Journey with us into the colorful, 500 year old labyrinth of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar guided by San Diego jewelry student & artist Karen Savel. We'll marvel at the ancient arches, see local jewelers at work in their tiny shop, walk in the footsteps of Rick Steve's and visit a gold smelter, stop to watch a street lapidarist at work and finish off with some classic Turkish delights. Next, we sit back and enjoy an informative how-to by enamelist Kay Yee as she shows us her method for creating blackboard brooches. Kay also shares a great list of resources including an inexpensive starter kit and online classes. Read more for resource links.

We are looking for a few friendly people to help as Zoom facilitators in hosting our free online Sawing Circle. Duties include:

• Log in to our company Zoom account (we’ll provide you with a login).
• Start the Sawing Circle at the appointed time from your own computer. 
• Admit students as they arrive, greet them and make sure they’re in the right place. 
• Facilitate discussions of jewelry and metal arts related topics.
• Monitor participant activity and gently steer users away from discussing topics outside of the jewelry metal arts field. Our goal is to give people a small respite from their daily woes and an opportunity to focus on their creativity.
• Remove any inappropriate users who might wander in.

How it works:

• Our goal is to have four reliable volunteers who can each cover one 2.25 hour Zoom session and serve as occasional alternates if the person who signed up has an emergency and can't make it.
• Volunteers will share contact info to make scheduling and communicating simple.
• Ame will act as the trainer, coordinator and back up relief person.
• The objective of the Sawing Circle is to connect participants to each other, highlight their work and foster meaningful and inspiring connections. We may also have short guest presentattions now and then too!

Requirements:

• Stable internet connection, a reliable computer and basic computer skills. 
• Basic familiarity with using Zoom to attend meetings (we’ll train you as a facilitator).
• You are not expected to teach or demo anything - jewelry metal arts beginners welcome!

Interested? Fill out our Volunteer Form and we'll get back to you.

Guest instructor Anne Wolf shared a guide (from the forum on Ganoksin.com) for making a scoring tool to create intricate patterns like the one on her tsuba. After that we delved into diagnosing torch troubles, pondering ways to extract silver from etching solution, shared ideas for bumping up the contrast on etched brass pieces (try burnishing) and  discussed the merits of dental wire as a brooch pin (hint: don't try to cut it, you'll just break your saw. Simply bend it with pliers back and forth to work harden it until it snaps).  In fact, Anne gave away 14" pieces of dental wire to everyone who wanted to try it (I'll pop them in the mail tomorrow). We also had a grand time admiring recent works by Cynthia, Alex Gage, Yoko Rover, Jan Piazza, Sky Paxton, Julia and Marianne Pickett. Oh and there were some great recommendations for classes too - including the hopeful scheduling of spring dates for Metalsmiths in Florence.

Click read more for resource links.

Thursday, January 14th 5-7pm PST
​Meet & Greet starts at 4:45pm
This week, guest instructor Anne Wolf shares a guide (from the forum on Ganoksin.com) for making a scoring tool. Scoring tools are useful for all sorts of things, from box making to adding texture to sheet. We'll discuss how to go about making the tool. Anne will also show how to create texture using a scorer she made while taking an online class from Ford Hallam.
Our monthly Sawing Circle is like a book club but instead of reading, we work on cool stuff, help each other with problems, share ideas and provide accountability for ongoing work. If you've been looking for some support for moving forward on your projects during quarantine then this is the place. Join us from your studio to work in the good conversation and company of like-minded friends. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply make yourself a nice snack, settle down at your bench and click the link to join in via Zoom.

Hello and Happy New Year! I am excited to announce that I'll be providing online class hosting for Bette's upcoming online workshop Making Magic with Steel and Silver online January 11th through 15th. As Bette describes on her website: "We are excited to offer an online workshop packed with information, hands-on skills and fun. A big focus is on the design aspect of silver and steel jewelry, learning to use silver elements to guide design. You’ll have time to create a mixed metals steel and reticulated silver cuff plus at least one other piece of your own design. You’ll learn to work with mild steel sheet and wire, fuse silver to steel, reticulate silver to create flowing ridges and valleys and much more. Who knew that silver foil could be bonded beautifully to steel producing an amazing contrast between the two metals?" Get the full class description and registration info at StudioMigoto.com.

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. Topics covered a wide range of the jewelry/metals field, from absolute beginner basics taught by Jessica Andersen and Julie Monroe to advanced specialty techniques such as Japanese metalsmithing taught by Ford Hallam, stone setting by Alexandra Hart, keum boo taught by Bette Barnett and mokume gane taught by Anne Wolf. Many of our students took classes multiple times to perfect their techniques and gain inspiration from each other. Our workshops drew students from around the U.S. and internationally. In addition to classes we had Open Lab time where jewelry metal arts makers worked together, enjoyed our little "Broken Sawblade Cafe" (which became the Peg and Pickle Pub after hours) and shopped for tools and supplies in our small General Store. We also hosted a monthly First Friday Open Studio where makers and the public nibbled tasty snacks, watched live demos and shopped our Gallery Case featuring work by our teachers and students. All of that changed on March 19th, 2020.

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. Level 1 began well, we had a year of trips planned and classes scheduled for our Jewelry Lab business. The worst demon in our land, Orange Windbag, was slashed with the Sword of Impeachment and things were looking good! But then the Land of Koalas caught fire and rumors surfaced of a mysterious new foe in a distant land. Nevertheless, by Level 2 Ame had saved up enough Coin for a trip to visit her father, Vance of La Playa, in the Land of Mariachis and Anne made a foray to the nearby Land of Saguaro to learn patina alchemy. 

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. The winners of our holiday cheer prize drawing were Patty (congrats on the agate burnisher!) and Joanne (edible gemstones!). After that we heard from several people about their own 2020 - good and bad - along with hopes and dreams for 2021. We capped it all off with our Holiday Raffle. Many thanks to everyone who decorated, dressed up and shared goodies. Read on to download the recipes and get some cool free coloring pages and a handy circle divider tool. 

​Thursday, December 17th 5-6pm PDT
Meet & Greet starts at 4:45pm
Join us online for an hour of glad tidings and merriment. We'll enjoy a holiday metal arts slideshow, a few surprises and raffle off some goodies. Plus, we'll host a recipe exchange so send in your favorite recipes for brownies, cookies, patinas - whatever you want to share. Totally free, just tune in by clicking the link right here on our home page. Be sure to decorate your computer or tablet, don some gay apparel and send in your recipe. MAAA is a FREE weekly online metal arts live show. In this fun, interactive gathering we 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 share resources. You're invited to join in! Need help with a tricky soldering job? Wondering if a tip you saw really works? Want to give us a tour of your studio? Care to recommend a tool or instructor? Get free feedback from professional metal arts instructors! Submit a question or segment idea any time and we'll follow up. And for our December online party, remember to share your favorite recipe too! Send it in! 

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!

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. Wow! We also heard about new projects from Jan (cool essential oil pendants), Earl (mokume billet fusing), and Carol (amazing piercing work). See, these are the cool things that make Sawing Circle fun! For photos and a link to the video click read on.

Thursday, December 10th 5-6pm PDT
Meet & Greet starts at 4:45pm
Work on anything you like or take a stab at this month's shared project - Wire Holiday Ornaments! Anne will be showing off some simple ways to make cool ornaments - great last minute gifts! Whether you work on your own thing or watch the demo, we hope you'll join us from your studio to work in the good conversation and company of like-minded friends. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply enter by clicking the link. Meet & greet starts at 4:45pm, demo begins right after 5pm. Holiday decor and attire encouraged! 

​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. 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 in November at our free online Sawing Circle. Click Read More to see photos.

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. See our website for a free video demo and the date & time.

​Brought to us by SDSU instructor and materialsmith Kerianne Quick, the Hand Medal Project is an international metal arts collaboration in which metalsmiths around the world are making small, wearable hands as a sign of gratitude for health care workers. The hands are reminiscent of milagros or ex votos - religious objects used to invoke miracles. At great risk to themselves and their families, our health care workers are saving lives every day - a miracle indeed. As a part of Keri’s team, our goal is to produce 180 medals - one for each health care professional at Scripps. The Anneville Jewelry Club is a free group that comes together for excursions, online gatherings, group projects. This will be our second event for 2020. Joining our Hand Medal Team is totally free and, if you know us, we'll have some fun with it for sure. Read on for details and sign up.