I’m taking the Jewelry Fabrication class at the Maitland Art Center again this semester. I really enjoy the metal-working aspect of jewelry-making and am fascinated by the whole soldering process. I have yet to get my new soldering torch set up though, so it was nice to get back into a workshop with a working torch.

The MAC offers weeknight and Saturday options for the Jewelry Fabrication class for 9 weeks a semester. Due to my weekday work schedule and traffic on I-4, I take the Saturday class. The class is 10a-1p, but the teacher, Jim Hosner, usually lets us linger a little later which is nice because the time seems to fly by. Jim is a highly experienced teacher and also teaches a Jewelry Wax Casting class.

The first time I enrolled, there was an open house during the first class, so it was a little chaotic and frustrating with so many distractions. I think one student was still so frustrated from that first class that she didn’t bother to come back after the second class, but I stuck it out and loved it! I had prepared myself mentally this time for an open house, but thankfully, it was held the weekend before. The classes are small (maximum of 6 students).

I like that the class is somewhat unstructured, so we can work at our own pace. The first class is devoted to making a simple ring, and our homework is to design a pendant to make for the second class. After that pretty much anything goes. You learn basic metal-working skills, soldering, cutting, polishing, etc. Jim has offered to show us some enameling techniques as well, and really if there are other techniques that aren’t necessarily a part of the class, but you have an interest, he seems to be open to teaching them.

The class fee is $155 for Maitland Art Center members and $175 for non-members. I signed up for the $40 Individual membership because I want to take another class or two, so the membership will save me money in the long-run, plus it feels nice to support the local arts, especially knowing that donations and memberships are probably down these days.  There is a $30 materials fee which covers the soldering materials as well as sterling silver and small gemstone materials for the first couple of projects. After that it’s recommended that you buy additional silver and/or gemstones on your own, although we can still use some of the other materials available in class. If you’re like me you’ll want to invest in your own silver and gemstones anyway so you can just go crazy with it. All the tools you’ll need are available in the class, and best of all, after you’ve used as many tools as you need, you’re not allowed to put them away (to keep them from being misplaced), so it’s like being able to pull out all of your favorite toys and not having to put them back in the toy-box. 

I like the casual atmosphere of the class. We chit-chat as we’re working on our projects listening to a little “Car Talk” on the radio. I had never listened to Click & Clack before, but they’re pretty entertaining. Actually this semester Jim has switched things up and has it tuned to a station playing old blues music. I like that too! It’s fun to see everyone’s projects and how different they all are when we’re essentially given the same assignment. Throughout the day other teachers or students might pop in to say “hi” and grab a cup of coffee or tea. It’s much more manageable than the open house crowd of pop-ins, so it’s actually enjoyable. Jim sometimes brings in juice, fruit or other snacks which is a nice treat even. I’m tempted to use this as an excuse to bring in some warm delicious donuts because I’ve been craving them lately. It’s also kind of cool that, when other classes or teachers are working on projects like bronze casting, we can duck out of our class for a few minutes to check out what they’re doing.

If you’re at all interested jewelry fabrication and live in the metro Orlando area, I definitely recommend checking this class out!

Sorry there’s no eye-candy with this post, but I should have a few pictures after next week’s class.