![\"Wayne](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/Werner.NicheMagCover.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTalk to Wayne Werner long enough and the word \u201ctrip\u201d comes to mind. He worked at The Psychedelic Shop in San Francisco, made tiger pins as gifts for a Jerry Garcia tour, and has traveled the planet to study the world of metals. From humble huts in Egypt and Sumatra to the esteemed halls of the Pforzheim goldsmithing school, like an Alan Lomax of metallurgy, Wayne took notes and shot videos and cultivated a philosophy of metalsmithing as a religious thing.<\/p>\n
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Platinum rings by Wayne Werner commissioned for Blues Traveler.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Associations with rock \u2018n\u2019 roll royalty, such as the Ramones, Blues Traveler, and Jack Bruce of Cream,\u00a0 and crossing precipitous canyons via rope bridge may be miles and years away from his Maryland studio. But he is happy enough these days to be sharing with students what he learned on a dirt floor from an Indonesia metalworker, or making custom jewelry and doing \u201cthe tool thing.\u201d He is a representative and tool tester for the Foredom Electric Company<\/a> and has a couple of products named after him.<\/p>\n “Become one with (your) materials,\u201d Wayne has said<\/a> about his teaching philosophy. \u201cUnderstand what you\u2019re trying to do with what you\u2019ve got.\u201d A request to elucidate will take the listener into the quantum world of metallurgy, the realm of vacancies and dislocations where metal becomes a magical medium–like the mutable path of departure of a Shelley<\/a> poem,\u00a0 but unlike glass blowing or ceramic art–or as Wayne puts it for the less romantically inclined, \u201cGod\u2019s cosmic crystalline Play-Doh.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jewelry by Wayne Werner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Upon returning to the U.S., he began to work national craft shows and rack up awards for his art, including the World Gold Council’s Gold Distinction award and the MJSA Vision award for Mokume Gane.\u00a0 He is adjunct faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art, a cosmic raspberry from one who said goodbye to academia to attend the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts.\u00a0 Wayne comes to Metalwerx<\/a> March 27-29, 2015 to teach \u201cFlush and Pave Setting<\/a>,\u201d in which participants will learn to capture stones in flat metal via burs, burnishers, gravers and beading tools.<\/p>\n He considers himself a maker first, but continues to teach. \u201cIt gives me the chance to explore avenues of my energy. I get as much out of it as do the students,\u201d he says.\u00a0 Flush setting approaches to be covered in the workshop include flaring out, key-holing in, and setting from behind. Pav\u00e9 setting demonstrations include star cut, inside out, and cluster setting. Funky music and dancing will be offered at the end of each day, \u201cweather permitting.\u201d Keep in mind the instructor is allergic to fragrance, so refrain from using perfume, oils or scented hand cream to class.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brooch by Wayne Werner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPlaces like Metalwerx are so insanely important, they give access to learning through people who are practicing the craft, not professional academics. Walls are down, everyone\u2019s welcome. It\u2019s real fertile ground for an instructor,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s old school.\u201d It\u2019s also the kind of place that would be ideal to host \u201cThe Alchemist Picnic,<\/a>\u201d he said, a weekend gathering he created and hosts at Touchstone Center for Crafts, in which metalsmithing masters and budding jewelers convene to discuss their creative journeys.<\/p>\n There has been one meeting of The Picnic, a concept he hopes to expand and feature at many locations. It is meant to build community, to network and to explore creativity. \u201cIt is also to help young people find a way to profit from their passion,\u201d he said. He believes all artists could benefit from experiences such as he\u2019s had and does not hesitate to use his global contacts to help budding artists. He has helped a Dutch silversmith, Joust Durring, settle in New England and another young student, Meredith Tibjash<\/a>, secure housing in England while she pursues a metal arts residency.<\/p>\n![\"Wayne](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/Werner.ArtemisCuffSpinningRing.jpg\")
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![\"Wayne](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/Werner.AlchemicalKeys.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Wayne](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/Werner.WithBaltimoreRed.jpg\")
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