I am so excited. I have been researching and developing these laser cut acrylic Matrix Dies since 2004 and I now have them available for everyone. As I have yet to get these on my website with the Paypal buttons and all ... I am making a special introductory offer. Until I can get these on the website proper you can order the Five shapes, Square, Triangle, Diamond, Rectangle, and Oval in sets of three sizes; 1-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1/2-inch for $15.00 a set. To take advantage of this special price you will have to email me to order the sets you want. 

 The 1/2 inch acrylic Matrix Dies hold up really well. I have taught with them for the last 5 years to make sure they will hold up under regular use. In fact the first set of acrylic Matrix Dies, which I cut myself on the University of Washington's laser cutter in 2003 are still the ones I use to teach. I used the laser cut prototypes for these Matrix Die sets to make the bracelets and locket shown here. Just imagine the kind of artistic jewelry you can make with these laser cut Matrix Dies.

   I have used my laser cut matrix dies with the 12-ton Bonny Doon Lite Manual Press, a 12-ton home made hydraulic press, a Harbor Freight floor model hydraulic press (scary), and the Mark III Bonny Doon 20-ton Deep Draw Press with the 4-inch riser block in place. The clear acrylic allows you to see your roll-printed metal through the die and capture just the part of your pattern you want to have on your piece of jewelry. 

To use: peal off the protective paper film, use the die to select the area of your patterned metal, leave 1/4-inch of metal around all edges of the open area of the die, tape the metal in place over the open area of the die. Place the 1/2 inch thick acrylic Matrix Die down on the base platen with nothing underneath it. Stack the urethane on top of the metal, which is on top of the die. Pump the hydraulic press to achieve a 3-D formed shape. Anneal the metal and repeat the pressing to get a deeper draw. Thinner gauges of metal work best on the smaller shapes. 

I have even used the dies in ways that they were not designed to be used to see how the 1/2-inch thick acrylic would respond. It is important when using these acrylic Matrix Dies to place them on the solid base platen of the hydraulic press (or on a solid riser block) and not on a urethane pad or on top of the silver or copper, as you will not get the shape you want and this improper stacking may cause the dies to crack. 

I am going to be putting all five sets in the Silent Auction at the up coming SNAG conference May 20th-23rd in Philadelphia. There will also be a tote bag stuffer promoting my DVDs that mentions the Matrix Dies, if you use the code I put on the tote bag stuffer, I will give you an additional 10% off the cost of all 5 sets of Matrix Dies. 

I was talking with my good friend Julia Lowther about how publishing your work can be a double edged sword. You get paid very little from the hobby/craft magazine and then they will turn around and re-publish, re-sell what you created without even notifying you. Then the readers of the hobby/craft magazine will knock-off your work and not think twice about your copyrights.

Speaking of that very thing! It is hilarious that this hobby/craft magazine publisher continues to promote themselves and make money off of my work after trashing my name on this very same internet forum a few years back. The posting of my article by this hobby/craft magazine proves one thing: Quality of craftsmanship speaks for itself, as does the lack of original creative talent. For a little quality craftsmanship see Modern Lockets

I am so excited! After what seems like forever the book I authored "Masters: Gold," published by Lark Books is finally ready for pre-orders on Amazon. “Masters: Gold” 

I was approached to write the biographies for this book project in the fall of 2007 by Marthe LeVan. She asked me to submit a list of individual jewelry artisans whom I considered to be at the top of the art/metals field working in gold. We had several enjoyable conversations regarding the choices of goldsmiths for the book. In the end I was delighted and inspired by the illustrious line up of internationally renown artisans.

The “Masters: Gold” book is in the “Masters” series from Lark and follows on the heals of Alan Revere’s Masters: Gemstones. The jewelry and artisans featured in “Masters: Gold” differs from the previous book in that all the work show is made by the artisans themselves. The jewelry showcased in “Masters: Gold” comes directly from the hands of each artist/goldsmith. I am so blessed to have been chosen to research and write the biographies for 40 of the top jewelry artists alive today. 

Artist such as Namu Cho, Harold O’Connor, Barbara Heinrich, Michael Becker, Gerd Rothman, Claude Chavent, Michael Good, and my personal heros of Philip Sajet and Wendy Ramshaw. The Italian artists are strongly represented by Stefano Marchetti, Bruno Martinazzi, Giovanni Corvaja and many more from the Padua School. Japanese, British, German, and French jewelry artisans are represented along with their American colleagues. To my delight there are also the beloved friends and mentors like Mary Lee Hu and Abrasha. Many other wonderful art/jewelers are also featured and I do not want to slight them by not mentioning them, it is just all the artisans are incredibly talented.   

The “Masters: Gold” book is important from an Art Historical aspect since no current works by these masters are being included in traditional Art History texts. I am so proud that with this book, I can fulfill a promise I made to Mary Lee Hu during my masters degree program. That promise was to use my degree to promote and advance the study and documentation of the Studio Jewelry/Art Jewelry movement. 

The experience of working with Marthe and Lark Books editor Ray Hemachandra has been wonderful. It was fun to talk with Ray as he is a former Bellingham, Washington resident, having started his career as an editor for the local newspaper here. We were able to speak with understanding of the wild beauty of cross-country skiing along the Nooksack river and the friendly disposition of Bellingham’s residents. The professional and respectful exchanges I experienced with all the members of the Lark Books staff made the hard work related to the “Masters: Gold” book project an overall positive involvement.

I want to thank Marthe and Ray for the opportunity and support in creating such a beautiful and unexpected completion of my promise.

I have been attending the Pacific Northwest Metals Symposium every year for the last eight years. Each year the artist’s presentations seem to be stronger, while the program’s quality has become more consistently accessible and engaging. After David Freda and Harlan Butt spoke about their incredibly awe inspiring enamels in 2007, I thought the Symposium committee would be hard pressed to top themselves. But the 2008 Symposium which took place on Oct. 18th, 2008 at the Museum of History and Industry was one of the most exciting and wonderful collection of speakers I have ever had the good fortune to be in the audience for.  

The Symposium for me has always been about making connections, with past teachers, colleagues, former students, friends, and fellow members of this tribe know as metalsmiths. This year I was happy to bring a new friend, Kathleen Yorston, owner of Pouncing Rain - Jewelry Metals Center, to her first Symposium. The networking with friends before and between speakers is fun and rewarding on so many levels, that I always come away energized.

The speakers program started with Gary Griffin who’s work, to be honest, I was unfamiliar with. To my enlightenment the charming and dapper gentleman who spoke had been the head of the Metals program at Cranbrook Academe of Art in Michigan for the last two decades, retiring in 2006. His presentation focused on the work he produce as an artist in residence at the Kohler Co. Art and Industry program, and a series of gates he produced for private clients using CAD/CAM processes. It was fascinating to see.

Harriete Estel Berman gave an incredible presentation called “Crafting Identity,” which aptly illustrated how she has incorporated her identity as an artist into her work and into her signature on her work. During the break, Symposium attendees got the extra bonus of Harriete showing us two videos she produced that covered the making of her “Consuming Conversation - 200 Teacups” collection. 

Susie Ganch was next on the agenda. While I have never found the images of her work very compelling, the art-speak written about her work has compounded the problem by leaving me baffled. Hearing the artist herself speak about her work, suddenly made her work approachable and interesting in ways I had not anticipated. I thought to myself that this was truly the benefit the Symposium offers SMG members; to hear the artist’s own words about their work, their process, their ideas. 

Kristin Mitsu Shiga spoke next and related the making of objects to important events that occurred in her life. Kristin’s humor and humanity were artfully presented as the audience was invited along on her very personal journey through jewelry making and a life of Art. This remarkable young woman has not only established herself as an original voice in our field but has also brought her helpful organizational skills to the administration of SNAG and is now at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts as the Director of the Extension Program.

The final speaker was a personal favorite of mine, Fred Fenster. The Professor Emeritus from University of Wisconsin at Madison presented a rambling conversation on the making of hollowware in pewter. His presentation covered the work of fellow metalsmiths working in pewter over the last 20 years. The historical importance of his personal anecdotes on metalsmithing may never be documented in writing making his lecture at the Symposium a true lesson in the importance of oral history. His talk made me really want to stay and take his workshop to learn more about pewter.   

I thought it might be nice to show some of my new friends and students from the classes

I have been teaching at Pouncing Rain-Jewelry Metals Center.

As you can see we are having a lot of fun.  

The students here are so motivated to learn jewelry making techniques it makes each class a real joy to teach. 

 The staff at Pouncing Rain are really wonderful to work with too!

They are all makers who really understand the motivation to make jewelry.

I am so excited to be going to the Tucson Gem Show in February '09 with Kathleen Yorston, Pouncing Rain's owner.

Hang in there everyone, have a good holiday season, and I hope to see you all in the new year.

This whole thing with blogs just really stumps me. People send me links to blogs about bikes, architecture, home furnishings, and jewelry. Where do these busy people find the time? And it is not just the time to write all the entries but also the time to read all the entries of other bloggers. While I was an editor with a magazine, they paid me to make entries on Orchid daily, it was considered part of their marketing plan. So, when I look at the Orchid forum and see jewelers who I assume are working full-time to support their families, I've got to wonder, where do they find the time? 

Currently, I am going through the rushes (proofs before final printing) for my forthcoming book with Lark books, Masters: Gold, while I develop multiple jewelry making/technique teaching workshops, make jewelry samples to promote those workshops, enter multiple juried exhibitions, write for grants to complete some more artistic work, volunteer as the secretary on the Board of Directors for SNAG, and do research and development on new tools I want to bring to other jewelers. All this on top of being a single mom to a really great first year middle schooler, who just got an "A" on his math special number project!! And I start to wonder where do I find the time.

I am heading to Seattle this weekend for the Northwest Metals Symposium put on buy the Seattle Metals Guild and it should be really wonderful. I will take pictures and post a blog about it when I get home. I hope you read it but if your little one has a school project to get ready and you can't find the time, I will understand.

 On the evening of Friday, August 22, Charles Lewton-Brain gave a lecture at North Seattle Community College in conjunction with a fold-forming workshop he was teaching at the request of the Seattle Metals Guild (SMG). The lecture was on the jeweler's work bench. Charles has a new book out, The Jeweler's Bench Book, published by Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA). Based on several years worth of research and survey results from his work with the Ganoksin project. Charles was able to show the capacity audiance the styles and unique adaptations of many different jeweler's benches. The book is meant as a reference for those jeweler's who are setting up their first bench or for those who are re-thinking the argonomics of their current work station. Charles' lecture and book are packed with insightful information on how any metalsmith could become more productive just by utilizing their basic jewelry bench and adapting it to fit their needs. 

A few months ago, (after having finally sold my freshly remodeled condo in a downward spiraling housing market, so I could return home to the Pacific Northwest) I was having a bit of a blue day. When I checked my email one of my dear friends from the Seattle Metals Guild, Joan Tenenbaum, had sent me a wonderful email. She wanted to welcome me home and shared with me the story of her student. Joan's student had found some beach glass and was searching for a way to set it. Joan showed her student an article I had written making a brooch with bent-finger tabs. Joan also sent me the picture of her students finished pendant.

What is really interesting is that in my new DVD - Jewelry Workshops: Beginning Level, I show how to use a very similar technique to make a very sophisticated brooch using leaded stained glass to capture selected artwork. Check out my YouTube link on the Home page of my site to see the brooch, or just buy the DVD!

I don't think Joan knew I was feeling blue, but I did let her know how happy her email made me. Now that I have a blog - I can share this with everyone. 

Joan's student who made this beach glass pendant using the curled tab technique presented in my article is G G Caggiano.

Check out Joan's work at the Stonington Gallery.

I am very excited to be teaching again and especially happy to be teaching at such a wonderful metals studio like Pouncing Rain here in Bellingham.

The owner Kathlene interviewed me for their website and newsletter and allowed me to publish it here as my first blog post. - Nanz 

This month we are starting an interview section of our newsletter and website.  We hope you will email us with your questions for instructors or staff and we will try to include your questions in the next Q&A section.  Your questions can be emailed to us at: questions@pouncingrain.com 

This month we are starting with Nanz Aalund, our new instructor.  She is teaching five new classes and workshops so we wanted to get to know her better.  

PR:  Nanz, we are so excited to have you teaching at Pouncing Rain. You have taught so many different classes and workshops all around North America, do you have a favorite class to teach?

NA: I am really happy to be here at Pouncing Rain too! Any class or technique where the students are excited about being there is a great class to teach. I really love working with metals of all kinds, and don't get me started on how much I love gemstones. I am excited about the Date with Design (Define Design) classes on Fridays, it's going to be fun.

PR: So, you are getting your High School teachers certificate too! Does that mean you enjoy the challenge of teaching beginners? 

NA: I have always really enjoyed teaching beginning students. To a beginner the possibilities are limitless and creative ideas really flow because they haven't been taught what won't work. I got my start from my High School Art teacher, Ms Helen Howell, and my certification is more about me giving  back, closing the loop, so to speak. 

PR: Many of our students are beginners and have never done any metalworking. I know for me the torch was the most frightening thing in the shop.  Do you have any advice for those of us that are a bit nervous?  

NA: Safety is my number one concern. I will be covering safety procedures and will gladly work one-on-one with any student who is nervous. Practice is the best way to overcome that fear, but a healthy respect for a live torch is always a good thing. 

PR: Can anyone learn to make jewelry or do you need to be an artist? 

NA: Jewelry has been around since 70,000 BC, that is how important jewelry is to human beings and human culture. The great thing about jewelry making is the more you learn about the craft, the more you can truly express your own identity. Self-expression and expression of identity are valid art forms. So, yes everyone can make jewelry.

PR: I know we get asked often if there is certification or degree program to prepare a person to be a bench jeweler.  Where does someone start? 

NA: There is the JA (Jewelers of America) Bench Certification Program. I would be delighted to help anyone achieve the technical mastery those bench tests require. Right now the only place on the west coast to take those certification tests is down in San Francisco at the Revere Academe or I think at the GIA in Santa Monica. (But there is no reason Pouncing Rain couldn't get a JA program going.)

PR: You have been an editor for Art Jewelry Magazine and just published a new book and an instructional DVD.  With your publishing experience, have you ever thought about teaching a workshop in how to have jewelry work published?    Would you be interested in doing a workshop?  

NA: Sure. I would be happy to help others get published. There is nothing so exciting as seeing your work in print. It can be a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work that pays very little. 

Depending on the magazine, they may only pay a few hundred dollars for a project that has cost the jeweler much more to make and photograph. The magazine will often hold on to the jewelry item for up to 18 months until the project gets published. The magazine publisher will then re-use the project in a book or on the internet without paying the jeweler for it again. 

The book I just finished writing is about the top jewelry artists working in gold today. It is titled "Masters in Gold" and it will be published by Lark Books in May 2009. That's the other part of publishing, the long lead time, so it requires patience.

PR: Working with gold is so scary for some of us. How does a student/artist take it to the next level and go from working with silver to gold? 

NA: I love working in gold, it is so forgiving. Once anyone starts to work with it they will immediately know why the ancient civilizations chose it too. As an apprentice I was told to work in brass to get a feel for how hard that metal is to move, then I was given 14-karat and it felt like butter. I have found it is mostly the cost that freaks people out, but gold can be recycled at the bench so easily, once you know that the cost factor becomes less important.

PR:  In your Skill Advancement  Class, can a student work with gold or is it limited to silver?  

NA: I would be very happy to help students learn to work with gold. Students can recycle their old gold into ingots to use for projects. It's not that hard to do and really adds to a design visually.

PR: In your Cold Connections For Stone Setting Workshop, what kind of skills does a student need in order to take the class?  Will we be doing a project or learning skills?

NA: I have found that learning jewelry techniques is more fun if you have a cool jewelry item to learn on or work towards as a goal. There will be no pressure to make "art"- just some fun, practice pieces. By the last day of the class the students will be able and have time to make a ring or pendant using the techniques from class. Students should have at least one beginning class under their belt to take this class. 

PR: In your Define Design Class, what kinds of things will you be doing for 5 weeks? Will student be doing any actual jewelry making?  Do students need to bring anything?

NA: Students should bring a sketch book and their favorite drawing pen or pencil and a glue stick. Scissors will be used but no saws. We will be making things as part of the exercises for creative thinking but no soldering.

We will be exploring the ideas behind design, it's rules and practices. How do you develop an idea into a jewelry line, how do contrast and pattern impact a jewelry design, and where does a jewelry maker come up with new ideas, these are just a few of the questions we will be answering by applying different design processes and exercises. 

PR: What new workshops or classes are you planning for Pouncing Rain?

NA: Wow, that is a big question. I have lots of ideas, but I would really like to hear from the community here. Career Development, and Professional practices are challenges for many jewelry makers wanting to make a living from the craft and those topics would be something that could be presented in a workshop.

PERSONAL QUESTIONS:

PR: You grew up in Seattle and moved away for your career, how does it feel to be back in the Pacific Northwest?

NA: I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest! It is the people here that make living here so wonderful. Sure there is the beautiful nature surrounding us, but on those rainy days it's the warm smiles from my dear friends that make this my home.  

PR: You have a young son, does he do any metalworking or jewelry making?

NA: Nope not yet. He has tinkered at my bench, and watched me work, he loves the tools. Mostly, he has commissioned me to make things for him like super-hero power rings for which I would get payment of a hug and a kiss. 

PR: It seems like you have done it all; worked as a bench jeweler, been a magazine editor, written a book, released an instructional DVD, won numerous awards, taught University… what do you want to do now? How do you keep it fresh and exciting? 

NA: There is always something new to learn. Everyday I work in metal I find something new to do. Everything that I have done so far evolved naturally from my love of the craft. 

I feel blessed to have accomplished so many different aspects in my career, but I really owe it to the mentors who helped me. What is that saying - I am not so tall; for I stand on the shoulders of giants. 

How do I keep it fresh and exciting, if you really want to know you'll have to take my Define Design class!  

PR: Do you do custom jewelry work?

NA: Sure, during the 1990s I was the fine jewelry designer for Nordstrom based in Seattle. The majority of my work for Nordstrom was custom design and one-of-a-kind wedding rings. 

I would like to do a workshop for engaged couples, helping them to make their own wedding rings. I think it would be so much more meaningful than just buying something.