If you are reading this, I hope you came to my blog because you have decided that having a career in the jewelry trade might be fun and interesting.I have no idea what you think you will find here. I also am not sure what you need to hear so all I can do is try to connect with written words and try to point you in a good direction using my own experiences as a model. So we quickly circle back to the original question. “How do I start?“ I should begin with how I started as a jeweler.As…
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About fine silver A few weeks ago on Facebook I saw a post about the correct way to anneal fine silver. Being a professional jeweler, I answered with the comment that fine silver does not need annealing as it has no copper or other alloying metals in it and as such, can not work harden. Well. my opinion was summarily dismissed and the conversation went on with people, mostly hobbyists, either supporting or arguing against my claim. Being the type of personality that I am, I decided to get to the truth. So with several weeks of research, I have…
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Below is the description that I share to let people know what I do as a Jewelry Educator.I felt it might be wise to look at this statement, “deconstruct” it and expand on it so you can see my reasoning for writing what I did. it has a lot to talk about and even more importantly, think about.My statement: As a Jewelry Educator, I strive to blend historical and modern methods of jewelry design and metalwork via lectures, teaching, and hands on learning in a variety of traditional and contemporary materials and processes. I teach the formal principles and elements…
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What is the weight of potential? A hard question to answer. How does one weigh an idea? A thought? A nebulous concept that has not fully formed?
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Lon Putman handed this to me over 30 years ago and told me it was going to be the most important tool I would ever use. And he was 100% correct. I use it every time I go into my shop. Many times when I am not even in my shop. When people visit my shop to learn, I start by telling them that this is the most important tool they can ever have as well
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Deconstruction is a process to understand how something was created. Mostly used in writing, it is also used in art.It is looking at the “components” to see how they make the “whole”, whether that is a piece of writing, a building, a favorite chair, a ring… Deconstruction looks at the smaller parts that were used to create an object. This gives insight into the mind of the person who created it. In some ways, it lets their thoughts and ideas continue to live centuries after they have passed. The smaller parts are usually ideas.