Leather & Bi-Metal Bracelet
(Wait list Only)
JUNE 2-8, 2024 WILLIAM HOLLAND
WAYNE PARKER - LEATHER & Bi-METAL BRACELET (Wait List Only)
In this course, we will use multiple disciplines & skills – i.e. Riveting, Hand Stamping, Annealing, Fold Forming – plus a large serving of imagination to create a new concept cuff bracelet. We will marry lizard, frog & fish leathers with copper & silver, adorn it with old silver coins that have been though a rolling mill and create patterns in the metals with handmade Navajo stamps. Prepare to be wowed! A torch will be used for annealing but we will not be soldering nor setting stones this time. This is a cold connection process so, as you would imagine, it involves a lot of hammer strokes.
I will have a supply of all the materials you will need but if you have hand tools that you like to use - such as hammers (riveting, rawhide, small ball peen or hand sledge), bench block, files or a bracelet mandrel – bring ‘em along. Definitely bring your OptiVisor or something similar for eye protection and magnification. We’ll make one class project to learn the technique and then kits will be available at different price levels for additional bracelets.
Maximum class size is 5 students.
Lab Fee: $125
Estimated Materials Cost: $0 - $200
Prerequisites: If you’ve every bent a piece of metal or hit anything with a hammer then you’re qualified
Bio:
Wayne Parker - Leather & Bi-Metal Bracelet
After a long career in banking, retirement allowed time for Wayne to discover a love for rock hounding, lapidary and jewelry making. Through membership in the Augusta Gem & Mineral Society (GA), Wayne has attended several SFMS workshops at both Wildacres and William Holland learning silver fabrication, casting and cold connections. His first class was Silver I with Nancy English at Wildacres. He is self taught in cabochons & wire wrapping and is working on faceting. “I like to learn the basics and then jump outside the box! The thrill of this craft, for me, is being able to figure out ways to actually make those off-the-wall ideas that conjure up in my head.” Making jewelry became a passion and hundreds of his pieces have been sold through galleries, art festivals and rock shows
For the past 12 years, Wayne has been the owner of Primitive Art, a popular vendor booth that, for over 35 years, has been selling polished stones, crystals, lapidary rough, slabs, equipment, fossils and collectables at rock shows around the Southeast. Wayne also serves as the Show Chairman and Treasurer for the Aiken-Augusta Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show and is his club’s treasurer. He and his wife, Terri, live in Evans, GA.