Metals Workshops
2013 Metals Workshops
Weekend Workshops
May 10 - 12
Botanicals in Metal
Jim Charneski
Skill Level: Beginning to Advanced
Instructor Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it www.charneskimetals.com
Description: Create realistic and abstract botanical forms for use in jewelry, decoration or sculpture by the use of forging, fabricating and assembling techniques in copper, brass, or silver. The class will cover patterns, design, custom tools, surface design, finishes, and much more!
Bio: Jim Charneski is a full time self employed jeweler / metalsmith with 30 years experience in working metal. He is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and a former apprentice at the Appalachian center for Craft.
June 21 - 23
Stone Setting Plus
Howard Thompson
Fee: $300
Skill Level: Beginning to Intermediate
Instructor Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it howardthompson.com
Description: Participants will learn to set almost any shape stone or object with prongs, tubes, bezels, channels or in surfaces. All participants will set at least one ring and pendant to take home. Experience with a flex shaft is very helpful, almost a must.
Bio: Howard Thompson has been a jewelry store owner and full-time bench jeweler for 41 years. He is a member of the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists and the American Gem Society, and is a past President of the Tennessee Jewelers Association. He has won numerous First Place and Best of Show awards for his designs and craftsmanship.
July 19 - 21
Moving Metal: Chasing and Repousse
Fee: $300
Skill Level: Beginning to Intermediate
Instructor Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it jasontheyork.com
Description: Chasing and repousse is the process of working cold sheet metal with various punches in order to emboss the surface. Participants will learn this process and will also be instructed on how to make their own project specific chasing tools.
Bio: Jason York received his BFA in Integrated Studio Art from Iowa State University in 2004 and his MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2010. He has worked as a bench jeweler and as a blacksmith. He is currently an Artist in Residence at the Appalachian Center for Craft.
August 9 - 11 
The Perfect Tool
Timothy Lazure
Fee: $300
Skill Level: Beginning to Intermediate
Instructor Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; www.timlazure.com
Description: As metal smiths/jewelers and artists, we encounter many situations where the need for a perfect tool is essential. Often times, the tools we have don’t do the job right, or that perfect tool just doesn’t seem to exist. In this workshop, participants will begin to learn how to fashion new tools or customize existing tools. Instructor Tim Lazure will cover how to make a variety of tools for addressing your creative endeavors, including chasing tools, scribes, center punches, stone setting tools, scrapers, in addition to a few others.
Bio: Timothy Lazure is an Associate Professor in the Metals Design program at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. He received his BFA at Rochester Institute of Technology and his MFA at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. Tim shows his jewelry, silversmithing and furniture both nationally and internationally. He has pieces in the permanent collections of the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, NC, and in the Gallery of Art and Design in Raleigh, NC.
One-week Workshops
*OPTIONAL: One-week workshops are available for 1 university credit hour; credit hour fees are in addition to workshop fee. For more information about credit hours, please click here.
May 19 - 24 
Pewter: The Other White Metal
Tom Madden
Fee: $500
Skill Level: Beginning to Advanced
Instructor Contact:
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Description: This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to the boundless creative potential of pewter. Participants will explore a variety of hollow forming and fabrication techniques in pewter; pattern development, scoring and blending, tube and hinge construction, welding and soldering, casting alternatives, bimetal construction, and surface embellishment are among the topics to be presented.
Bio: Tom Madden received his B.F.A. in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas in 1981, and his MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design at Bowling Green State University in 1988. He was awarded the distinction of “Master Metalsmith 2007” by the National Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, Tennessee. Since 1992, Tom has been Professor, Crafts Department Chairman, and Section Head for Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
July 7 - 12 
Metal in Motion: Unlimited 3D Form
Jack da Silva
Fee: $500
Skill Level: Beginning to Advanced
Instructor Contact:
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Description: Techniques explored will include raising, anticlastic, synclastic forming and fabrication, as well as surface enrichment for personal expression. This workshop will investigate the development and creation of small metal objects that may include jewelry, small sculpture or teapots, creamers, other vessels for dispensing liquids. Beginners to advanced levels are welcome, but some experience in metal or jewelry is beneficial.
Bio: Jack da Silva is the Program Coordinator for metal Arts at City College of San Francisco, Adjunct professor at California College of Arts and Crafts, and the founder of MAKER – Metal Art Workshops and Educational Retreat. His work has been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and in collections in Korea, Portugal, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, and California.
July 28 - August 2
Chains! Chains!
Jewel Clark
Fee: $500
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Instructor Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it www.jewelclark.com
Description: Participants will learn chain techniques ranging from woven, Byzantine (loop in loop), chain mail and other link-to-link patterns as well as hand formed linking designs. In this workshop, learn how to make and cut jump rings, fuse links, weave wire and create original one-of-a-kind chains. Catches and finishing will also be covered. Come away with a treasure trove of samples and even a finished chain or two.
Bio: Jewel Clark has been working in metals since 1987. She is currently Artist in Residence at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, AZ where she teaches and maintains her studio. She specializes in enameling and chain techniques. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and Japan.