THE COLORADO SCHOOL OF JEWELRY AND METAL ARTS
The Colorado School
of
Jewelry and Metal Arts
…..is located in beautiful Salida, Colorado: 7,000 ft high in the Colorado Rockies. We are among the top small art towns in America and have gorgeous galleries and a diverse selection of fun restaurants. When not banging on metal or soldering together your newly learned project from one of our jewelry classes, the valley offers a variety of diversions,including fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking and of course shopping.
All of our jewelry workshops are taught by professional metalsmiths. We offer jewelry classes for the beginning metalsmith as well as the advanced student already very comfortable in the studio and proficient at their
Photo of School
Photo of School
chosen medium. We offer jewelry workshops in beginning jewelry, stone setting, enameling, anticlastic raising, granulation, gold carving, chasing, granulation and even knife making including damascus steel blades.
Class Schedule
Class Title Dates Time
Beginning Jewelry ………………….March 28-30……9:00 am – 5:30pm
Basic Stone Setting…………………April 4-6…………9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Beginning Anticlastic Raising…….April 18-20……..9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Cloissone enameling,…………………June 15-19………9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Damascus Knife Making……………July 12-16………9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Anticlastic Raising
A necessarily brief introduction
Copyright 1999 Jerry Scavezze
Synclastic Form (Bowl Shape)
Synclastic forming
A technique used to form sheet metal into vessels, etc. The metal is stretched in the center
and compressed on the edges. Both major curves at 90 degrees to each other will go in the same
direction. The ultimate form will be a bowl or dome shape.
Anticlastic Form (Saddle Shape)
Anticlastic forming
This technique is used to form compound curves in sheet metal. Using this process the metal is compressed in the center and stretched on the edges. The major curves in the form will go in opposite directions. The resulting form is that of a saddle or “Pringle” potato chip.
Generator ^ Curve
Sinusoidal Stake
Sinusoidal Stake
Misc… thoughts, tips, etc.
Anneal early and often.
Anticlastic raising is almost always done using a combination of steel and plastic or wooden tools. A plastic mallet and a steel stake is quickest but leaves a lot of planishing to be done and offers less control. A steel hammer and a plastic (delrin) stake is generally the preferred method. This combination offers reasonable speed, good control and a fairly well planished final form.
One of the most important concepts to remember in anticlastic raising is that the generator and axial curve relate to each other directly. If you tighten the generator curve the axial curve will open and conversely, if you tighten the axial curve the generator curve will open.
Throw the hammer at the metal. Hold the hammer or mallet very loosely at the point of impact or you will pay for the mistake with your body (elbow and other joint pain). This work can be very hard on your body. Take care of it! I’m not kidding on this point!
Recommended Reading and further explorations
Form Emphasis for Metalsmiths, Heikki Seppa, Kent State Univ. Press, 1978 Metals Technic, Brynmorgen Press, 1992
Jerry Scavezze
Marlin Cohrs said,
February 17, 2009 at 10:27 pm
It’s impossible to say enough good things about Scavezze and his art. I have had the pleasure of taking classes from him. They are really fun, but you take away new skills and a bunch of knowledge. I just wish his studio was closer to Denver! Well maybe it is better that he is not too close, my wife also loves his work, so I definitely save some money by keeping her away.
I wrote the above a week or so, and since then have been thinking about the muse. It seems to me to be at least a two part issue. Inspiration and skills, you need both. I can generally find inspiration in at least one of my several hundred books. I just came back from a trip to Santa Fe, good food and a lot of ART (not to sure what ART is, but it sure is expensive!) and perhaps a bit of inspiration. I did not see anything that will generate new ideas directly, but certainly some fun stuff (like the wall hangings at the Patina Gallery). Santa Fe is a great place to visit.
But back to the issue of skills, suppose I see a Faberge egg – those things are fantastic, but not much good to my muse. I do not have the skills to integrate their majesty in my work. There are times when I am directly challenged to learn a new technique in order to complete a piece, but often it can be a chore, not a friend of the muse.
So where can I get my inspiration. Generally I find that it comes when I am attempting to master or just practicing a new skill, for the sake of pure exploration. When new skills generate new ideas, that is where my muse and a hefty measure of happiness, lies.
So again, my hats of to people like Scavezze who challenge and teach and allow us to reach for the muse.
judith benavides said,
April 16, 2009 at 5:18 am
Hello, I would love to take your class. Im a begginer, how much do you charge for the class?
thank you
judith benavides
jerryscavezze2009 said,
April 16, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Hi Judith, This is a great class for beginners as there is no soldering, no piercing, really a pretty straight forward class. I have 3 other students in class who are also very much beginners. You will be fine. I have tools for sale or we can loan you ours, but you really need your own. Class is $400.00 and is this weekend. April 18-20. You can go to the school website for more info, http://www.ColoradoSchoolofJewelryandMetalArts.com for more info about the class and my website http://www.ScavezzeGoldsmith.com to see my work. Thanks, Hope you can join us. Call or email with other questions. Jerry
Jerry said,
June 19, 2009 at 2:38 am
I am a 20 year jeweler in Richmond Va. I teach at the local schools, the museum and the Visual Art Center. I have my own retail store where I sell my on line (JAY SHARPE). My adult students want me to do more classes like semesters at a time. I am gathering up insights and information on being accredited and etc. I have been told that with a BFA degree, 20 years in the businesses and teaching for almost all of that time, that I am accredited??? Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated. Please visit my site at http://www.jaysharpe.net.
Thanks,
Jerry Sharpe
(JAY)
Personalized jewelry said,
July 13, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Great thanks for this informative detail I like art of
Personalized jewelry
so I am planning to join this class thanks