Casting courses offered at Lapidary Workshops in North Carolina

This is a new Blog. We hope to bring you news items and discussion topics of interest to those folks who are already involved in the craft of Lost-Wax Casting and those who may be “thinking about it.” I have some ideas that may be different from what you have been read or taught. If you disagree, join the discussion and “keep me honest.”

My first news item is to mention two workshops in North Carolina that will be offering lost-wax casting workshops this summer. The workshops are five-day in-depth classes sponsored by the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies, Inc. (EFMLS) and the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc. (SFMS). The workshops will be held at the Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, NC. The courses are first offered to members of either federation but non-members may sign up on a space-available basis. Better yet, join a local gem and mineral club in one or the other Federation. (I can tell you how to do that and membership dues are generally less than $20 per year. )

Now why would you want to join a gem or mineral club just to take a lost-wax casting course? Because the courses are a bargain. For $345 or less you will be enrolled in a 4-day or 4.5 day workshop. (The daily schedules of the two federations vary slightly.) The registration fee includes the course AND room and board. The only other cost is for a kit of expendable supplies and a starting packet of an ounce of silver casting grain for your starting projects. This usually costs around $35 depending on the price of silver. Additional silver and some gold casting grain will be available at market prices.

How is this possible? First, the courses are taught by volunteer instructors for the non-profit gem, mineral, and lapidary clubs and federations that sponsor the workshops. Instructors are a collection of amateur and professional craftspeople. Next, the Wildacres Retreat subsidizes the room and board, resulting in a “can’t be beat” registration fee. Class size is limited to 8 students.

The two lost-wax casting courses offered this summer are on the following dates:

• EFMLS Spring Workshop: April 17-23, 2009
• SFMS Summer Workshop: August 17-23, 2009

If you can’t believe all of this, just visit the official web sites and locate the workshop information:

• www.amfed.org/EFMLS
• www.amfed.org/SFMS

And if you wonder what Wildacres Retreat is like please visit their web site and look at the pictures:

• www.wildacres.org

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