Have you ever found a rock or glass on the beach and wanted to learn how to make jewelry with it? Do you like the thought of using precious metals like sterling silver, but felt intimidated by the cost? Working with real silver doesn’t require a setup that costs hundreds of dollars as we introduce you to Silver Metal Clay! In this workshop, we will explore some of the basics of how to start working with Silver Metal Clay. You will learn how to create a back-plate and prongs and the piece to set a stone/glass using a medium called Silver Metal Clay. You will choose from an assortment of pieces to set into silver. We will create the piece and after being fired at DinsDesigns studio for 2 hours in a kiln at 1650°, this clay is 99% pure silver! We will finish your piece and deliver it back to TMA for pickup within a week.

All supplies included. TMA members receive 10% off all registrations. Parents encouraged for young students.

Jennifer Dins | Art Educator

I am from the Milwaukee, WI area and I moved to Madison, WI to earn my undergraduate degree in marketing. In 2000, I earned a master’s degree in management, training, and organizational development. But besides being a mother and wife, what I really am is a life-long artist who found myself in a non-creative career for over 25 years.

After a potentially terminal cancer diagnosis in 2006 permanently sidelined me from my 25-year management career, I decided to follow my creative heart and began to explore a new medium: metal clay. This medium is easy on my sore hands and joints and I feel a sense of accomplishment every time I complete a piece. The uniqueness of this material allows me to add fingerprints, paw prints and even handwriting directly into the silver. Most of my sales are to people who have lost someone and want to capture a piece of him or her within the silver of an heirloom piece. I now believe it’s my calling to help these people through a particularly difficult time.

I love working with silver…it’s my Zen place.