Two-Day Jewelry Course at The STEAM Room Fab Lab

The weekend of the 25th and 26th, local artist Sam Mitchell will be running a two day class on creating your own custom bracelet. Learn new skills and create a beautiful, one of a kind masterpiece which will be uniquely yours! Get more details and sign up today!
Click here for registration and further details.
Day 1
Learn the basics of sawing, drilling, filing, and sanding. We will work on small samples to get the hang of these skills and talk about their importance in creating jewelry. We will also design our bracelets and create models and templates from which to work.
Day 2
In this class students will learn the necessary skills for working with metal to create a bracelet. We will focus on using hand tools such as a jeweler’s saw frame, hand files, hammers, and pliers. We will also learn how to safely drill and manipulate sheet metal to form 3-dimensional shapes. Craft and technical issues will be addressed as well as formal and conceptual design elements that can potentially be introduced into the work.
Skills Covered/Expected Outcomes
- Sawing, filing, sanding metal
- Drilling into sheet metal
- Annealing copper and brass
- Forming metal using hammers, pliers, and mandrels
- Heat and chemical patinas
Sam Mitchell – Bio
Sam Mitchell is a maker, educator, and professional student currently residing in Iowa City, IA, where she maintains a home studio and an ever-evolving practice. Her work explores the vast precipice between adolescence and adulthood. Idealized memories and mashed up cartoons form the basis of her jewelry, which is worn as a badge, both an honor and reminder. Her recent work has been shown at the AV(17) Gallery in Vilnius, Lithuania (2014), The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN (2014), The Greenville Museum of Art in Greenville, NC (2013), and more. A recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts grant in 2012, she received her BFA from James Madison University in 2009, and her MFA in Metal and Jewelry Arts from the University of Iowa School of Art & Art History in 2014.
Beadology Iowa
“Beadology Iowa opened as Dawn’s Hide & Bead Away in 1987. In August of 2008, the store was sold to current owners Karen and Laurel Kubby. The store is full of beads from around the world: stone, pearl, metal, organic, glass, crystal, and one-of-a-kind flamework beads. We carry jewelry findings, tools, and beadwork supplies. Custom and repair work is a staff favorite. All finished jewelry is made in house. There is an extensive class list that includes wirework, stringing, knotting, flamework, precious metal clay, and seed bead weaving. We pride ourselves on creating a respectful, supportive, and nonjudgemental atmosphere in which jewelry designers–from beginners to professionals–can thrive. This is done in the spirit of collaboration and community building; offering support, instruction, stellar customer service, and a quality product line.” [More…]