From 2500 B.C. until the Twelfth Century A.D, jewelry was a paramount art form of the world, on an artistic level with painting, sculpture and architecture.

The surviving examples of this continuous, long, yet incredibly diverse tradition, are the valued exhibits of any museum fortunate enough to own them, not because they represent timeless beauty but because they additionally represent the highest achievement of the artist-jeweler.

The chief unifying skill of this thirty-seven hundred year tradition is the technology of "granulation", more correctly termed "copper induction braising".

The Jewelry Arts Institute stresses this technique both in silver and gold as an important and necessary skill to be utilized by the artist-jeweler of today, or at the very least to become part of his background and knowledge to be drawn on as needed.

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Techniques

All classical techniques taught at the Jewelry Arts Institute are taught in every class.

These techniques are Byzantine enameling, classical chain making, classical settings, granulation in silver and gold, lapidary and other related techniques.

Each technique is taught as part of a project that has been developed to illustrate that technique.

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Enrollment

Since all projects are taught by one-on-one demonstration, students of all levels can be enrolled in all classes. This is true for both the semester classes and the intensive workshops.

We have a teacher for every five or six students so the student gets a lot of attention. If a student were to complete all of the many projects we have developed, he/she would end up with a complete background of classical jewelry techniques.

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Schedule

Classes are held throughout the year. Each quarter consists of nine classes, which meet once a week for three hours. Classes are held Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 11 am to 2 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm and Fridays from 11 am to 2 pm; there is also a Wednesday evening class from 7 to 10 p.m. The studio is open for bench time on Mondays, Fridays & Saturdays.

2008 – 2009 Schedule

FALL   nine weeks
September 23 – November 21

WINTER   eight weeks
December 12 – February 13

SPRING   nine weeks
February 17 – April 24

SUMMER   eight weeks
April 28 – June 19

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Workshops

Our intensive workshops are very popular, people come from all over the world.

The Intensives are one week workshops in July, instruction Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, and bench time each night until 9 PM. The 4 weeks are:

2009 INTENSIVES

July 6 - 10
July 13 - 17
July 20 - 24
July 27 - 31

Tuition includes 30 hours of instruction and 20 hours of optional bench time.