Beginning Silversmithing & Open Studio with Patte Ranney G26070213
Students will learn the basic skills of Southwest-style silversmithing in the well-equipped Ghost Ranch silver studio. Hands-on instruction covers safe use of basic smithing tools, sawing, soldering, stone-setting, and finishing. Experienced students who already have basic silversmithing skills may work independently, with optional coaching. All students will leave with multiple pieces of functional or wearable art, increased smithing confidence, and a better understanding of their own creative potential. This class is for beginning and experienced students. Serious-minded youth 16+ are welcome.
Introduction to Silversmithing & Open Studio is led by experienced silversmith instructors who will provide instruction, demonstration, consultation, and assistance as necessary. The studio includes a wide selection of tools, supplies and equipment. Students may bring their own hand-tools, stones, and silver supplies.
Instructor
-
Patte RanneyPatte Ranney has been coming to Ghost Ranch since 2009 and has enjoyed a wide variety of workshops through the years. Admiring the end-of-week display of a silver class, about a decade ago, rekindled her long lost love of smithing – a craft she had dabbled with in high school. Actually, it lit the torch!
Since that awakening, she has dedicated nearly all her ranch time to the silver studio. She credits Jamie with teaching and guiding her to develop her smithing and lapidary skills. Though she once claimed that her trips to the ranch in both January and July were enough to quench her thirst for all things silver, she now has a complete studio at home. Her work is recognized for excellence in craftsmanship.
Patte spent her career as a licensed boat captain, interpretive naturalist, and environmental educator in the lowcountry of South Carolina. In her retirement, she has become a full-time artisan working in silver, leather, fiber, and paper. She is an exhibiting artist with the Art League of Hilton Head and sells her pieces at local markets and by commission.
You can find her at https://www.instagram.com/thesetwohandsstudio/