Metalsmithing Studios-Diane Brakeley's Recent Class Highlights

Art Night Out-Drilled Seaglass Bracelet & Silver Spoon Necklace
Diane Brakeley is one of our talents metals teachers, specializing in altering every day items like silver spoons and beach glass into beautiful works of art. Over the past month, Diane has taught to popular Art Night Out Programs, The Drilled Seaglass Bracelet and The Silver Spoon Necklace.

The Drilled Seaglass Bracelet students learn how to drill safely through glass, ceramic and stone with specialized diamond tip drill bits. They also play with wire wrapping the drilled items to embellish with beads and attach to the finished bracelet. Although most of Diane's students were local, she had a visiting student all the way from Miami. A perfect memento from our Maine Beaches to the Florida shore.

The Silver Spoon Necklace Class has been a hit at the studio for a few years. Diane has been handcrafting these unique necklaces as a part of her own jewelry line. After lots of interest on how she created her necklaces, she began to teach a class about her technique. She has quite a stash of silver spoons, forks and more to share with the class. Sometimes students bring in their own culinary to transform into their necklace. Diane teaches them about cutting and polishing the spoon ends that create the necklace pendant. Similarly to the Seaglass Class, Diane works with the students on how to drill through the silver spoons and add jewels and beads for color and design. Diane is currently teaching one of our 6 week Artist Series for Sewing and teaching private sewing lessons at the studio. "Tie One On" ArtEscape Weekend will be coming up on the 3rd weekend in October. It will be our second time running this fantastic weekend where you will play with men's ties to create your own woven chair. What an event! www.artnightout.com

PMC ArtEscape Weekend Review

PMC ArtEscape Weekend with Ann Liller-
Every third weekend at Artascope Studios, we run a weekend intensive. It's our ArtEscape Series. In May, our PMC guru, Ann Liller, taught a very packed PMC, Precious Metal Clay, ArtEscape intensive to 8 students. Friday night is the kick off from 6-9pm. It just happened to be Ann's birthday....not a bad way to spend your day. I am sure there were a few wine glasses used and treats to celebrate the beginning of the weekend adventures!

Students learned about the properties of Precious Metal Clay and started experimenting immediately. The three day format allows them time to work out designs, investigate and invent new ways to play.

Ann had just returned from her PMC certification weekend and had lots of new and exciting techniques to share with her eager audience. Saturday is a full day from 9am-6pm. Lunch is on us as students work through their longest day. The weekend is finished off with a half day on Sunday 10am-2pm. Students are welcome to stay until 7pm Sunday to finish up their projects and have time to share their experience of the weekend class. Many times, members and stewards will stop by over the bustling weekend to check out the progress and see the dramatic results.

Here are a few pics to show the process of this amazing material. As you see, many students use nature not only as their inspiration, but for their actual piece. PMC can be rolled out and stamped, squeezed out for more delicate applications or even painted on the surface of objects. The possibilities are endless and inspiring! Once this porcelain like substance is finished and dried, it is loaded into our jewelry kiln. After only a few hours of firing, these fantastic creations are now solid 99.9% silver works of art. The PMC companies work with silver, gold and looks like there will soon be copper and brass versions to add to the mix. Metalsmiths take note!