Arrowmont: The Class

I went to Arrowmont as an assistant to my professor Becky McDonah for her class, "Pressure and the Hydraulic Press." It was so fun to meet everyone in the class and spend many hours a day working along side such great people.Becky covered SO much material including, creating surface textures and volume using the hydraulic press, creating and using dies, embossing to deeper forming, anticlastic and synclastic forming, how to create hollow forms using the press, and even more!

(These bracelets are the work of Chris Legaux)

Mostly, people in the class created small samples of all the various different techniques. Not everyone left with a completed piece, but all left with a huge new library of techniques! These are some of the pieces created by class members...Becky also asked me to give an etching demonstration, so that people could learn how to use etched surfaces in conjunction with the hydraulic press. I taught various resists such as asphaltum, paint pen, nailpolish, and the PNP photo transfer technique. I think people had a lot of fun experimenting with etching for the first time!

(Annette Leeuw created this piece above.)

I like how people creatively combined techniques to create really interesting forms. This piece was etched, fold formed, and then a matrix die was used to form it in the press.

(This bracelet the work of Chris Legaux.)

This nickel bracelet was created by etching, forming, and then nickel rings were added for decoration.

(Annette Leeuw)

This was one of my favorite etchings that came out of the class!

I didn't have as much time to work as I thought, but I decided that I wanted to make something small to give to a few of the people that made my experience at Arrowmont so great. I wish I could have made something for everyone that I met, but there just wasn't time! I made a die for these small copper scalloped forms, and then embroidered differently on each one. On the last day of class, after the studio cleanup, we had a little critique. I really think everyone got a TON out of this class, and I very much enjoyed working with everyone.Most of all I am grateful to Becky and everyone at Arrowmont for giving me this opportunity. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was so hard for me to leave arrowmont when the week was over. I met so many amazing people and had such a great time! I will go back someday, there is no doubt. I hope it will be soon.