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*.
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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! We have moved our classes and community online and are closing our cramped 260 sq. ft. rental. We don't plan to reopen in the near future so rather than store things, we're having a big tool & equipment sale. We're charging fair prices for gently-used tools (all less than 2 years old) in the hopes that we can partially offset the expenses incurred during the mandatory shut down. We also want to see our well-loved equipment go to good homes. It's a great opportunity to dial in your home studio without paying shipping charges! Please do not stop by. Due to social distancing, we cannot offer casual, drop-in browsing and Barracks 15 is still locked. For a detailed list of what's available - including pricing - and how to shop, see our FU COVID Sale page. "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 open - sort of
With all COVID precautions in place, we are opening up some lab hours between June 16th and 26th. We can accommodate two users at a time with masks and social distancing required. We've carefully reorganized the Lab to make this possible, while keeping all of the tools available-soldering station, rolling mill (yes!), shears, tumbler, pickle, etc. Lab users this week will also have first crack at the tools and equipment in our FU Covid Sale (more info on that coming soon). We hope you'll stop by and enjoy a little time at the Lab before we close. 3-hour blocks (sorry, that is the minimum) are available now for booking via our online calendar. 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. Over the second week of June, Anne taught her first online class at Anneville Jewelry Lab to an enthusiastic group of 10 students ranging from San Diego to Georgia all the way to Edmonton, Canada. Blazing ahead through the vagaries of technology, Anne guided the students through the creation of a stunning mokume gane bracelet, and the resulting student works were fantastic! Along with the learning we also had a lot of fun seeing each other's home studios and tools. San Diego local Miranda created a gorgeous bracelet using her very basic but ingenious kitchen table set up of masking tape & ballpeen hammer stake proving that you don't need a ton of tools to make cool stuff. Speaking of tools though, check out Mary's uber-cool mandrel! We also got a kick out of guest appearances by Laurie's dog Rusty (great name for a metalsmith's dog-LOL!), Jasper the very fabulous cockatiel and various cats - who unequivocally let us know exactly what they thought of the whole thing. Read on for more photos and Anne's thoughts on the class. 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 Our first online class, "Keum Boo Like You Never Knew - Silver and Gold Foil on Steel" was a hit!6/8/2020 Our first ever online class "Keum Boo Like You Never Knew" was taught by Bette Barnett on June 1st, 3rd and 5th and was very well received. We are really thrilled because Bette, Ame and Anne all put a lot of time and energy into creating the best possible experience for the students. Bette meticulously planned the class and filmed great demos (teaching herself all of the tech along the way!). Anne figured out click & ship for the mailing labels (no small endeavor as it turns out) and Ame set up an online store for Anneville and figured out all of the registration and Zoom details. So, we were extremely gratified for these words of praise from Cary (one of the students) posted to Facebook afterwards: "I just finished a class with Bette Barnett and feel like I have just swallowed the last bite of my chocolate bar. I don’t want it to be over. I want more! It was absolutely wonderful.” From Bette’s great demos to the extensive student interaction, this class was super fun. I was blown away by the cool things people made. We even succeeded in carrying over our traditional last-day-of-class prize raffle! We have a second session of this class starting soon (also sold out) and Bette’s already busy planning a third so if you’re interested, visit our Classes and Workshops page to join the waiting list.
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 We are thrilled to announce that in just two days, Bette Barnett's Keum Boo Who Knew online class sold out and had a waiting list! Wow, thank you so much to all of our students - your excitement and energy are so encouraging to us - especially right now in this crazy COVID time. To accommodate that waiting list we are very happy to be adding a second class on June 15, 17 and 19th - registration is now open! And in an effort to always look for the silver lining in things...our live, instructor-led online classes require no mask! Hallelujah. Bette is one of our visiting artists and our resident steel & gold guru, learn more about her on our Instructors page. I've had a lot of time to notice the objects in my home bookcase lately. The other day this mirror caught my eye. I made it in 1991 - it was the first time I ever touched a sawframe. I loved metals instantly, and was so lucky to be taught by master metalsmith Helen Shirk. Looking back on this project now, I see how clever she was to design a project that had huge artistic potential. Students were prompted to design a mirror that reflected them - either current pursuits/personality, or future hopes/dreams goals. When I was 21, travel was always on my mind. I wanted to see those trees, you know like in the Serengeti. The copper was perfect to represent an old-timey leather suitcase. Still have never seen one of those trees in real life. It is a goal that feels farther away than ever these days, but that's no reason to stop dreaming. I have to share a little secret - teachers love making kits. Well, at least this one does, and I don't think I'm alone! I don't know why, but it is so satisfying to portion everything out, figure out the cost and how to package things. I'm in the middle of doing that now for my first ever online class - my popular mokume gane stamped bracelet class is going online! It is an interesting challenge to adapt the project and adjust the kit for folks who will be working from home, not using my studio. For instance, usually students use my stamp tools that I've designed specifically for patterning mokume - they aren't chasing tools, and they aren't design stamps; they are sort of in between. So, guess what goes in the kit? Two mokume stamp tools handmade by me! I love making stamp tools, and I think students will find them useful to have for many types of projects. Plus there will be a mokume bracelet blank of course - I've chosen silver/brass/copper mokume because the patina for that material is actually easier to use than the one for copper/brass mokume. It does make the kit more expensive, but I've found that usually students want the silver mokume anyway. I was delighted to find tiny vials and jars on Amazon today, so each kit will also contain Baldwin's patina and Renaissance wax. That way you can patinate and finish your bracelet exactly as I do in my studio. With so much uncertainty in the world right now, we want to let our beloved community of makers, students and teachers know that we're working hard to stay in business. We have been investigating business relief loans and doing some creative planning for what's next. Since we self-funded the Lab from our savings, we are very lucky to have no debt and since we hadn't gotten our act together to hire anyone we have no employees. Win-win! Most of the emergency loans on offer are designed to alleviate debt and payroll obligations. Considering the massive need to save jobs, we are trying to avoid accessing those programs unless we absolutely have to to make rent. Instead, to stay afloat we accepted a temporary rent deferral and we both immediately pivoted to our other businesses working on rings and websites. Now, as our COVID adventure enters a new month, we're itching to get back to the Lab! So here are the ideas we're rolling out and the ones we're thinking about ... and we could use your feedback on both so read on for our tiny questionnaire.
Tonight we're broadcasting live from Anneville Studio in Exile! We'll share an update on the Jewelry Lab, Anne will take us on a studio tour and update us on her current works in progress and we'll do a fun metal arts show & tell with Anne sharing some pieces from her collection. Most importantly, we're hoping to hear from YOU! Please join us live on Facebook to say hello and weigh in on these three questions:
Video recap of our live streamed Thursday evening class - coming soon.
Instructor: Anne Wolf. Tuition: FREE The presentation was done be by Anne with our regular Thursday night teacher Jessica Andersen online joining via Facebook. Video coming soon. Posted by Anne Wolf on Wednesday, March 18, 2020
One hour pre-recorded live stream video class available now
Instructor: Anne Wolf. Tuition: FREE Anne shows us a few patina samples and talks a bit about her recent chasing workshop with master metalsmith David Huang. Since Covid has the Lab temporarily closed, Anne also provides ideas for doing jewelry metal arts at home with simple tools and materials that you might find on hand. As Anne explains, she taught jewelry metal arts at Southwestern College here in San Diego for many years. Her young students had tons of great ideas but not much money so Anne would help them set up their home studios by re-purposing things like nails, claw hammers, power drills and 2x4s. We are planning to delve further into that topic in future videos with a look at different types of torches and more. As with our previous videos, we were thrilled to see online friends join in the discussion and we got some great tips! When you watch the recording, be sure to check out the comments. As is our tradition, at our last class meeting we always have a raffle to celebrate our session and our winners tonight were Ivonne, Gabriel, and Thida - congratulations! We will be sending you some cool prizes by email. We will also be in touch soon about our upcoming class offerings...that's right. Covid can't keep us down! In the meantime, if you missed any part of the live stream, you can watch the recorded video whenever it's convenient. We hope that wherever you are, you're staying safe and looking after one another. Until we can see you again in person... much love from Anneville Jewelry Lab! One hour pre-recorded live stream video class available now Instructor: Anne Wolf. Tuition: FREE Anne reveals the results of her patina experiments from last Monday and discusses the unique chasing tools and techniques from her recent chasing workshop with master metalsmith David Huang. She also takes us step-by-step through a tube rivet demo and shares a great tool recommendation. As is our tradition, at our last class meeting we have a raffle to celebrate our finished objects and our winners were Karen R., Janet H. and Cecelia M. Congratulations! We will be sending you some cool prizes by email. We will also be in touch soon about our upcoming class offerings...that's right. Covid can't keep us down! In the meantime, if you missed any part of the live stream, you can watch the recorded video whenever you like. We're holding our last class meetings of the winter semester online instead of at the Lab. We've got some cool ideas to make it all seem less dreary and depressing so we hope you'll join us! Just go to our home page at your regular class time and you'll find a link to join in. Our last class each session is usually a party, so make yourself something yummy and fire up your computer, laptop, phone...whatevs. And if you're not a student of that class, join us online anyways! We're even going to hold our traditional, last class drawing for any of the students who tune in.
In a spirit of adventure and as part of our effort to #flattenthecurve and lessen the impact of COVID-19, all Anneville classes this week will be held online instead of at the Lab. To attend, simply go to our website, www.annevillestudio.com, and wait for the feed to begin at your regular class time. No log-in is required to watch. Although the content will be tailored to our currently enrolled students, we welcome any jewelry/metals students or interested parties to attend. Students will be able to comment/ask questions on the feed, and I'll address them as they come in.
Advanced UFO class: Please tune in at 10am, Wednesday March 18. I'll be giving a report on my workshop with David Huang, showing his patinas and a little of what makes his way of chasing so special. I'll also want to hear from you about your UFO's (Unfinished Objects) - what did you finish? Are there hurdles still to be addressed? I may even finish my own UFO while you watch, using those tube rivets I recommended earlier. Beginning Metal Forming class: Please tune in at 6pm, Wednesday March 18. I'd like to hear from you how far along you got with your domed pendant - did you get the edge soldered on? The bail? Any problems I can help with? What do you want to make next? We'll also go over a basic jewelry metals kit - how to get yourself set up to begin working on your own at home. Let me know the challenges you have in creating a home studio - I'll share solutions and ideas. All Boxed Up by Jessica Andersen: Please tune in at 6pm, Thursday March 19. We'll go over the last steps in finishing boxes - proper filing and sanding, with time for students to submit questions. Bonus content to be revealed! This class will be taught either by Jessica or Anne. While everyone around us is canceling events, we feel it is important to stay connected. We may be keeping our distance physically, but we can still be social! We hope you will join us.
One hour video class
Instructor: Anne Wolf. Tuition: FREE Watch as Anne discusses her recent patina workshop with master metalsmith David Huang, and takes us step-by-step through an interesting demonstration using easy patinas you can try at home with chemicals you probably already have, or can easily get. Anne also shares some interesting tips and tricks along with recommendations for the best places to get tools and materials. Just hit the play button to start the video. We also heartily welcome your comments in the comments section below! |
Anne WolfEducator, metalsmith, jeweler, maker of custom mokume gane jewelry and wedding rings.
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