Silver Casting

Jewelry casting actually runs in my family, though I was the very last to try it.  Both my mother and my older sister studied art and worked Silver.  Since I started out as a Musician, I didn't try my hand at making silver jewelry until I was in my thirties.

After trying a class in Jewelry Fabrication in Michigan at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association, a number of years later I happened upon classes in Silver Casting while on a trip to the Toledo Art Museum in Ohio.  There I was fortunate enough to learn casting from Hans Ruebel, who is an excellent teacher.  His calm demeanor, great patience and dry humor are a perfect mix for learning the potentially dangerous techniques of lost wax casting.  He encourages his students a great deal and tailors classes to fit the needs of individuals.  He is also open to new techniques and is enthusiastic about trying them.  I can't thank him enough for his time and patience.   I took the Jewelry Casting class four times, and learned new things in each session.   I highly recommend any classes he teaches.  Such positive learning environments are rare.

Since learning casting, I have set up a studio in the same stone cottage where I do my glass bead making.  While I have recently had some difficulties with my equipment, (My Vulcanizer has a bad heating element and my Vacuum Table decided to take in some hot bronze in addition to its normal diet of air) things should be up and running soon.