Look at what I made!
Aren’t they cool?
I took a silversmithing class on Saturday at the university art department as a part of their continuing education programs. There were only four people in my class, so we were each able to get personal attention from the instructor, Kay Rashka. She’s a hobby metal smither who teaches jewelry making and design in her spare time.
All those lovely earrings pictured above were made by our instructor, and we were able to choose one of the designs on the bottom row for our beginner class project. The designs on the top two rows involved soldering or more advanced techniques that we didn’t have time to learn on the first day.
We got to saw a raw sheet of metal, sand and file the shapes, forge texture into the shapes with hammers or stamps, melt a piece of silver wire to make a bead on the end, drill holes for the wires, shapes spirals with wire, and assemble all the pieces into a cool pair of contemporary earrings. I have always wanted to learn the art of metal smithing, but I’ve never had the opportunity until now.
Our instructor was so well organized that she had stations set up for each step of the process, as well as individuals work stations for each of us to come back to and continue at our own pace.
It was fun learning about the tools used in silver smithing, from the hand tools to the power tools. It was also a great feeling to take raw materials and shape them into art wear. I’m already sketching ideas in my new sketchbook for more earrings and pendants, so I can’t wait to try this again!
Terri's Notebook 
So cool!! I really like the designs you chose. Imagine the bracelets and pendants you could do ! I found out today that a shop in my area is teaching jewelry-making and it’s pretty much on a drop-in basis, which I think is great! Thanks for the encouragement/inspiration!!
Good for you! Your earrings look great!
These are great! Don’t you just love playing with tools? 😉
Your earrings are awesome, looks like so much fun.
Wow – I am impressed that you could make those in just one lesson Terri! Such funky look earrings.
Oh my! This is so cool! I’ve never even given this kind of crafting a thought–there’s so much out there to learn! What a great way to spend your weekend! I’m excited to see more!!!
Nice job! I agree with Amy (above) that playing with tools is fun!
Terri,
WOW I’m impressed! Your silver earrings are great. You are a nature. I am sure you had a lot of fun!
They are cool…sounds like you had an excellent instructor!
How cool is that?! This a craft I’ve never attempted, but looks pretty cool!
Terri, i adore your earrings! So beautiful! Sounds like a really fun workshop and an excellent experience! Thanks for sharing it with us! Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you!
Wow! This is great! What a fun weekend, and what a way to get your creative juices flowing! I know we’ll be seeing more wonderful things from you in this area! Lucky you to be able to get so much one on one as well. Take care!
Terri, I love these! What a great class~there are times when I wished I lived nearer a big city. I showed them to my husband and he’s drooling over the silversmithing. Love, love, love!
I have always wanted to take a jewelry class, this totally inspires me! I love those earrings…great design!
Very impressive designs in silver. I think you’ve found yourself an exciting new craft! I like your hammered texture on the ovals.