Many people love the look of wire work jewelry. But they are often taken aback when they first start working with it. Wire has a will of its own so it takes practice to get it under your control. We all learn differently. So also helps to take classes if the self teaching is not working out.
Debora Mauser is an experienced teacher who has a
Creative Wire Jewelry Video Class on Craftsy for those who cannot get to a live class.
I had a peek at her class and discovered the emphasis of the class is on the "creative" because what this seasoned teacher did is to teach both wire and and some basic metal work techniques. It is a very different approach. A range of necessary skills are taught to enable the student to make different components and ultimately to create unique designs.
The online video tutorial consists of 7 main lessons which are broken down into subsections. The total runtime is over 2.5 hours but the lessons can be viewed not only at any time but in any block. There are controls to slow down the video or do 30 second repeats for tricky bits.
This video class suits the late beginner rather than the newbie because some of the techniques may be a little daunting. Debora covers the balling of wire with a torch in the first lesson! Having said that, this instructor simplifies many things and they don't look hard at all. Her demonstrations of how to do a basic wire loop and wrapped loop are some of the clearest I have ever seen.
She also uses thick wire - not just because it is easier to see but as a design element in itself. Annealing (softening with heat) of both wire and wire strips makes them easier to manipulate.
I also like how Debora stresses the safety aspects of working with wire and metal. The mark of a good instructor is to share with you what not to do as they have learned the hard way. For example, she reminds the viewer a number of times to keep the hand holding the piece well clear of the bench block when hammering. That's because she had bashed her own hand before!
Wire coiling is best done with a coiling tool - Debora has one type I have not seen before. Coiling wire with a drill is tricky even for Debora.
She teaches how to make various wire components such as paddle headpins, caged beads, coiled wire beads, different kinds of wire connectors, Egyptian coils and bead wrapping. Her demonstration on how to make Danish Knots from 3 different short wire coils (there are 3 of these interlocked wire balls in the picture below) is excellent.
Some of the demonstrations like how to metal stamp were basic but enough to generate ideas. However two sections particularly stood out. Debora makes riveting look very easy indeed. Her gentle and skilful hammering to create the nail rivet as well as the eyelet type is inspiring.
The other section that was also good was the lashing and woven wire one. Lashing is sewing with wire. She cleverly used two dowels and some cord to demonstrate wire weaving. Both lashing and wire weaving together with riveting are good cold connection techniques worth learning about.
It was also fun to see the author go through the "how to put it altogether" process at the end using the various components made with the techniques taught in the video workshop.
Debora is offering
a discount of 50% if you wish to purchase her class.
This offer is valid until the end of March, 2015. Please note the online video is on Craftsy, a paid tutorial site. You do have to join (free). The video will always be available in your account to view anytime after purchase.
Giveaway
If you'd like to
win the workshop video, please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.
Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.
This giveaway is international.
Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments.
It ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday, March 23, 2015 . I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!
Disclosure Before You Go: ______________________________
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