We are thrilled to introduce Meredith, an emerging jewelry artist/metalsmith and E.R. Nurse. We first met her at an early episode of Metal Arts Adventures when she tuned in to ask for feedback on her home studio set up. Since then she's been an active member of our online community so we were thrilled when she responded to our Health Care Hero free class offer. When Meredith is not making cool things at her bench she works on the front line of COVID care at a busy San Diego emergency department. We are so thankful for the work that our many, many economic and medical first responders are doing on behalf of the rest of us to keep our communities safe and moving forward. Thank you Meredith, from the bottom of our hearts, for all you do. Read on to see some of her beautiful jewelry designs.
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A Free Class for a Health Care Hero COVID has taken a lot from us in the past 6 months. We went from a thriving school to moving online and closing our storefront. We lost Anne's aunt Bernice (most likely of undiagnosed COVID) and Ame's aunt Jewel died when COVID swept through her assisted living facility. Sometimes it feels like a monster is invisibly stalking us, we never know who it will brush past and who it will grab. It takes courage just to get groceries. But while we are wearing our masks and staying home, many courageous people are walking directly into harm's way every day to help the rest of us. From essential workers making deliveries and staffing stores to emergency first responders keeping us safe to all of the people behind the scenes we say, with deep gratitude and humility, Thank You. We see you, we are sincerely grateful for your efforts. Of all of these, there is one group for which we feel an especially deep sense of gratitude and respect. These people suit up and face the monster directly every day. They are our Health Care Heroes. No matter what your job is, if your work involves COVID patient care we would like to humbly offer a free pass (including materials kit) to our upcoming Riveted Photo Pendant online class. Update: We have our first Healthcare Hero!
Meredith L. of Chula Vista, CA is a jewelry maker and ER Nurse. She wrote, "My sincerest sympathies go to both of you for your losses. I’m so sorry that Covid has affected your families in the horrible way that it has. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate this! You and Anne are so unbelievably kind. It truly warms my heart to hear that you are offering a seat in your class for a healthcare professional. The moment I read this, I immediately went and registered for the class! I am so excited that my schedule came out this morning, and I have each Wednesday morning off! Yay!!! Thank you so much for this opportunity." It's not too late: if you're a healthcare hero and interested in a free class, go ahead and drop us a line and we'll get in touch about future opportunities. In the meantime, THANK YOU for all you do.
Settle in with a hot espresso, uncork a super Tuscan or dip one of those wee spoons into a cool cup of gelato because we're off to Florence, Italy! In this week's Metal Arts Adventure the intrepid Monica Cardone will take us on an immersive tour of this fascinating metal arts destination. After that, Anne will test an Instagram tip to fight fly-offs (help us decide if it's a Hero or Zero) and we'll enjoy some great student work submitted during the past week. As always we'll finish by talking about current projects, sharing ideas & resources and an open Q&A. Read on for resource links.
Episode #005 of Metal Arts Adventures: Rate My Home Studio Set up - Black Artists Matter - Q&A6/26/2020 This week's episode kicked off with a home studio tour by Meredith. As an ER nurse, Meredith turns to jewelry making as a way to escape and rejuvenate. She showed us her set up and Anne offered feedback (hint, her supportive husband has gifted her with some amazing tools!). We are still getting a lot of questions about home studio set ups in general so we went back to the basics for a lively discussion on just the top 10 (or 11) items needed. Surprisingly, as we were putting the list together the number one thing we realized that's needed is .... space. Having a space to create, concentrate, and de-stress is more important than ever right now as we're sheltering in place at home. We also took a quick look at 7 new makers in our Black Artists Matter segment. Read on for the full lists for both!
We have some great items left including a pickle pot and two steel tables (perfect for soldering). Come by any time between 10am-7pm. For those of you picking up purchases, feel free to come up to browse our remaining goodies or just text us and we'll bring your bleach-wiped purchases downstairs for curbside pick up (they are all packed up and ready to go). Text Anne at (619) 488-7540 upon arrival. Masks are required and we can accept up to 3 shoppers at a time in the Lab OR ... shop safely from home - Tune in live on Facebook at Noon to see what's left and ask questions. We're doing a Facebook Live shopping session at 12pm on - you'll find a link to it on our FU Covid page. See what's left. In May of 2018, Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) released This is America, his searing music video exposé of racism and gun violence in America. If you haven't seen it, watch it now and, to understand it's subtle meanings, watch this breakdown. It is a gut-wrenching look at our country's disease of racism. And it is mind boggling to think about where we are two years later.
Episode #004 of Metal Arts Adventures: Pro ring finishing tips - Blue Steel - Let's get Pickled!6/18/2020
One of the questions Anne gets frequently is how to go about finishing rings. With hundreds of sales in her Etsy store alone, it's safe to say that Anne had some great professional ring finishing tips to share - including recommendations for supplies. Next up, metalsmith Early Bushey walked us through his home studio, stove-top method for creating a durable STUNNING blue steel patina and shared a great book all about tool making. Continuing with our Setting Up Your Home Studio series, we got pickled! Anne described her pickle approach and a crock pot recommendation. After a bit of Q&A we finished by checking out two Works that Wowed us this week - mokume pendants & earrings by Elizabeth McKenna and some striking mokume rings by Debbie Rodriquez. Read on for photos and resource links.
We live in a racist system and changing that will take time. I've heard it said that it's a marathon not a sprint, but I believe it's neither - it's a relay race. When I march I think about how my mom marched in the 60's and 70's for civil rights, against the Vietnam War and for women's reproductive rights. My activism now is a direct line from hers - and I am often amazed at how hopeful she was. She's gone now, so I can't ask her, but I am pretty sure the key was that she didn't see it as a constant fight. Instead she saw it as working toward a better future. We can't afford to get overwhelmed by set backs and negative news. We need hope to keep moving forward. Here are a few recent stories of progress - some big and some small - to help us all keep our eyes on the prize*. One racial bias we can easily see in our own lives is the lack of black voices in our online communities. For many of us, this is because we have meekly accepted the "recommendations" spoon fed to us by systemically biased algorithms. But the algorithm is us - for better or for worse - so we have been seeking out great BIPOC makers and we'd like to share a few we've found. Check out their work, interact with their content (like, share, follow) and you'll see more of it. Please add your own favorites in the comments below too! "In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist." ~ Angela Y. Davis For today's step forward in fighting racism you can join us in reading the National Museum of African American History & Culture’s excellent, illustrated guide “Being Anti-racist”. It's an engaging read with diagrams, short videos, downloadable PDFs that you can post and share and fascinating prompts to stop and think about your reactions. Read it now at the National Museum of African American History & Culture The Lab is Dead, Long Live the Lab! Anneville Jewelry Lab is evolving from a tiny brick & mortar space to an international, online community.
As COVID arrived in San Diego we bleach-wiped our tools and started evaluating contingencies, but with the March 19th closure of all non-essential businesses, everything came to a halt. Initially we thought our only option was to re-open. We priced plywood and looked at other ideas but the most people we would ever be able to safely accommodate in terms of social distancing would be three - a tech and two students. That was not going to pay our costs. We researched small business loans but we didn't qualify for the ones we found - or by the time we did, their funds were gone. While we researched and pondered, the Lab sat quiet. Clearly we would need to innovate to survive. This week we're counting down to Juneteenth (Friday June 19th - African American Emancipation Day) by taking daily actions to fight racism. Here at the Lab we've been thinking a lot about the best ways we can be a part of the Black Lives Matter movement. While the Lab has always been a place to escape worldly cares, that doesn't mean we're exempt from taking action. In non-covid times, we would be out protesting (peacefully), marching and attending rallies but both of us have medical issues that make social distancing a requirement. We have also come to realize that it's time for white folks to stop yammering about themselves being good liberals and actually listen. Metal Arts Adventures Episode #003: Taq Kasra, Clever soldering tips and Setting up your home studio6/11/2020
In this week's MAAAA Anne takes us to the ancient ruins of Taq Kasra as she tells the story of an enigmatic cigarette case. Next, Earl explained where that water comes from when you're soldering and provided a handy method for getting rid of it. Continuing on with our Home Studio Set Up series, Anne gave us a quick look at setting up a soldering cave and provided recommendations for the various parts (including suppliers). If you missed it live you can still watch the recording. Resources in this episode:
K-23 soft firebrick: clay-king.com Local San Diego source: Freeform Clay in National City Solderite board:riogrande.com/product/Solderite-Pad-Hard-12-x-12-x-12/502052 Not cheap - try the fiber board at Clay King In this week's MAAAA Anne did a Tip Test to see if Baby Bell cheese rinds really do work as saw lube. Next in the demo portion. we delved into the options for adding a torch to your home studio with a quick look at butane, MAPP gas, acetylene air recommendations. In keeping with the home studio theme, shared her unconventional bracelet mandrel - a sawed off shotgun (to be fair, she lives Montana and it's not a working gun). We also checked back in with Kathe on her MASSC Challenge and ... she did it! "Dogfish in Kelp" was successfully completed and submitted on time, so we're all rooting for her in the Challenge. Resources from this episode:
Send us your Questions Our next MAAAA is scheduled for Thursday, June 11th from 6-7pm PDT. This is your chance to get FREE feedback from professional metal arts instructors! Send in your questions or submit an item for one of the other segments and we'll follow up as needed on any details. Want help with a tricky soldering job? Ask Anne. Wondering if a tip you saw really works? Send us the link. Want to share a recent piece or give us a tour of your studio? Send us some pix. Care to recommend a special tool or great class (or instructor)? Let us know! You are heartily invited to send us your questions, works-in-progress, new tool finds and more! Metal Arts Adventures with Anne and Ame (MAAAA) Episode #001 Premieres with over 30 Attendees!5/29/2020 Our first MAAAA was great fun with about 30 participants sharing an hour of jewelry metal arts tips, samples, updates, resources and community. In this episode: Tip Test: a clever technique for cutting tubing using a flexshaft. Handy for making spikes too! Work that Wowed Us: two ingenious pendants with chisel texturing, precision filed edges and flush-set stones made under home quarantine (without a torch!) by Janet Ross (Houston, Tx). What's on Anne's Bench: Anne shows off the gorgeous Monterey Cypress wood box custom made by Earl Bushey to house her newest mokume gane vessel. What's on Your Bench?: Student Joanne Hein shows off some of her home quarantine mokume gane pendants and earrings while Kathe Dunn shares her 2020 MASSC Challenge entry, a large copper pendant with set stones. Ask Anne: Anne Wolf and Deb Jemmott weigh in on a great question from Monica Cardone about using the "Sharpie Technique" for determining if a piece is annealed. Extra Segment: We also gratefully acknowledge the mask sewing work of several of our participants. If you missed it live you can still catch up by watching it below or by heading over to our YouTube channel where you can give us a Like and subscribe to catch future episodes! While spacesuits might not be too practical to implement, please know that we are brainstorming like mad to come up with ways to move forward. There is a lot of talk about acceptable levels of risk out there. Well, the "acceptable" number of students getting COVID in our space is zero, so we will not be opening the Lab if there is a risk to the people involved. Seeing Jean's and Karen's smiling faces makes me realize even more how much I miss all of you. That is one reason why we are starting MAAA (Metal Arts Adventures with Anne) on Thursday nights. We want to get back to the great community of the Lab - right now that needs to happen online, because we care about you. We also have more online classes in the works, and I look forward to talking with all of you on Thursday nights about what you might like to see added to the schedule. - Anne
We are very excited to announce a new, free weekly online gathering starting Thursday, May 28th. Join us online via Zoom from 6-7pm (PDT - Pacific Daylight Time) for Metal Arts Adventures with Anne (MAAA), a metal arts presentation hosted by Anne Wolf followed by an open discussion Q&A. In this fun, online, interactive gathering our goal is to offer demos, share tips & tricks, feature work by artists and students from around the world, go on virtual studio tours, discuss historical metal arts traditions, and cover good tips/bad tips. Think of it as a hassle-free metal arts happy hour. Join us by simply visiting our home page starting at 5:45pm on Thursday 5/28. We'll have the link and password ready for you - just byob! ~ Ame Our All Craft Tool Sale on January 17th was a spectacular success. Before we could even get everything out of the boxes we had excited shoppers arriving. The tables in the lab groaned under the weight of bezel blocks, exotic hammers in all shapes and sizes, professional ring sizing sets, shaping blocks, mandrels, precision compasses, wax carving tools, burr sets, shaping blocks and tons more. Meanwhile over in Anne's Studio, buyers chatted happily as they poured over whisper-thin micro files, chasing hammers and boxes upon boxes of pliers in every size and shape imaginable. In addition to the tools, Anne and Tevel circulated through each room consulting on tool uses and throwing out jewelry making tips and tricks. Did I mention that the hallways were also packed with goodies from giant bracelet mandrels to patinas, saw blade sets and jewelry books? At 2:30 the fabulous Bette Barnett arrived to amaze us all with a free Keum Boo demo where she showed us how to use the exquisite gold and silver foil Tevel had on sale. Even though I helped set up, every time I turned around I saw something new out on a table. From all of the frantic shopping and sheepish grins as people left clutching their finds, it was clear that everyone really enjoyed it. Including us, at the end of it all we couldn't idly sit by and watch Tevel take everything back so we kept a few boxes on consignment. Stayed tuned for a Store update! And if you missed the fun, never fear, we're already working on when Tevel can return. Thanks so much to everyone who came out to help with our January Blood Drive. Here's the report from our coordinator Leslie at the San Diego Blood Bank: "WOW what an awesome drive on Saturday! With your advertising efforts, new Blood Mobile location and our volunteers we registered 30 donors and collected 28 pints, saving 84 lives in our community. There were 15 first time donors which is amazing. Thank you so much for all your support!" Our pint total last year was 41 and I had modestly hoped to double it this year but we're well on our way so I'm going to go ahead and make our goal an ambitious 100 pints. Help us spread the word, our next blood drive is March 14th, 2020!
We're kicking off 2020 with our first blood drive on January 18th. The San Diego Blood Bank Blood Mobile will be parked outside the Lab on Historic Decatur Road near the Liberty Public Market from 11am-5pm. Did you know that you get points every time you donate? Yep, and you can redeem them for gift cards and other goodies. PLUS, this month we're offering a special free snacks and a $20 coupon good for classes and Open Lab time to all donors - just stop by the Lab after you donate and show us your cool arm band. That day at the Lab we're learning torch-fired enamels so you might see some glowing torches in action too! For your blood donation, be sure to bring a photo ID and make sure you're well hydrated. Walk-ins are welcome but it's best to make an appointment. I'll be the first donor at 11am so I hope to see you there! Make your appointment.
What a year! From an empty room and a lot of scribbling on a notepad in October of 2018, we created a fully-equipped metals lab that over the last year has hosted 30 classes taught by 6 different teachers. We've held 14 open studio events, fielded a team of makers to the San Diego County Fair (winning over a dozen ribbons), developed our student base to over 140 and hosted 3 student sales. We also organized a Shop & Swap tool & materials fundraiser collecting $520 for the Jewish Family Services’ Downtown Migrant Center and we sponsored 4 blood drives, collecting 41 donations. Behind those numbers is an intangible that was actually our biggest goal - a friendly, metal arts community. Through births, deaths, accidents, illnesses and politics we've come together to help each other and, in the process, we've learned that the Lab is a lot of things to a lot of people. We're deeply grateful and humbled by the amazing support we've gotten to make this all happen. So here's hoping that 2020 brings you strong saw blades, powerful pickle, and clean solder seams. Happy New Year and thanks for watching!
Lab Monitoring is a great for working on your projects, making new friends and enjoying Liberty Station - all of which you can do while helping us provide more hours for our users. Monitoring usually requires little more than being friendly and we are close by if questions arise. Duties including opening for the day, assisting lab users and closing for the day. We provide hands-on training and offer several 3 hour shifts per week. First Friday Volunteers help at our monthly open studio event. Volunteers can sit or stand and have time before, during and after to enjoy the delights of the evening. Duties including opening for the evening and greeting guests. We provide hands-on training and offer two 3 hour shifts (5:30-8:30pm). The best part is that for every Lab Monitor or First Friday Vollie hour, you get one lab hour credited to your account! Learn more and sign up. Anneville Studio & Jewelry Lab 1:30-6:30pm Monday, February 17, 2020 We are super excited to announce that Tevel of All Craft is bringing his annual tool sale to Anneville! Attendees will tell you its an opportunity to get score rare tools at fantastic prices, but it's also great fun to meet and mingle with Anne will be on hand to help with recommendations. Here's a sneak peek from his last visit! Click on any image to view larger.
Customer Appreciation Special - Join us for a special FREE day at the Lab 2-8pm on Friday Nov. 29th, 2019 Schedule:
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Anne WolfEducator, metalsmith, jeweler, maker of custom mokume gane jewelry and wedding rings.
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