Conchas are an iconic jewelry form that is associated with both Spanish and Native American cultures. They are versatile, and can be employed in belts, rings, earrings, bracelets, guitar straps, hat bands and much more. Conchas can be made from silver, copper or bronze. Stone settings are also a popular design addition.
Students will enjoy this easy and informative, skill-building class and be able to create unique and exciting concha designs with rich surface design qualities, using stamp and repoussé tools.
The tools used for conchas range from very simple to very specialized. Students will be able to use Navajo made stamp and repoussé tools hand made by Native American artisans, some who are 6th generation jewelers and tool makers.
Discussions will include stamp tool quality & sources, the difference between commercial and handmade tools, use of layout tools to create balanced designs, and metal forming. Process planning will be an important aspect of this class. The stamp making process will be demonstrated but not a class project.
Requirements:
Attendees must be comfortable with basic soldering, annealing and sawing processes. A jeweler saw with 2/0 and 3/0 saw blades, a bench block, a set of good quality files and a supply of heavy gauge metals is recommended for good stamp impressions (20 ga for 1" & smaller sizes, 18-16+ ga for larger conchas). Small amounts of metal will be available for purchase. Students who own stamps are welcome to bring their tools, but it is not required.
Class meets 9:00 am to noon, Monday mornings for 6 weeks. OGMS instructor Jean pSmith leads this class.
$15 for gas & consumables fee is collected for acetylene, classroom tool use and other classroom consumables. This fee can be paid for during registration by choosing the Classroom Consumables ticket. You may also pay it on the first day of class. Please bring exact change. No checks please. Because the stamp and specialty tools used for this class are the instructor's personal property, any damage incurred to stamp tools will be the student's responsibility.
In order to complete registration you MUST be returned to the eventzlla confirmation page.
If you don't receive a confirmation email, you are NOT registered for the class.
Please note that registration through this site works best if you have a verified Paypal account. Using a wired, private internet connection with fast service is recommended. Accessing registration through public Wi-fi, IOS devices, or slow/dial-up connection may have varying degrees of success. We are not the tech support for this service, and can't guarantee registration success.
Classes are conducted by volunteer members of the Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, under the the auspices of the City of Oxnard, Dept. of Recreation.
