My friend, Christine Damm, had the brilliant idea to do a series of blog posts about her upcoming class at ArtBliss (where I'll be teaching, as well.) Snippets of what how the class came about...what will happen in class...tips and tidbits. I've decided to follow her lead and do the same, as I have several in-person teaching venues coming up very fast!
First out of the gate is Art Unraveled...Aug.2-9. If you haven't been to this Phoenix event...you need to go! It's a wonderful venue with tons of classes offered by too many talented instructors to list here. My Bronze Balance Bangles class is sold out there (I'll be teaching it again at Adorn Me) but there are spaces left in my Little Garden of the Soul class.
Included in this class is a technique I've been doing for years...chandelier crystal transfers. What, at first, appears to be a simple technique, can be a bit tricky when it comes to working on a surface an inch square, or less! I've seen this technique done lots of ways since but, being a jewelry maker, my aim from the beginning was to perfect it for jewelry. I wanted something that would be beautiful and yet hold up to any wear and tear that might occur. That meant developing a method of making jewelry grade transfers, uniquely my own, which is what you'll learn in this class.
One of my very favorite things about these transfers is that they give you the opportunity to use your own images...a big plus, especially if you're a photographer or any sort. My tip: higher contrast photos, with not TOO much detail, make for the best transfers.
If you've ever taken a class with me, either in person or online, you may have noticed that I cram a lot of information into my classes...almost to a fault. Of course, with this class, transfers weren't enough. I had to combine two...or three...or twenty five...great tastes into one workshop. So, we'll also be working with rosaries and found objects, which I love. We'll do a lot of design talk and I'll show you how to work them into your pieces. Another love of mine...design talk. What is it about design? I could chat about it all day! And, yes, there are a multitude of tricks to design. My tip for now: sometimes less is more. Throughout countless classes, one of the big mistakes I see students trying to make (of course, I don't let them!) is adding too much to their piece...too many colors, too many focals, too much "stuff."
I'm big on building skills so I'll be showing lots of technique...wrapping links, working with vintage clasps, drilling, reaming, wrapping briolette beads...all easier said than done! For instance, there's a trick to wrapping briolette beads so they end up nice and tight. I'll show you how I do it. I promise...it's so much fun!
Ok...so I'm off to make airline reservations for Phoenix. Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed and say our prayers to ward of any mondo dust storms in the making!
I would love to learn how to do your chandelier crystal transfers, but I live in NJ and won't be making it to Phoenix anytime soon. Are you planning on teaching this method in an online class soon??
Posted by: Lisa | Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 06:50 AM
I really love your jewelery. I love the jewelry with the photos. They fave a nice faded out vintage look that seems haunting. Beautiful work.
Posted by: Shelley Whiting | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 03:24 PM
Love your jewelry and your craftmanship. Hope to take one of our on line courses next year. Summer doesn't work for me most of the time because of family visits.
Posted by: mary harding | Saturday, July 09, 2011 at 08:01 PM