BEAD AND BUTTON: DAY 2

This is my finished piece from Robert Dancik and Louise Duhamel's class.

Everyone in class did a great job.  Same materials, same amount to time, same instruction, 12 completely different pieces.  I love that!

Robert, helping my friend, Gigi.

I'm messy when I work, but Gail creates the 'Work Bench of Chaos'.  It works for her, though.

Paul at dinner, wearing Karen's pod necklace.  Paul's a really good sport.

A close up of Karen's necklace.  It's even more impressive in person.

Gail passing the empanadas and Paul looking like his sense of humor just ran out.

I had another great day at the show.  Today was the second day of a two day workshop, and I'm a little sad that it's over.  I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever learned so much in a class before.   The class covered PMC, resin, metal smithing, working a plastic material called 'Faux Bone', as well as design theory and something close to my heart, in depth discussions of the importance of narrative in the art of jewelry making.  I have worked quite a lot with most of these things, except the Faux Bone, and yet I came away from this class with so much new information.  I really want to thank both Robert and Louise very much.  

After class, I went to a small focus group that I had been invited to by Art Jewelry Magazine.  It was really interesting and kind of cool to possibly have some input into the future content of the magazine.  

After that, Paul, Gail, Karen, and Karen's friend Amy from Toronto and I, all went to an excellent restaurant that Paul found for us, called Charro.  It was sort of a Latin fusion place.  We ate empanadas and Ropa Vieja and drank pineapple mojitos.  The manager came over just when we were all laughing hard and being silly and we thought we might be kicked out, but he was just a friendly guy who came over to chat.  Gail shamelessly told him he should give us free dessert and he did!  I'm taking Gail to every restaurant that I go to from now on!  It was a great place that I highly recommend, and not just because of the free flan.  

Tomorrow is a class that I have long been looking forward to.  It's a bronze soldering class, which I really need.  I make a lot of bronze jewelry and have great difficulty soldering chain for it.  I'm a good silver solderer, but for some reason, I have problems with bronze.  The class is sponsored by Rio Grande (a supplier of jewelery making tools and equipment).  I like their classes a lot as they supply the best of everything to the student and you don't need to bring a thing.  I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.