Why do I teach?

I love sharing my enthusiasm and knowledge about metalworked jewelry with my students and I also love to see how proud they are of the pieces they finish in my classes.  It's especially gratifying to see the same faces coming back for more.  It makes it all worthwhile to have feedback and compliments like the one I just received from Adele:

I have signed up for Diary in Metal already and will be signing up for color metal… in April.  I am very excited about taking your classes.  You are a great instructor and very creative.  I love learning from you, although, I can learn the technique, I’ll never be as talented.

Thank you so much, Adele.  But you are wrong about one thing:  you guys are very talented and always coming up with twists on what I've taught you.  

 

Keep up the good work and hope to see more of you on January 25th,  February 8th and April 12th.  See classes and schedule here.

New classes for 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I will be teaching three classes this Winter/Spring 2014 at Star's Beads (139 Church Street, Vienna, Va.) They are the only classes I will be teaching there this year due to my travel schedule.  

You can register by calling Star's at (703) 938-7018.  Each class is all day, 10am-4pm and costs $65, payable to Star's.  There is a kit fee for each class of $30, payable to me. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions about skills, supplies, materials. 

This Fall I was fortunate to spend a week at Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg, Tn. learning wondrous new things from one of my favorite instructors: Mary Hettmansperger.  She has written four marvelous books on metalwork techniques from coloring to embellishments. 

I am excited to be able to share what I've learned in these classes while teaching at Star's. 

I am also available for private lessons or group lessons in my studio.  Again, email me with your questions.

 Color Me Metal (Sat. Jan. 25 and Sat. April 12). 

I will be teaching this fun and informative class twice to afford everyone the opportunity to explore new ways to add color to metal.  We will torch, texture and emboss designs on bronze, rivet a charm and bail on it to form a pendant.  Then we will make a pair of earrings using colored pencils and heat.  We will play all day with copper and brass sheet metal using my other coloring sources like alcohol inks, patinas and Gilders paste to make components which can be used for your jewelry pieces.

 

Diary in Metal (Sat. Feb. 8) 

This is a technique filled class in which we will make a two "page" locket while learning to acid etch copper, rivet charms to it, stamp, patinate and oxidize brass and copper to make a keepsake pendant.

 

 

Hope to see you soon,

Donna Barnako
www.donnabarnako.com