Description
Register at: The Craft Guild of Dallas
One of the special aspects of Jayne Redman’s jewelry is the way she combines form and function in her designs, creating unusual findings and assembly processes. Jayne will demonstrate her original engineering ideas and teach you how to apply them to your own work. She will consult with each of you to help you create concepts that are unique to your jewelry.
This workshop will focus on ways to make tools and jigs to form 3 dimensional shapes and unique findings including ear wires, linkage systems, and clasps. You will learn time saving ways of measuring, cutting, connecting and forming sheet and wire.
Thermal reactive plastic is a perfect way to form tools quickly to achieve fast results. If you don’t like what you get, simply re-melt the plastic and reform the jig. Now Kevlar has been added to the formula to give more strength and hardness. We will be using both Jett Basic and Jett Ballistic along with hard plastics to develop ideas for duplicating shapes in sheet and wire. You will learn several variations of jigs for reverse curve ear wires and linkage systems of your own design.
You will make a series of tools that will allow you to measure, cut, and bend wire accurately in coils or circles and straight lengths. Some of these methods can also be used for perfectly duplicating cloisonné wires. You will make forming rods for sheet metal. These tools will include a “u” tool for conforming both sides of sheet at the same time over a metal rod, pushing tools that form sheet metal shapes that are close together, and a fingernail tool that will slide over and under shapes to be bent and also assist in closing loops. You will modify pliers to create perfect loops with accurate inside diameters and tapered tube crimps to attach tubular clasps to chain or neck wire coils by.
You will leave the workshop with the knowledge to comfortably modify existing tools and invent tools and jigs of your own design. You will be able to make exact duplicates of your forms and findings, enhancing your craftsmanship and adding appeal to your jewelry.
