Refined Jewelers' Mechanisms and Clasps at June 2015 Small Metals Weekend

May 9, 2015 - PRLog -- Antelman's June 13-14 workshop at the Center for Metal Arts in downstate New York is an opportunity to study with this west coast art jeweler and mentor here on the east coast. Participants will learn the mechanisms and refinements of the box and the key clasps in this weekend intensive.

Custom Clasps is a hands-on workshop about box and key clasps for intermediate to advanced jewelers and small metals artisans at the Center for Metal Arts. The June 13-14 weekend class is for jewelers who would like to refine secure and well-designed mechanisms in a weekend hands-on clasp clinic. Antelman will discuss a variety of solutions to link your custom-made clasp to the rest of your piece, including how to customize terminals and findings. She will demonstrate techniques to designing the box and the key clasp mechanisms as a unifying or even focal element for one's work. Students should expect to follow their own design inclinations in order to explore new ideas in creating cohesive finished jewelry. Step-by-step handouts are supplied along with samples to play with. Basic fabrication, including soldering, required.

Register online at http://www.centerformetalarts.com/small-metals-workshops..... Student discounts apply, with more information online.

Alison Antelman's workshop is part of the Visiting Artists Program at the Center for Metal Arts, which brings practicing artisan instructors to the Hudson Valley for one-day or weekend workshops. Antelman's award-winning work is shown in galleries where her refined clasps are well-crafted elements on the jewelry piece. They have been featured in numerous art jewelry books and magazines, and have won awards, including the Lewton-Brain Foldform Award.

Throughout the visiting artist series, Laurie Marshall, head of the Small Metals program, teaches ongoing workshops on studio techniques for working with steel and other metals.  Each class is designed to provide studio experience in essential skills, with practice in sawing, piercing, filing, sanding, soldering and finishing.

In Fall 2015, Laurie Marshall is launching a Foundation Series of entry level classes in small metals, including a focus on steel as a medium for fine art. The Foundation Series can be taken in any sequence, with each class providing an introduction to fundamental skills.

The Center for Metal Arts is a community of metal artists, makers, and students exploring new skills or mastering advanced techniques in the metal arts. Established in 2003, the Center for Metal Arts attracts resident, regional and international instructors, and the staff includes award-winning blacksmiths and designers, studio techs and support staff.

Two learning tracks offer beginner to advanced workshops in Blacksmithing and Small Metals, and the Visiting Artist Program contributes diverse topics and talents to the foundation curriculum. Easy online registration and the full course schedule is at http://www.centerformetalarts.com/small-metals-workshops.html.

Located in New York's picturesque Warwick area, the Center for Metal Arts is accessible by bus from NYC, and is near major highways and airports.