Jewelry & Metalsmithing
My first job out of university was teaching metalsmithing and 2D arts at a large high school of ~4,000 students with a highly specialized art department. The metalworking course, starting at level one progressed to level four which gave students the opportunity to develop their jewelry and metalsmithing skills to the degree of their choosing. The course was both multi-level and multi-grade so as many as four levels and three grade levels (10, 11, 12) could be working during the same time of instruction.
This structure required a lot of differentiation, planning and organization on my behalf but also allowed students to work collaboratively and take ownership of their knowledge and abilities as they progressed.
For Jewelry 1 I restructured the existing curriculum to favor projects that covered a wide range of materials and skills with each unit having built in sketchbook work to scaffold understanding and ideation. For Jewelry 2-4 I redesigned the curriculum (both vertically and horizontally) so that each unit, focused around a skills/processes used in metalworking became increasingly difficult.
Within the overall course I focused on building students abilities through teaching design sketching, placing an emphasis on good sketchbook keeping habits and encouraging students conceptual ideation through units scaffolded from big ideas to independent formation of ideas.
Jewelry 1
Starting with Jewelry 1 students were introduced to functional art by using a variety of non-metal materials (with the exception of wire) such paper, wood, plastic and clay. Each of these materials tested students fine motor skills, utilized different tools and vocabulary. Students became familiar with working in a studio setup, design sketching and utilizing a sketchbook.
Jewelry 2
In level two students learned the fundamentals of working with sheet metals such as copper, brass and nickel. Beginning with how to create a design suitable for metal, students learned the process, vocabulary and safety for each step involved in creating a finished piece. After applying their design to the metal students would follow the steps of drilling, cutting, filing, sanding and polishing. Students were also introduced to soldering, or the joining of two or more pieces using oxygen/propane torches. They also embellished their work by creating textures through use of a rolling mill and other hand texture methods, using patina (a thin layer of discoloration that when applied to a surface due to oxidation), dapping or (doming) metal using a block and punches and the application of colored pencil.
Jewelry 3
In level three students were introduced to more diverse techniques and processes and encouraged to use those to elevate their ideation. The application of enamel (powered glass) allowed students add a variety of colors to their work. The forming, cutting and linking of their own jump rings to create different styles of chain and create cold connections between different pieces of their design. Etching, a corrosive process used to add surface detail. and how to shape a ring using a mandrel and how to solder an edge to edge seam.
Jewelry 4
In level four students were encouraged to develop and create independent projects each of which highlighted a new technique. Hollow forms, or enclosed forms focused on soldering edge to edge, side to side and edge to side to create a three dimensional form. Inlay, which required precision in cutting, sanding and soldering of different metals to produce a singular flush piece. Stone setting where students learning how to create and solder a bezel and then set a cabochon (stone that is flat on one side) by pressing it snuggly into the fitting using a specialized tool . As you can see below, students often choose to combine multiple techniques which challenged their understanding of the order of creation.
