jewelry projects

I promised myself that once school was over and my dissertation had been defended, I could treat myself to some crafty classes. I narrowed it down to either pottery or jewelry making. I did some research online and came across this great studio on Queen Street (The Devil's Workshop) that sells artisan jewelry but also has a multitude of workshops and classes. I couldn't resist and signed up immediately - for 3 classes! Two of the workshops were just one evening but the other is a 6-week course.

The first class was "wire-working basics." During the 2 hour class we made a pair of stiletto earrings and a pair of tied chain drop earrings.

The last project we did was a wire ring. This was quite time-consuming (especially since I decided to make a cluster ring instead of using just one large bead for the top of the ring).

It was a BYOB (bring your own beads) class but of course I forgot to grab my beads that morning when leaving for work so I had to buy some there. Leaving the house at 6:45 is just too early! I had stocked up on some great beads a few months back when Michael's had a big sale so I was disappointed that I didn't have those to work with. The selection of beads at the workshop wasn't the best but I'm pretty pleased with the pieces I made.

The next evening was a class on making fused glass pendants. I have pictures of my pieces before they went into the kiln for firing but I don't have the finished pieces yet so I'll wait to post all those pictures together. This was an awesome class!

Yesterday I attended my first silversmithing class. In 6 sessions we will learn how to make a sterling silver band ring then set a cabochon on it with a bezel setting. We'll also be able to do one or two other projects, depending on the labour involved.

Since I was busy working away I didn't take many pictures. The first thing we did (after learning how to put a blade into our saw and tighten it properly - harder than you'd think and more frustrating too!) was practice cutting through metal. Here's my L-line and curvy line.

I had fun using the torches but I don't have any pictures of that part. I decided to make a thick ring so bending the metal was difficult but hammering the ring around the mandrel with a rawhide mallet until the ends met was fun. Here is my ring at the end of day 1.

Once I'm back in class next Thursday I will join the ends of the ring together with solder (more torch work!) and then can get on with shaping, sanding and buffing the ring. I'm not sure what kind of finish I want to do yet. Also, I need to figure out what my other projects will be. We get started on those next week and I need to come with some drawings of my ideas.

In other crafting news, I received my first PIF gift on Wednesday! And it was 2 gifts in one - an awesomely stylish purse/clutch and a metal keychain. Thank you so much knitticrafty. I had my PIF gifts almost ready to go out but then decided to make an extra something for one of my recipients.

I am counting down the days until my defense. I don't have my presentation together yet but I've been thinking a lot about it, that counts right? I received the report from my external and she seemed pretty positive about my research. There are a few things I'll need to address in my presentation but I don't think it'll be as bad as I initially feared.

Also, we are considering moving to Waterloo! I've been surfing mls quite a bit but have only been out to see 3 houses so far. I have 4 viewings booked for Monday so things are picking up. I LOVE house-hunting!