Final projects are produced in a variety of media, both directly and indirectly formed. Multilevel Metalworking Intermediate and advanced students broaden and refine their skills through technical and theoretical problem solving. Students experiment with a wide range of scale, format, and media options, with emphasis on the creation of meaning in personal objects. Slide presentations and readings for discussion provide historical and contemporary context for investigations of such concepts as ornamentation, scale, utility, and the body as site. Alternative investment techniques are explored.
Emphasis is placed on individual experimentation and development.
Metal Casting Refined by the Chinese over 2000 years ago and used widely by the Mayans and the Ashanti tribe of Africa, lost wax casting became synonymous in the sixteenth century with the works of Benvenuto Cellini, Florentine goldsmith and sculptor. This course will introduce the technical and conceptual advantages of small, intricate castings such as series production, modular components, and multiples. Alternatives to metals will also be addressed. This course investigates the specific technical methodologies and historical lineage of jewelry-making skills, production, and the inherent properties of materials. Intermediate students would be expected to explore the relationship and development of jewelry-making to wearability, adornment, industry, and the question of ornamentation.