Advanced Silversmithing: Lapidary & Inlay with Jamie Halpern and Brandon Ruppert – G26040410
This is an intermediate/advanced course in jewelry-making and lapidary for students who already have basic silversmith skills. Studio work will be supplemented by demonstrations, discussions and guest instructors. Students will learn lapidary and silver channel inlay construction using semi-precious stones and shell. Students will leave the class with wearable jewelry art and a discovery of their own creative potential. To be fair for all students in the class, students may be asked about their silversmith experience prior to their enrollment confirmation to ensure that all students have the minimum necessary skills for this class.
The fully-equipped Ghost Ranch jewelry studio provides a wonderful opportunity for students to learn the skills and techniques of advanced silver jewelry-making in an awe-inspiring location with a long history in the creative arts. Ghost Ranch is a place of beauty and serenity that nurtures the creative spirit with a lengthy history in the creative arts. Silversmith students come away from this class with unimagined creations, a proud sense of accomplishment, and a personal connection to the arts of the Southwest.
The studio is equipped with all the needed tools, supplies and equipment. Students may bring their own hand-tools, stones, and silver supplies, if desired. Silver used in class projects can be purchased at the studio. Note: Students should expect to spend between $100 – $300 or more on silver for the week unless brought from home – this cost is NOT included in the class fee and will be paid at the end of class.
Learning Outcomes:
– Students will learn basic skills in cutting, setting, grinding and polishing semi-precious stones for lapidary work.
– Students will learn silver channel bracelet construction for stone inlay
– Students will learn to safely use lapidary tools: trim-saw, flat-laps, genies, and other polishing tools
– Students will acquire confidence in their creative abilities and skills
– Students will create wearable and sellable jewelry art
Instructors
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Jamie HalpernJamie Halpern is an accomplished silversmith, lapidary artist and metalsmith instructor. His work reflects southwestern art and jewelry-making styles and is influenced by travels throughout the United States, the South Pacific and Europe. Working with silver and colorful semi-precious stones through metal fabrication and inlay, and through his teachings with beginning and advanced jewelry students and artists, Jamie celebrates creativity and personal exploration and nurtures artistic expression. His jewelry is sold through private commissions. He has taught silversmithing and lapidary art at Ghost Ranch for a number of years to rave reviews and testaments to how professional pieces can be crafted with focused time. Examples of Jamie’s work can be found at: Jehalpernjewelry.com.
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Brandon RuppertBrandon Ruppert has always been a maker and a builder of things. One of his fondest memories is as a child building birdhouses with his grandpa. Brandon attended the Krenov School of Fine Woodworking as a young adult where he developed an eye for craftsmanship, balance in design, and the method of building with raw materials, often with self-made tools. Brandon has spent the last three decades raising a family and working at his family’s cattle ranch in northern New Mexico, while continuing to create in both wood and metal medias. In 2021 Brandon attended the silversmithing class taught by Jamie Halpern at Ghost Ranch and has found it to be a wonderful creative outlet. Brandon’s work can be seen at MoMo Taos in Taos, New Mexico.