Two New Shows, Opening This FRIDAY

I have work in two shows opening this Friday. Check out the details below!

Hope to see you all at the receptions!

Cutting Edge: The 2010 Annual Exhibition of Jewelry and Metals

November 5th-22nd, 2010
Phoenix Center For the Arts
1202 N Third Street, Phoenix, AZ
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, Nov 5th, 6-8pm


(The necklaces I posted yesterday are in this show)
Small Metals Big Ideas
November 4th-28th, 2010

Night Gallery, Tempe Marketplace (Rio Salado and McClintock), Tempe, AZ

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, Nov 5th, 6-9pm

Report: Hand Fabricated Chains Class

Just finished up 4 weeks of one of the most fun classes I have ever taught, Hand Fabricated Chains at Phoenix Art Center! I had a great group and they worked hard in what little time they had and finished with some great stuff. The first few images are chains I made as samples for the class, and the rest are a few images of some of the student work (I didn't get pics of everything unfortunately) . Ill be teaching this class again in the fall, but in an 8 week format as opposed to 4 weeks, and it will be at Mesa Art Center...stay tuned for details!samples

More samples. I made a bunch of copper samples too but forgot to take pics of them so I guess I'll post them later.

samples
Sandy Halka

Paula Ellis

Paula Ellis
Kay Cummins

Cole Allen
Nina Jeffre
Nina Jeffre


Nina JeffreNina JeffreNina JeffreNina Jeffre

Hand Fabricated Chains Class at Phoenix Center for the Arts

This summer I am teaching a hand fabricated chain class at Phoenix Center for the Arts. There are a few pictures of the types of chains I will be teaching at the bottom of this post.
Here is the info:
Sign up here if you are interested!!!
Description:
Ages: 18 Yrs. and over
Fees:- Course Fee $70.00Description:
This class focuses on the methods used to make hand made chains and findings from silver wire and sheet metal. Students will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of chain making techniques using soldering, piercing, forging, texturing and various fabrication methods. The Instructor will work closely with the students to refine skills needed to create beautiful chains for necklaces or bracelets. Students should expect to spend a minimum of $30 for materials depending on project choice. Open to all levels. Materials list will be announced on the first day of class.
Registration End Date: 06-27-2010Meets:
Friday 07-09-2010 2:00PM - 5:00PMFriday 07-16-2010 2:00PM - 5:00PM
Friday 07-23-2010 2:00PM - 5:00PM
Friday 07-30-2010 2:00PM - 5:00PM

Textures!

For the last several weeks I have been teaching a class at Phoenix Art Center on Texturing Metal. It has been lots of fun and I've made tons of samples. Techniques I've covered in class include, roller printing, hammer textures, etching, reticulation, fusing, and solder inlay. Head on over to my flickr page to see what each one is... (or click on the photo for a larger version).

Next week I will be adding etching samples and fusing samples so stay tuned.

Etching

I will be teaching an etching class at Phoenix Center for the Arts this fall. We will cover all the basic resits and PNP transfer paper. The dates are November 22-December 13th on Saturdays from 12-3pm. More details here.

Summer Experience

This summer I taught two 4 week classes at Phoenix Center for the Arts. The class was an intro to metals for 8-12 year olds the first session, and 11-14 year olds the second session. It was only 2 hours once a week (8 hours total).

The thing with kids is, I always dread it at first. I hate the discipline part of it. When you teach adults you don't have to worry about telling them to stop hitting each other with hammers, stop pinching each other with pliers, or to stop winding wire around each others necks. With kids, you almost always have to teach and discipline. I just like to teach. So, because of this, I always stress out when I teach kids classes. But, the kids classes are always the most rewarding. The second group I had this summer was really awesome. Maybe it was because it was mostly girls, or maybe it was because they were older, but I had SO much fun with them. They even had me laughing so hard one day I was crying. Anyway, the classes are over now but the Phoenix Center put on a little art show at the end to show off their work.

The kids did 2 projects. The first project was etched pendants. I just had them use nail polish and paint pens as a resist. I didn't mess around with asphaltum or anything like that. Too messy. The second project was a wire wrapped beaded mobile.

The girl who made this one was hilarious. She said her dad went through a mid life crisis and bought a hot air balloon, so her family always goes on hot air balloon rides. She made a mobile of all different shaped hot air balloons. I thought it was pretty neat.

I also liked this one a lot. You can't tell, but she made wire letters that spelled her name...

I really liked the superheroes that they did in the drawing class though. The one on the right is "The Flower Spreader" and he "spreads flowers throughout the town and creates flower gardens wherever he goes." We need more superheroes like that!

It was a great experience, and I think I just may do it again!