This course covers using a rolling mill, but this tool isn't required. Texturing hammers, stamps, files and burs are all excellent choices.
Once you understand how the rules work, you can bend and break them to effectively create something more personal.
Beads are always a fun way to incorporate more variance in color, contrast, transparency and even scale. Beaders, revisit your stash!
NOTE FROM A PERFECTIONIST:
Hey folks! Thanks for checking out this course. I filmed A Pretty Purpose in the spring of 2024 with every intention to release it shortly thereafter. The plan was to have it built out as I've built out my other online courses up until this point: facebook support group, detailed and illustrated handouts, shopping links for all tools, extra discount codes... you get the idea. A year later, after completing training to become a certified creativity and life purpose coach, joining Toastmasters, prioritizing my health, etc., the class has remained unfinished and left to gather digital dust.
I debated just not releasing it, but ultimately decided that "done is better than perfect" and the project, which I think is so much fun, provides a great deal of technical value. That said, you will not find exhaustive written instructions, a supplemental FB group, or links to shop all the tools. You WILL find clear videos, a straightforward PDF handout, an invitation to contact me if you're having trouble with the project, and shopping links for raw materials, all at a reasonable price.
If this project and format sounds like something you'd be interested in working through, I invite you to join me and am thrilled to have you here. If you're looking for a more polished, protracted course... this may not be for you, and I understand!
This is an intermediate course and assumes students have fundamental skills in piercing and soldering.
Things happen, plans change, life evolves. I get it. When you purchase an online, project-based course from me, it's yours. There is no expiration date, no deadline, no schedule to follow.
Please note that the above does not include Solder School, coaching programs, or course bundles. "Indefinite" or "lifetime" access means for as long as I continue to offer online metalsmithing courses.
All video demonstrations are pre-recorded and organized in your student dashboard, so you can login and access them whenever you like. This dashboard makes it simple to keep track of where you left off, toggle between different courses, access the provided links for sourcing tools and raw materials, and take advantage of student discount codes. PDF handouts are both downloadable and printable which makes keeping information near your bench super easy.
The only caveat is the optional support community, which is currently run on Facebook. Not knowing how Facebook will change its formatting and policies over time, I cannot guarantee lifetime access to this supplemental resource. I also reserve the right to archive course facebook groups after an extended period of time, which means that while you'll still be able to search topics and posts within the page, you will not be able to make new posts or comment on old ones.
Ahhhh. Such a sticky question and I'm glad you asked.
My perspective is this: don't be in a rush to sell what you make in courses, as you'll automatically hinder your ability to learn without pressure and create without judging your results as "good enough" to sell. Being a student and being a working artist both require immense focus and deliberate effort... don't cheat yourself and dilute your attention to either by tackling both at the same time.
That being said, I hope you do use the techniques I teach you in your own work! From an intellectual property standpoint, I really don't care if you sell pieces like the projects made in my courses; however, my hope is that you, as an artist rather than a mimic, will further develop and explore the possibilities of what you've only just begun to tackle here. More specifically, I hope you're able to take these projects as the introductory experiences they are intended to be and infuse them with your own strengths, style and signature, then go! Sell away knowing you're both educated and authentic. These are things I want for your growth and potential, not my protection.
Finally, technique is largely universal and free of ownership... but please don't turn around and teach my projects.
YES. Absolutely, yes.
All steps will be the same. The exception, obviously, is the raw materials. Base metal sheet and wire are largely available from various online retailers; however, some projects call for special components, findings, or stocks. In these instances, I trust your creativity to help you pivot and adapt the project's suggested materials to suit your needs and budget. Should you be unable to find or create comparable items in your chosen metal, mixed metal pieces works just fine for these projects, and will still significantly reduce the cost of production.
If it matters, I hold a Bachelor of Art & Design from NCSU's College of Design, am a trained Creative Performance Coach through an ICF-accredited program, have taught thousands of students over the span of thirteen years, and have been a full-time, self-employed metalsmith since 2007.
More importantly, I don't subscribe to the idea of the starving artist. I believe we design our lives and ourselves as much as we do our work. In addition to project-based technique courses, I create immersive coaching programs and provide 1:1 containers for highly motivated, action-oriented creatives who want nothing less than intentional design, authentic expression, smart structures and studio systems, and full alignment between who they are and what they do. You build durable, valuable, expressive art. You ARE durable, valuable, expressive art. To speak with me about coaching and learn more about how I can support you, schedule free a Connection Call below.