Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 at 3:00 PM PST is award-winning jewelry designer and gem cutter, gemologist John Heusler. 

If you have questions for John during the LIVE conversation, please join the chat room at Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

John F. Heusler, G. G. (GIA) is a gemologist, jewelry designer, and lapidary who has been cutting gems and making jewelry for over 45 years. He is an award-winning designer for both his jewelry design and gem cutting. He owned and operated a fine jewelry store in St. Louis, MO, for 31 years. John has a Facebook page, Heusler Academy, where he shows his newest creations. He teaches classes in jewelry design, lapidary, and carving gemstones. John has traveled to locations all over the world to collect gems. He digs many of his own gemstones which he cuts and sells online, at fine art shows, and at gem and mineral shows. His newest discoveries are Jessite and Kaily Agate, which are named after his two daughters Jessica and Kaily. He has written "how-to" tutorials and in-depth articles for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist on both gems that were featured in 2014.

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, November 19th, 2015 at 3:00 PM PST is metalsmith and jewelry artist from Sonoma County, Linda Weiss. 

Join us for this live conversation and participate by logging onto the chatroom at Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

About Linda: 

Santa Rosa metalsmith Linda Weiss designs and fabricates custom jewelry and art in her studio in Sonoma County, California. Linda specializes in working with 18K Gold, Sterling Silver, Platinum, Bronze, Pewter & Enamel and South Sea, Tahitian & Biwa Pearls, Star Sapphire, Diamond, Lapis, Opal, Ruby & Tanzanite.

"It is my belief that exacting craftsmanship should complement creative expression. It is my intent that my jewelry be comfortably wearable and contribute to the wearer’s distinct individuality. With my holloware, I aspire to invite the viewer to experience the vessel from a tactile as well as visual perspective. I remain dedicated to creating aesthetically unique, enduring designs of the highest quality craftsmanship."

Website 

 

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, November 12th, 2015 at 3:00pm PST is Helen Driggs, the Senior Editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, as well as a metalsmith, artist, and instructor. 

If you have a question for Helen during the LIVE conversation, please join us in the chatroom on Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. 

About Helen:

"I am formally educated as an illustrator, however my need to explore science, the natural world, and 3D object creation has inspired me to enter the alchemical world of the metalsmith. I fabricate my metalwork from raw materials and do the lapidary work and cutting for most of my own stones.

I have studied independently with some of the most talented metalsmith/jewelers of our time: Michael Boyd, Michael Good, Jim Dailing, Harold O’Connor, Bob Ebendorf, Todd Reed, Alan Revere, Julie Jerman-Melka, Mary Ann Scherr, Betty Helen Longhi, Cynthia Eid, Michael David Sturlin and Marcia Lewis. I owe them the debt of honor and gratitude for their teachings."

Website

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, November 5th, 2015 at 3:00 pm PST is Marc Choyt, president of Reflective Images Jewelry and the first licensed Fairtrade jeweler in America! 

If you have a question for our guest, please log onto the chatroom at Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

For the past ten years Marc has taken action against dirty gold and the blood diamond atrocity. He began writing, speaking and campaigning about ethical sourcing jewelry issues. This lead to the co-founding of Fair Jewelry Action in 2009. Reflective Images also began to introduce the option of Fairtrade gold into their work in 2011.


In April 2015, after ten years as ethical sourcing pioneers, Reflective Images Jewelry became the first licensed Fairtrade Jeweler in the USA. Marc worked hard with Fair Trade International to bring this about, and he continues to guide Fair Trades' launch in the US market as their main commercial liaison: providing critical contacts to main suppliers and laying the groundwork for more jewelers to enter the system. Since 1995, under Helen's creative direction, Reflective Images continues to craft jewelry that brings benefit and beauty to the world.

Website

This Thursday, October 29th at 3 p.m. PDT on MetalSmith BenchTalk, we'll be going back into the archives for one of our favorite past episodes- a chat with artist and jeweler Sydney Lynch. 


About: Since 1981, jewelry artist Sydney Lynch has been designing and making her handmade jewelry featuring contemporary earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and pins in 18k and 22k gold and sterling silver. From her studio in Lincoln, Nebraska, Sydney creates both her Designer Line and singular One Of A Kind pieces that include a variety of gemstones such as opal, aquamarine, tourmaline,diamonds, pearls, beryl, peridot and sapphire set in high karat gold and silver.


I fell in love with jewelry when I was young, rummaging through my grandmother’s bureau drawers, enchanted by her treasure trove of costume jewelry that she kept in a jumble of tiny boxes, each with its own story. Since childhood I have accumulated and “curated” my collections of objects, found and acquired, assembling them in patterns and groupings that often inspire my jewelry designs. I think of these pebbles, shells, rusted metal fragments and art objects as an archive of personal memories.


While working on the Navajo Reservation during college, I fell in love with the wide open western landscape and met my first silversmiths who inspired me to learn to make my own jewelry. I moved from Connecticut to Colorado, where I got my BFA at the University of Colorado, and decided if nothing else, a traditional career wasn’t for me. I eventually relocated to a farm in Nebraska, then to Lincoln, where I now live. I have an airy, sun-filled studio where I work with two bench assistants and my husband.


 


For more info, visit http://sydneylynch.com/.

This Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 at 3 p.m. PST on MetalSmith BenchTalk, we'll be going back into the archives for one of our favorite past episodes- a chat from 2012 with artist and jeweler Tom Herman of Seven Fingers Jewelers.

 

About: Since he was a boy, Tom Herman has been an artist. In 1982, he channeled his artistic talents into his new business, Seven Fingers Jewelers, named for his own handprint after having lost three fingers as a child in a Minnesota farming accident. Over the last 30 years, Tom has become a master jewelry maker, renowned for his talents at working with precious stones, metal carving, and unique designs.

 

Tom’s timeless pieces are inspired by organic forms and geometric balance. In designs that centerpiece precious stones, Tom begins by searching through piles of opals, agates, or other precious materials to find unique stones that, in his words, “are able to take on a greater meaning”. With this vision, Tom cuts each stone and frames it in a way to bring out its natural beauty.

 

Not all Tom’s pieces focus on precious stones; his precious metal carving is spectacular enough to stand alone. Some of his most popular carvings, including laurel, oak, and ginkgo leaves, have been rendered in earrings, rings, cufflinks, brooches, and bracelets. Throughout his work, Tom has cultivated his talents and created pieces of art that will be worn and admired for many generations to come.

 

For more information about Tom and his work, visit http://www.sevenfingers.com.

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, October15th, 2015 at 3:00 pm PST is sculptor Hoss Haley.

Join us for this LIVE interview- if you have a question for Nancy during the conversation, log onto the chatroom at Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Sculptor Hoss Haley creates two and three dimensional works in steel, concrete, and bronze. He favors industrial materials and fabrication methods, often building or adapting the machines and tools he uses to produce his work. Hoss has completed public art projects for the Pack Square Conservancy (Asheville, NC), Charlotte Area Transit System and Mecklenburg County (NC) as well as several privately commissioned large-scale steel sculptures. Hoss’s work has been shown at several museums and galleries nationwide, and he has been a resident artist at Penland School of Crafts (NC) and at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (WI). Hoss learned machining and steel fabrication at an early age and then apprenticed as a blacksmith for several years in Texas and New Mexico. Decades later his work is heavily influenced both conceptually and aesthetically by the western landscape of his youth.

Website

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, October 8th, 2015 at 3:00 pm PST is  Nancy Stacy, independent jewelry appraiser. 

Join us for this LIVE interview- if you have a question for Nancy during the conversation, log onto the chatroom at Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

About Nancy:

Nancy Stacy is an independent jewelry appraiser specializing in appraisal of modern and antique fine jewelry, diamonds, gemstones and watches. She serves the San Francisco Bay Area from her office in Walnut Creek, California.  A professional in the jewelry industry since 1980, Nancy owned a fine jewelry store for ten years before opening her jewelry appraisal practice in 1990.  Ms. Stacy earned her Graduate Gemologist (GG) diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1984.  She earned her Master Gemologist Appraiser® credential from the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) in 1987. She now operates Contra Costa Gem Lab, which is a state-of-the-art Certified Laboratory of the Accredited Gemologists Association. Nancy Stacy is highly respected in the appraisal profession, having attained top-level credentials in three professional appraisal organizations.

Website

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, October 1st, 2015 at 3:00 pm PST is  Bill Fretz: jeweler, craftsman, teacher and designer of remarkable tools. 

Join us for this LIVE interview- if you have a question for Bill during the conversation, log onto the chatroom at Blogtalkradio.com or send a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

About Bill 

Bill's interest in making jewelry began with his interest in jewelry-making tools (no surprise) and grew after talking to renowned metalsmiths like Paul Evans. Developing his own line of tools was his answer to the design challenges he would encounter, challenges that traditional tools couldn't fix. 

It's his love of tools and working with metal, seeing what overlapping hammer blows can do, that inspires Bill to design award-winning jewelry and custom tools. Fretz forming stakes represent perfected precision and unrivaled quality. His innovative, gorgeous tools are not only the prized possessions of scores of jewelry-makers, they have also been exhibited at trade shows and in galleries. 

Today, Bill continues to design custom tools and teach students how to use them, all while running his business with his wife Marian in Bucksport, Maine. His best teaching moment to date? As a teaching assistant to jeweler John Paul Miller at Cleveland Institute of Art (his first job). And in every class he teaches, Bill's love of metal-forming is renewed as his students "constantly remind me that designing with metal is an exploration." 

http://www.fretzdesign.com

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk on Thursday, September 24th, 2015 at 3:00 pm PST is mixed metals jewelry artist and metalsmith Pam Caidin. 

Join us for this LIVE interview and participate by logging onto the chatroom at Blogtalkradio.com or by sending a message to Whaley Studios via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

Artist Statement: 

My work is always evolving. What does stay constant are two things. One is my desire for simplified, elemental, almost primordial form; leaves, pebbles, diatoms, planets. The second is my fascination with pattern. Found in nature or man-made, I mostly find them to be one and the same. "Etching" is my current body of work:

All matter and energy in the universe are governed by the same natural forces. Patterns are a visible manifestation of these forces. Trees, ice crystals, capillaries, all share the same dendritic growth pattern. The optic nerve takes the same radial form as the rays of the sun, or the dandelion. Animate or inanimate, growth or decay, everything follows the same organizing principles.

My work is an interpretation of these patterns in metal. I make drawings based on found images, then photoetch those drawings into copper and nickel silver, letting the acid eat all the way through the metal, until what remains is a lacy replica of the original drawing. This pattern is overlayed onto fine silver by soldering the two metals together, then rolled in a rolling mill to imbed the etching into the silver. This overlayed piece is then used as an element in a hand fabricated hollow form.

http://www.pamcaidin.com