Linear-Shaped Silver Earrings
Adult Course | Registration opens 1/7/2025 7:00 AM MST
This workshop will cover making up to two pairs of pierced earrings in sterling silver. Using wire and sheet metal, you will design and embellish your earrings with texture, beads and patina. Students will learn how to make earrings hooks and/or posts, finishing techniques and how simple shapes can be elevated from the mundane to fabulous! (No stone setting is involved.)
Please be sure to wear closed toed shoes, bring an apron or wear 'old clothes. As we are doing close up work, please bring magnifiers or reading glasses as needed. If you have long hair, please be able to tie it back. It may be helpful to bring a notebook/sketch book and writing utensil to make notes/drawings as you will be designing your earrings before making them.
Kim Harrell
Kim Harrell has been making jewelry and silverware professionally since 1997. Her love of making was established in London where she lived and worked for 14 years and obtained a degree in silversmithing and jewelry design. Harrell's experiences and teachers in London had a significant impact on her work such as learning about the Bauhaus, exploring the British Museum, walking amidst some of the world's greatest architecture. Her teachers/mentors/colleagues were and are some of the most influential silversmiths and makers in Europe. Other influences include the British modernists and St. Ives artists, the American minimalists, ceramics, nature, ancient cultures and artifacts, architecture, the ground beneath her feet. Harrell's design philosophy quickly came to rest at “less is more". “Working with my hands gives me joy and a sense of purpose - creating something out of 'nothing' is a powerful experience. I make what I make because it gives me satisfaction to manipulate and transform the metal and unleash the beauty of the materials I use. My work in metal often shows the marks of my efforts and process – reflecting the imprints of my hammers and tools. When I am finished, it is time for you to make your marks, your history and take pleasure in your object- that is my gift to you." Harrell has a degree from London Guildhall University and was the recipient of a Jerwood Prize for Excellence in Design and Craftsmanship at graduation. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in the United Kingdom including the Goldsmith's Fair, Chelsea Crafts Show, and SOFA in the USA. Her work has been published in Lark Books, The Times (London), The Independent (London), The Denver Post and many more. Kim's clients include private collectors in the USA, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway and corporate patrons such as HSBC, Seagrams/Chivas Regal, The Denver Art Museum and Xcel Energy.