![\"SessinPic\"](\"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/files\/2018\/09\/SessinPic-300x214.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhen we asked Sessin to tell us about his introduction to Jewelry and Metalworking it came as little surprise when he had an amazing story to tell. It is certainly an unconventional introduction to jewelry making, and it conjures up some pretty amusing imagery\u2026<\/p>\n
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His journey towards becoming a master metalsmith has been filled with many memorable stories, and this one is where the stories start.<\/p>\n
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It all started with a young Sessin attending St. Francis\u00a0De Salles High School\u00a0in Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0 It was here that Sessin was taught the basics of silversmithing; cut, file, solder, sand, and sand again. Sister Marion McRae (\u201cThe Art Nun\u201d) taught a tightly regimented class, strictly focusing on craftsmanship and functionality.\u00a0 In Sessin\u2019s own words \u201cThe word \u2018Art\u2019 was not uttered until we were able to\u00a0complete all projects to her specifications using only\u00a0hand tools and manual abrasives. This was the\u00a0light bulb\u00a0moment for me. The seeds were firmly planted and I knew this\u00a0would\u00a0be a lifetime\u00a0pursuit\u201d.\u00a0 At Metalwerx we call this \u201ccatching the jewelry bug\u201d; it is quite contagious, and once you\u2019ve caught it there\u2019s no going back!<\/p>\n
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Sessin\u2019s need to keep making jewelry led him to the Watchmakers Supply store to collect everything he would need to start making jewelry at home.\u00a0 \u201cI got a plumbers torch, ring mandrel,\u00a0miscellaneous\u00a0hand tools,\u00a0 silver wire and sheet at $2.05 spot price all placed in a heavy\u00a0gauge\u00a0paper bag. On my way home I could not stop looking into that bag of tools! Inside that brown paper bag another lifetime pursuit was\u00a0simultaneously\u00a0born. An unintended\u00a0consequence.\u00a0I had instantly become obsessed with tools. My first studio set up was born in my childhood bedroom.\u00a0From that time on I always had a studio in my home and now\u00a0always\u00a0looking for the next best tool.\u00a0My\u00a0lifelong\u00a0passion for making jewelry objects and my passion for tools converged later in life\u00a0when I switched from a studio jewelry artist, to adviser to other studio jewelry artists.\u00a0 It was an easy transition\u00a0passing on my own excitement and knowledge of tools and techniques to fellow\u00a0Jewelry\u00a0artists\u201d<\/p>\n
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As it turns out, this was just the beginning for Sessin and Sister Marion McRae, Sister Marion would later break the news to Sessin\u2019s parents that Sessin was a natural born artist, and there was nothing they could do but encourage him. Sessin and Sister Marion McRae, have kept in touch all these years, until her passing in 2016. It is safe to say Sister Marion McRae has made a life long impact on Sessin.<\/p>\n
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Sessin Durgham, the now multiple award-winning silversmith, is a 2002 Saul Bell Design Award winner, as well as a Spectrum Award winner, and has even received the Platinum Honor, as part of the AGTA Spectrum Awards!<\/p>\n
With approximately 30 years of experience, and many awards of recognition, Sessin has recently teamed up with Otto Frei to bring you the finest tools in the industry. Together they created the \u201cSessin Peddiman Silversmithing and Forming Hammer Kit<\/a>\u201d, which combines all of Sessin\u2019s favorite hammers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"durgham.process.6\"](\"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/files\/2017\/06\/durgham.process.6-300x200.jpg\")
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