Friday, August 8, 2014

Wire Chains, Jump Rings & Clasps,
Oh my!

a sampling of the work created by students

Well, I'm happy to report that we had a very productive class this past week-end at CCAE! We spent the week-end working with wire, annealed steel wire to be exact. It was messy business, but we all survived!

It's always exciting to have ultra-newbies as well as more experienced students working side by side. We all have something new to learn from one another. I learned a new trick from a student for forming a ball on the end of a wire which totally made my day!

bangles and bracelets for mom and her daughter!

Since it was a smaller class I was able to allow each student to explore the forms and techniques that they found most interesting. Some students chose to work on their forging and forming techniques while others chose to work towards completed pieces.

beautifully forged forms with opposing planes

As you can see in the photo below, there was a lot of activity!
Forged squiggles were the most popular form, but clasps and riveted hoops and bangles were a close second. One student chose to tube rivet wire links together while another created a pair of brass earrings and a unique pendant using a vintage domino whose numbers have a special meaning.

just a sampling of the many things made in class

If you read my earlier post, you'll know that I shared a quote with each of my students. I gave them each a different quote and asked them to read it out loud to their fellow students. It was pretty funny, but I think it helped them to realize that it's expected that we'll make mistakes while we're learning something new. Kudos to my students for doing an amazing job!

I'll leave you with this quote from the wire master himself...

"To an engineer, good enough means perfect. 
With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect."
~ Alexander Calder


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Friday, August 1, 2014

Words of Wisdom


I'm teaching a new class this week-end at CCAE called
Wire Chains, Clasps & Jump Rings, Oh my!

I love working with wire and have been bending and twisting it since 1994. For most of my students, however, this will be their first foray into the wonderful world of wire.

If there's one thing I've learned from teaching it's that adults do not like to make mistakes. I'm not too crazy about them myself, but have found that they're an essential part of learning. 

I'm a sucker for a good inspirational quote.
I have quite a few "fortunes" taped to my monitor that make me smile when I'm having a bad day. After a quick search on-line I found a few 
quotes to share with my class tomorrow... 

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
~ Albert Einstein

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."
~ Thomas A. Edison

"We learn from failure, not from success!"
~ Bram Stoker, Dracula

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it."
~ Salvador Dali

"Forget about it!"
~ Donnie Brasco

"Don't Panic"
~ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts."
~ Jim Morrison

Okay, that last one isn't inspirational, but it is funny!

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. 
Sometimes it's the only way to make progress.

Do you have a favorite quote to share?