The Creative Metal Arts MakerSpace is a shared workshop in Watershed PDX, an industrial arts sanctuary in SE Portland with easy access by car and public transit. We offer professional instruction for both new metalsmiths and experienced jewelers seeking to refresh or advance their skills in a collaborative environment.
In addition to classes, we offer two benefits for members only: weekly open studio times staffed with an experienced CMAG host, and monthly special interest sessions where like-minded people meet to share and learn about specific topics, gain confidence in new skills, and troubleshoot thorny challenges in a community setting.
Take a Class
Wax Carving Essentials
With Mary Wong
Saturday, May 30
10AM–4 PM
You will learn the basic principles of carving a hard wax model by making a simple ring or pendant. This course will cover, layout of design, placing a grid on the wax, ensuring a centered project, learning appropriate thickness of wax for best results, how to include a stone if desired, which tools to use for best results and efficiency, and design considerations for comfort, wear-ability and durability.
Bezel Setting Basics
With Lilly Parker
Saturday, June 6
10AM–4 PM
Build on your foundational skills in this hands-on stone setting workshop. You’ll learn each step of creating a bezel setting for a cabochon stone, using soldering and fabrication techniques. Students can turn their finished stone into either a ring or pendant, resulting in a beautifully handcrafted, one of a kind piece. Option to work in silver for an additional fee.
Creative Stone Setting Series
With Debra Carus and Mary Wong
Wendesdays starting June 10
Expand your options in using stones and gems in your work with this multi-part series of workshops.
Learn a variety of setting techniques, including bezel/prong combinations, tube setting, flush setting, prong setting and channel setting. A special session on designing with stones is included. Each session will cover the tools and techniques, tips for success, discussion of how to maximize the use of stones while keeping metals cost-effective, and guidance on gem and stone selections. Through demonstrations and hands-on practice with provided stones and metals, gain confidence and skill with each technique. Expect to leave with samples of completed settings and a sketch book of ideas for creative use of stones.
CMAG members can take the whole series for a 10% discount, or sign up for individual sessions at $75.00 each.
Use the button below to register for the whole series. To register for individual classes, use buttons on the listings below.
Beyond the Basic Bezel
With Debra Carus
Wednesday, June 10
12–4 PM
Tired of the same classic bezel wires holding your cabochons in jewelry settings? Looking for a variety of design options that enhance your work? This workshop will share several more creative options that will take your jewelry beyond the ordinary. Explore prong/partial bezels, all prongs/no bezels, hammer settings, back settings and more, including mixing metals for contrast. Suitable for standard cabochon cuts and flat backed enamel, handmade glass or ceramic objects too. Bring a few cabochons and a sketchpad, and we will design and construct a unique setting tailored to your stone. Some silver, brass and copper wire and sheet metal will be available to use in class.
Essential Prong Settings
With Mary Wong
Wednesday, June 17
5–9 PM
Prong setting can enhance your creation by adding light and visibility to the gem and visual balance to a design. This class teaches the principles of prong setting and when it is the right choice for your work. You will learn (hands -on) setting principles that apply to most types of setting: seating the stone, appropriate material thickness for security, allowing for irregularities in the stone, the proper angles for the seats and bearings, relieving material in the right places, moving the metal with the right tools, alternatives tools to use, solving setting problems, how to avoid damaging stones, finishing prongs for wearability and attractiveness, and more.
Stone Inlay Pendant
With Debra Carus
Friday, June 19
10 AM–5 PM
Use your stone and gem fragments to create a stunning, colorful inlay pendant. By crushing your stone bits into various sized pieces, you can create a field of color or mosaic effects in your jewelry. Starting with a design that includes recessed areas, similar to champleve enameling, we then add the stone pieces in the recesses, and finally polish the stone and metal surface to a shiny finish. Bring broken bits of rock, shells and gems and make use of them.
Tube Settings
With Debra Carus
Wednesday, June 24
12–4 PM
Master setting faceted round stones in silver tube bezels in this fast paced workshop. Demonstrations and practice with both commercial tube bezels and heavy walled standard tubing, gain confidence in soldering small tube bezels onto sheet metal, learn the essential skills for assessing stones suitable for this setting, accurate measuring and which setting tools that will ensure success every time with this technique. Samples will be made in class with cubic zirconia stones and metals. Take home a small kit of setting burs with some practice stones.
Intro to Sand Casting
With Stacey Hareid
Saturday, June 27
10 AM–4 PM
Students will learn the basics of sand casting by sand casting a ring from start to finish. Ring blanks in various designs from sizes 5-10 will be provided. Students will learn how to make clean impressions, achieve successful pours & how to clean/finish the castings.
Flush Setting
With Debra Carus
Wednesday, July 8
12–4 PM
Setting stones directly into metal can cause frustration for every jeweler learning this technique. In this workshop, learn the essentials for ensuring success, every time. Starting with provided metal blanks, and durable cubic zirconia stones, take the frustration out of this process with a kit of setting tools, including a homemade burnisher, round and setting burs, small drill bits and re-usable Thermoloc, a holding material that keeps your work from flying across the room.Make this process fun, not frustrating!
Single Stone Channel Setting
With Debra Carus
Wednesday, July 15
12–4 PM
Setting stones directly into metal can cause frustration for every jeweler learning this technique. In this workshop, learn the essentials for ensuring success, every time. Starting with provided metal blanks, and durable cubic zirconia stones, take the frustration out of this process with a kit of setting tools, including a homemade burnisher, round and setting burs, small drill bits and re-usable Thermoloc, a holding material that keeps your work from flying across the room.Make this process fun, not frustrating!
Sign Up For an Open Studio Session
Our centrally located studio in Portland is equipped with 10 jewelry benches with flex shafts. The studio includes a rolling mill, forming stakes, drill press, enameling kiln, torches, centrifugal caster, Beverly shear, buffer, magnetic pin tumbler, and polishing equipment.
Members can book open studio time on alternate Thursday evenings (6:00–9:00 PM) and Friday afternoons (1:00–4:00 PM). There is a $15 fee for each slot cover the cost of a studio monitor, and we ask that you sign up in advance below.
Special Interest Groups
Led by an expert instructor, these monthly sessions are focused on specific areas of interest such as enameling and casting.
Enameling
Debra Carus invites enameling enthusiasts to join her at CMAG's Makerspace once a month to share the magic of glass enameling on metals. During each session, Debra will share tips and tricks for enameling success and help troubleshoot tricky projects. In addition, you'll have access to the studio Paragon enameling kiln and acetylene/air or propane/oxygen torches, basic enameling supplies and tools, and enjoy sharing ideas with others working in this medium. Each session may also include brief presentations on enameling topics, determined by the group's interests.
Teach a Class
Would you like to teach a weekend or weekday class for CMAG? We welcome instructors with specialized skills they can share with our members. Please email cmag@cmaguild.org and we’ll send you a course proposal form.