Jewellery / Silversmithing Summer School

This one-week course will encourage you to design and make jewellery in silver or base metals using traditional techniques. The course is for beginners and experienced students. You may choose to make rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces etc., working at your own pace with individual guidance from the tutor in a well-equipped open workshop.

As a beginner, you learn basic techniques during a set ring-making project. This is followed by further development of skills appropriate to your own designs. As a more advanced student, you develop your own ideas with design and technical guidance from the tutor.

Subjects covered include design, cutting and sawing, annealling, soldering, texturing, plannishing, doming, chain work, polishing and finishing.

You receive individual feedback and discussion about your work during each session. There is no formal assessment on this course.

You work on your own designs at a pace appropriate to your skill level and experience with individual tutor guidance within a group of 10 students. This is a practical workshop-based course with group and individual demonstrations of a variety of techniques.

You learn the basic skills to make jewellery and gradually build up your practical knowledge and confidence through workshop practice.

Enthusiasm and common sense.

Re-enrol for further terms to gain more experience in making more complex pieces. You may wish to progress to a full time art and design course. Some previous students are now full-time jewellery designer-makers following further studies.