Look out, metal stuff, lest ye get SMITHED

This weekend, I took my first-ever jewelry class at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. It was Experience Silver Jewelry Making: Swirl Pendant with Cat Goolsby. I had heard that Callanwolde was awesome, so I wanted to check it out on a low-commitment basis. And was it awesome? It was so awesome!

There were only six of us in the class, including me and my friend Jen, which was perfect for getting plenty of attention from the instructor. Cat gave us a two-hour crash course in basic metalsmithing. I got to anneal, polish, cut, file, pound, solder and oxidize sterling silver until it turned into a really-for-real piece of sturdy metal jewelry. I can’t even bend it with my fingers now, that’s how real it is!

I’m a little bit surprised that I got to learn all that for $25, including materials. I will definitely sign up for another class at Callanwolde as soon as my schedule permits.

The smithing that we did wasn’t hard (maybe it is very hard, but Cat made it seem easy?) and now I have a taste for it. I’m not sure what I’m gonna make out of metal next, but it will be something, and it will be great! (Possibly!)