, rivet hammer, mallet, Forging, raising)
- Bench block
- Your favorite hand shears
- Files
- Pliers, such as round nose, flat, Chain nose pliers & Half-round/flat combination pliers
- Argentium Silver, Traditional Sterling, or Fine Silver