Beginning Jewelry Fabrication | Gossett | Wednesday evening

What happens when a piece of broken jewelry, a mismatched earring, a forgotten keepsake, or some wonderfully odd little object finally gets its chance to become something new? You make jewelry!

This eight-week course explores the design and fabrication of one-of-a-kind jewelry using metal and small found objects. We’ll build a foundation of basic metalsmithing skills while learning to look at ordinary—and sometimes discarded—things with a fresh eye.

Through demonstrations, hands-on practice, and plenty of creative problem-solving, students will develop skills in sawing, riveting, prong setting, bezel setting, and basic wirework. We’ll explore how these techniques can be combined to construct jewelry that is both thoughtfully designed and uniquely personal.

You are encouraged to bring along the things you’ve saved for no particular reason: keepsakes, broken jewelry, mismatched earrings, old buttons, bits and pieces, found objects, and small treasures that are too interesting to throw away. The goal isn’t to make something perfect—it’s to discover what these little leftovers might become.

No previous metalsmithing experience is required. We’ll focus on learning the basic skills, developing design ideas, and figuring out how to solve the inevitable problems that happen when making things by hand.

Come prepared to experiment, take things apart, put them back together, and give a few forgotten treasures a second life.

Students currently enrolled in a jewelry class at the CAC are invited to attend the Jewelry Lab sessions free of charge. For more about the Jewelry Lab and lab times, click here.