These photos were taken during a one day recycled sculptural jewelry workshop I did with students of West Houghton High School in Manchester, England through the Artists-in-Schools program.
Prior to the workshop the students collected and brought in materials from home that were going to be thrown away such as thread spools, bits of foam packaging, egg cartons, yoghurt containers, elastic bands, wrappers and all sorts. The day of our workshop I brought in examples of my more sculptural exhibition work and books on art jewelry such as ‘1000 Rings’, ‘Unclasped’ and ‘New Directions in Jewellery’ These examples offered students the chance to see examples of art jewelry and show them there is more to jewelry than the traditional jewelry you see on the high street. For the rest of the afternoon there was an explosion of constant activity from the boys as well as the girls! It was soooo exciting to watch them come up with all sorts of amazing boundary breaking ideas and dance around the room in their creations. There was everything from rings, necklaces, hats, shoes and even some interesting adornments for your legs in various styles! In the end their teachers and I were so pleased to see them completely absorbed in a new way of thinking and making.
I have been teaching high school, university and continuing education level jewelry making for 16+ years and have worked in settings such as West Houghton High School where we had no equipment as well as fully equipped jewelry studios at university and art centers. Every class setting is different and brings new challenges and refreshing experiences. I LOVE sharing my knowledge and passion for jewelry making and it rocks my world to see all the new and exciting interpretations each student discovers within themselves.
In 2008 I will be offering jewelry making classes at the Lexington Arts and Craft Society and Metalwerx in Massachusetts. I also hope to start doing private instruction form my new studio in Worcester, Massachusetts later in the year. I’ll keep you posted on that.
If you are in the area I hope to meet you in one of my classes!
H.
heatherskowood
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