5/14/2022- Had a really great time here, chatting with about 20 participants about mokume gane and patinas in my third live mokume Q&A, held May 14, 2022 via Zoom. I go over the most common and useful patinas for mokume gane (liver of sulfur, Baldwin's patina, and of course rokusho / niage), with recipes and video of how to apply them.

3/30/2022 - The focus was on patterning here at my second live mokume gane Q and A session, held on April 2, 11am pacific time via Zoom. If you missed it, check out the video. Topics discussed include a general overview of the types of mokume gane patterning, annealing times and temps, chisel shapes, when to forge versus when to roll, etc.

1/8/2022 - Sometimes things start simply, then just keep growing .... this piece actually started life as a patterning sample. I liked it so much I started messing with it - cut a circle, domed it, did some chasing detail in the center. Soon I had ... a lid!  Hmm, what next. Tried a few different simple bases, trying to finish it without it taking over my life, but you know it told me it needed a substantial base, not just a simple quick thing.

12/30/21 - Looking back at my photos and remembering what a great workshop we all had in October in Long Beach at Diane Weimer's studio. October 22-24, 2021. This was a 3-day general mokume gane patterning class ("The Art of Mokume Gane"), the first in-person class I'd taught since Covid. What great students! Serious learners with talent, and fun to hang out with, too.

12/30/21 - I know I've been pretty quiet online lately - no classes since October, not many social media posts. Well, that is because I've been deeply involved in a new project  -- buying a house! It pretty much ate up 6 months and was quite an odyssey. After selling the old house in September, Ame and I lived in Airbnbs while researching cities and towns all over the west coast. We weren't sure if we wanted or would be able to buy in San Diego. Well, long story short - after much soul-searching and almost moving to inland Oregon (where it snows! omg what were we thinking), we found the perfect house here in San Diego.

10/8/2021 - I'm so pleased to announce I'll be speaking about mokume gane and doing patterning demonstrations at SNAG's fall virtual symposium "Tides & Waves: 2021, Eastern Asia" on October 22, 2021. When I found out about the opportunity to present, I could not believe it happened to fall on the first day of a mokume gane workshop I'm teaching in Long Beach! Why do all the good things happen at once?!

1/1/21 - From November 2018 to March 2020, San Diego Jewelry Lab was known as Anneville Jewelry Lab because it was a brick & mortar jewelry metal arts school and co-work space located next to Anne Wolf's studio in Liberty Station - a part of the NTC Arts District. We offered multi-week classes, independent study and 1-5 day workshops.

12/24/20 - As we ended the year and the news of the new and more contagious covid variant came out, we really started to feel like we were in a crazy video game so, here we share with you our 2020 Game Recap. Congratulations, it looks like you’ve made it with us to Level 12 of this awful Game of 2020. We’d give it no stars if possible; at this point all we can do is hold on to a sense of humor and keep going.

12/17/20 - At our online Holiday Party we looked back at some 2020 highlights (we did find some!) and shared our plans for 2021. The recipe exchange was a hoot with concoctions for tasty treats as well as Mokume Goo from Earl, DIY Solder from Sky and Niello from Anne (note: don't eat!). We also had fun enjoying everyone's home decor and festive apparel.

12/9/20 - Cyberweek 2020 sale! I've got 26 listings on sale - 25% off, one week only - Nov 30-Dec 7! These are all in-stock items, ready to ship in time for the holidays - there are even a few gold mokume rings. Treat yourself to the best quality custom mokume gane rings available on etsy. I use only precious metals, so my rings are built to last a lifetime. I fuse my own mokume gane billets and create my rings from scratch at my San Diego studio (customer visits welcomed by appointment). Please enjoy browsing the bracelets, earrings, cufflinks, pendants, boxes and RINGS!

12/1/20 - Join us online for an hour of glad tidings and merriment. We'll take a look back at some 2020 highlights (you know Ame, she'll find something good) and share our plans for 2021, hold our recipe exchange (be sure to send in your favorite recipes for brownies, cookies, patinas, billet stacks, etc.), see who has the most festive decor and apparel (winner gets an agate burnisher!) AND we'll raffle off some goodies including a couple of great jewelry books and some GOLD (seriously!!).

12/1/20 - We are super excited to report that our hand medals were delivered to health care SUPER heroes at Scripps La Jolla - a local San Diego hospital! We handed off our collection to San Diego State University's own Kerianne Quick who combined them with those made by her crew of SDSU students and then delivered the batch of 320 hand medals to Ashley Kim (@ashleykimclayworks) who is a ceramic artist and cardiovascular ICU nurse at Scripps La Jolla.

11/19/2020 - Anne Wolf is our guide this month for a fascinating photo journey into the gorgeous niello work of southeastern Turkey. This time she'll discuss several striking pieces from  her collection, all purchased during her trip to the region in 2005. After that, we take a deep dive into a topic many of you have burning questions about... working with torches in your home studio - specifically working with gas. Which type is best? Where do you buy tanks? How do you safely store them? What about insurance? What about oxygen concentrators?!? Read more for resource links and photos!

11/18/20 - A friendly group of about 10 of us chit-chatted away while working in our home studios at the November Sawing Circle on the 19th ... actual sawing transpired even! Along with filing, hammering and all sorts of comparing notes and discussing tools, torches, tanks and the finer points of patinas. Our shared project was fold-formed copper leaves and there were some fantastic pieces completed (Go Kathy and Karen!). Anne filmed (and I edited) a a great video tutorial about the project so it was fun to see it put into use. Anne also gave us all a sneak peek of a new mokume pattern she's working on from an ancient Japanese tsuba - the pattern is sakura leaves on water.

11/11/2020 - Anne Wolf is our guide this month for a fascinating photo journey into the gorgeous niello work of southeastern Turkey - this time she'll discuss a gorgeous silver belt from her collection. After that, we're taking a deep dive into a topic many of you have burning questions about... working with torches in your home studio - specifically working with gas. Which type is best? Where do you buy tanks? How do you safely store them? What about insurance? What about oxygen concentrators?!? Tune in and bring your questions.

11/4/20 - While we wait for that other result🗳, we can announce our #HandMedalProject winners! Karen won the award for “Most Prolific” with 20 medals completed 🏆 while Nancy won the prize for “Most Intricate” for her addition of a teeny tiny bracelet to all 11 hands she made🏅. Since we started the project in the summer time, their prizes are tiki face masks😷🦜🍹🗿- going out in the mail today. Thanks again to everyone who participated. 🍁🍂 Get involved with our next project: we’re making fold-formed copper leaves this month at our free online #SawingCircle.

11/5/2020 - It took a lot of work on the part of our hand medal creators (and a few late nights for us making envelopes and sewing on ribbons) but we did it! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and shared extra pins and ribbons - we used every last bit and finished with 152! The medals will be presented soon and we’ll share any additional details as we get them. Of course Anne had to make a mokume gane one! The diversity of designs, details and ribbons made them all so fun and different! Congratulations to our Hand Medal Project winners too! Karen won the award for “Most Prolific” with 20 medals completed while Nancy won the prize for “Most Intricate” for her addition of a teeny tiny bracelet to all 11 hands she made.

10/30/2020 - Thursday, November 12th 5-7pm Pacific Time : Meet & Greet starts at 4:45pm. Mark your calendar for our next Sawing Circle on November 12th from 5-7pm Pacific Time. This month's shared project is fold-formed copper leaves! If you're new to leaf making, watch our free video demo by Anne Wolf and then join us from your studio to work in the good conversation and company of like-minded friends. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply join by clicking the link that will be posted here on our home page. Tell a friend or make one there, either way we hope you'll join us right here on November 12th.

10/22/20 - A handful of hearty souls joined me in our Debate Support Room while a larger group joined Anne in our Debate Escape Room. That's right, we hosted a Zoom session where folks had the choice to watch the debate while working or escape politics for a few blessed hours - all with like-minded friends and it was super fun. I think the verdict is in ... we're all officially over it with this election - LOL! But working together via Zoom has proven to be great fun so mark your calendar for our next Sawing Circle on November 12th from 5-6pm Pacific Time. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply join by clicking the link that will be posted on our home page. Bring a friend or make one here!

10/19/20 - Because we're horribly behind (LOL!) we've extended the deadline for the Hand Medal Project. Be sure to mail or drop off your medals at Anne's Liberty Station Studio by 6pm on to Friday 10/23/20. We'll make sure they get submitted to our San Diego Hand Medal Project coordinator.