This year Bethany is offering a Jewelry Class, taught by Eric Good Kauffman, the Art teacher at Bethany. It may sound like a gender based class, but it’s not. Eric offers a variety of different projects to suit different people, but first are some class assignments to get the students started.
The first project that is offered is Pewter Casting. The purpose of this project is to come up with an original idea. Once the idea is drawn out, students would then draw it on a block of plaster. Next they carve that drawing into the plaster so there is a space for the molten metal to flow. To melt the metal, a propane torch is used. Students need to make sure to melt the metal thoroughly by heating around the metal. Next they clamp two pieces of plaster together, one with the carved design on it and another piece that is unused. once that is completed,  Eric pours the molten metal in between the two blocks of plaster. The metal doesn’t take long to dry, but once it is then it needs to be pried out of the mold. The last step is when students sand off any harsh edges with sandpaper, and then the project is finished. This piece could be used as a pendant on a necklace or a charm if it is small enough.
The class then has the opportunity to make clay beads. The process is as easy as the project sounds. Students are given a lump of clay and are assigned to make ten clay beads. These beads can either be intricate in their designs or in their shape. Once the shape of the bead is sculpted, then it is fired. The students are given a choice in how they want to glaze the beads. They can mimic a color combination that has previously been made, or they can choose to make a color combination of their own. After the piece has been fired and glazed, Eric then grades them on creativity.
The last class project that the class worked on was enameling. This process is where colored glass is melted on to a piece of copper. how it works is the student covers the pre-made copper piece with an adhesive to make the enamel stick. Next they pick a color of powdered enamel that they would want on their piece, and they would sift the powder over the entire piece so there are no empty spots on the piece. Then they would need to tap off the excess powder then the piece would need to set in a kiln for a minute and a half. This process can be repeated for however many coats are desired on the piece.
As of now the students are free to explore other projects. They could repeat any of the projects mentioned above or they could run new ideas past Eric. He is also putting new ideas out there as well. Some of them include, Cold Connections and the Lost Wax method. The Cold Connections allows students to connect two pieces of metal together without fusing them. And the Lost Wax method is a way to to make a mold in plaster by sculpting with wax. These two options are not available to the jewelry class, but Eric wants the students to discover many different ways in which jewelry is made.
~Brianna Liras