Workshops taught by Alison - online and in her studio.

Alison teaches a variety of workshops designed to enhance skills and present challenges, including: Mixing it Up; milling, reuse and metal fabrication, Engineering Your Way Out, Custom Clasps, Tubing Technical, Hydraulic Press Essentials, Chain Making, Increasing Soldering Skills, and Private lessons, out of her studio and at art centers, schools, and other artist studios throughout the country. These workshops can be combined for 3 and 5 day classes. If you would like to arrange for a workshop in your area or have an idea for one, please contact her.

Considering Clasps: one size doesn't fit all

Clasps are an important consideration in your handmade jewelry, they’re not one size fits all. Learn to make the tension clasp, sliding tube clasp and custom ear nuts. We will study and make a variety of hook clasps, one of the oldest forms of clasps. A kit is included containing the chains necessary to make two of the clasps and a rectangular copper blank for use with the sliding tube clasp. Students may want to embellish this blank prior to our workshop. This class is meant to get you thinking about connections, size and scale along with functional, practical and aesthetic aspects of use. 

Open up a wide world of options for your specific hand-made jewelry. Step by step handouts with images and notes are supplied along with a kit. 

Basic fabrication, including knowledge of soldering  is required. 

Where’s The Clasp?

This is a variation on my clasps workshop. Create a one-of-a-kind key clasp to unify your art jewelry. Students make a front key clasp necklace with stainless steel neck wire by fabricating terminals and soldering sterling to stainless steel cable. Students are encouraged to go with their own design inclinations and to explore new ideas in creating cohesive finished jewelry. Clasps can be textured, chased, roller printed, etched, domed, hydraulic press shapes, with stones, with enamel…the variety is endless as you come up with your own solutions.

We'll discuss possibilities for customizing your clasp to fit your designs. Students are welcome to show projects in need of a clasp and we'll trouble shoot the situation. This class is meant to get you thinking about connections, functional, practical and aesthetic aspects of use. 

Step-by-step handouts are supplied along with a kit. Samples will be shown. Basic fabrication including knowledge of soldering is required.

Mixing it up:
Milling, Reuse and Metal Fabrication

Learn how to completely hand fabricate your jewelry in Sterling silver with gold accents. Students prepare a charcoal block and melt down gold shot to make an ingot. Roll out your gold for a variety of purposes including; Bezel and design accents to create a Bezel set stone Ring. Learn to solder gold accents to your silver jewelry. Students begin with 18k gold shot and sterling silver flat wide wire. The base of the ring is flat sterling wire that you will modify for project needs including rolling, cutting and measuring. The skills learned here allow you to reuse scrap and mill your own metals…which comes in handy when you start a project late on a Friday night and there’s no time for to order what you need.  For the purpose of this class we’ll be using clean material. 

Engineering Your Way Out

Develop your ability to solve jewelry fabrication problems and learn solutions to common design and fabrication challenges. Design and create a hinged bracelet or necklace. Students create a “map” of their project, learn to make irregular shaped bezel settings for unusually shaped stones, add hinges and where to place them for irregular shapes and using stainless steel wire, solder sterling terminations to the steel, add a hook clasp and complete your project. 

 
Students are guided through the process along with discussion, case studies, actual examples and solutions shown in a power point presentation. We will explore the interplay of movement and functionality in jewelry and the approach from the wearer’s point of view (ie: does it sit funny on the neck, is it too heavy, does the pendant flop over). The real benefit to this class is learning how to engineer your jewelry projects as you discover solutions to common design and fabrication challenges. 

Step-by-step handouts are supplied along with samples. Basic fabrication and soldering required.

Tubing Technical: An Exploration in Fabrication

Tubing definition: a hollow form open at both ends, not necessarily round. Explore the myriad ways to make and use tubing. Join, bend, connect, hang, set faceted trillion stones, stretch and hinge, using tubing. Students make 2 projects: a hinged pendant with a trillion stone setting that hangs from a bail created with hand-made bent tubing. A pivot earring  where students learn to stretch tubing that fits a faceted stone for simple earrings that pivot. 

Step-by-step handout with images and text is supplied. This is an intermediate level class, basic fabrication and soldering required.

Custom Clasps 

Create clasps that are safe, secure and truly one-of-a-kind. Learn and make both a key and box clasp. Fabricate sample clasps of your own design. Come up with unique solutions to complete your designs. Clasps can be textured, chased, roller printed, etched, domed, hydraulic press shapes, with stones, with enamel…the variety is endless as you come up with your own solutions.

We will discuss customizing terminals and findings to complete your designs. Students are expected to go with their own aesthetic style in order to explore new ideas in finishing their jewelry. 

Step-by-step handouts are provided for both clasps. Basic fabrication, including soldering, required.