Explorations in Metalsmithing: Creative Chainmaking
Class Description
Go beyond the basics of handmade chainmaking and discover your own creative voice.
There’s no need to buy boring, store-bought chain. In Explorations in Metalsmithing: Creative Chainmaking, you’ll learn the basics of creating your own handmade chain (including how to get comfortable soldering with a torch) and how to take the basics of chainmaking and add endless variations to create designs that are uniquely yours.
Designer and metalsmith Megan Auman has built her own jewelry line by discovering her signature style in chainmaking, and now she wants to help you do the same!
In this class, you will learn how to:
- Make and solder jump rings into a basic link-in link-chain.
- Create variation in your chainmaking through wire gauge, link size, shape, and more.
- Hone in on your aesthetic to find a style that’s uniquely you.
- Finish your chains so they’re sturdy and stunning.
- Turn your chainmaking explorations into amazing earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.
Whether you’re just getting started in metalsmithing, or you’re looking to inject some creativity into your jewelry designs, you’ll leave this class with the skills and ideas necessary to create your own unique chain. Plus, you’ll explore your ideas by creating a series of chain-link statement earrings - perfect to wear, share, or sell!
Lessons
1Prerequisite #1: Basic Metalsmithing Tools2Prerequisite #2: Tools for Soldering
3Prerequisite #3: Soldering Basics
4Class Overview: Creative Explorations in Chainmaking
5The 10 Variables of Chainmaking
6Finding Your Aesthetic
7Choosing Your Wire and Link Size
8How to Make Jump Rings
9Assembling and Soldering a Basic Chain
10Soldering Demo: Soldering Links Closed
11Hot Seat: Soldering Links
12Making Different Shaped Links by Wrapping and Bending
13Making Different Shaped Links by Joining
14Changing the Shape of Links After Soldering
15Creating More Variation With Multiple Links
16Soldering Demo: Soldering Complex Chains
17Making an S-Hook Clasp
18Making and Soldering a Toggle Clasp
19Pickling, Cleaning, and Polishing Your Chain
20Adding Hammer Texture and Flattening Links
21Making Ear Wires
22Turning Your Chain Explorations into a Cohesive Jewelry Line