This is what Beginning Metals Class looks like.

Blank.




Nothing.




Possibilities



New Creativity.

A chance to go in any direction you want. Make jewelry, make a sculpture, make a vessel. You can do any of that and more with metals. Metal can be worked like clay as you hit it with a hammer, it moves and stretches. Metal can have textures and designs imprinted on them with pressure or chemicals. Metal can be constructed with folds and rivets.

When teaching metals I spend the majority of the time teaching the proper use of the tools. There are lots of fabulous tools. There are lots of cool techniques. But it takes a long time to get through these and practice a bit so one feels comfortable enough to work with the tools. So there is never much time to study creativity and design and form in only 5 or 6 classes...Hopefully we can use this blog as a resource for some of that.

But as always first is tools.
No wait. First is safety.
Wear eye protection
Tie your hair back.
Don't wear loose clothing or jewelry.

Sawing is the first thing to learn. I love to saw. And despite what a few artists or instructors will tell you or write in books, you can learn to saw without breaking blades left and right.  So see my post on sawing for more on that :) Sawing

Then is filing: Take the time to file. It will pay off!

Also learn about sand paper.  Grits - the smaller the number the larger the grit. I discovered that you can get 1000, 2000, 2500 grit sandpaper at the auto parts store.

Next hammers and bench blocks