With this hands-on workshop, you will learn to make sterling silver jewelry using the ancient lost-wax process. This is an excellent introduction to wax carving and sling casting techniques, plus the finish work needed to laminate, stretch, cut, file, solder, polish and buff your piece.
Comprehensive 3-Day Silver Jewelry Making Experience: $325
Class size is limited to 4 people.
You do not need to be experienced.
Beginners welcome.
We work closely with each participant to suit each person’s individual learning styles and needs in a safe learning environment. People say: “I could work at my own pace.” ”Brigitte and Ivan were incredibly patient teachers.” ”The workshop was relaxed and fun.”
Workshops are scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday throughout the year. We offer workshops each month. Please contact Norma Hawthorne with your date preferences and we will schedule a workshop for you to suit your travel plans.
Whether you are a visitor to Oaxaca and want to add this experience to your travel itinerary or you are a resident, we welcome your participation. Brigitte and Ivan speak French, English, and Spanish and they are happy to translate as they teach.
Marty Knight from North Carolina says … I recently spent a few fabulous weeks in and around Oaxaca. A highlight of the trip was the lost wax silver “experience” with Brigitte and Ivan. With their clear and masterful instructions and their hands-on teaching techniques I never felt overwhelmed. One of the many benefits of taking classes with them was learning about the highly developed pre-Columbian Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Their positive and always helpful attitude made me want to go further. And, in fact, I did. I extended the original class to make a beautiful, original design ring that has received many compliments and even offers to buy it off my finger! I have taken jewelry courses as a hobby for several years but this was the most enlightening instruction to date. I’m looking forward to more instruction from Brigitte and Ivan and Ricardo, a local silver expert, in the future. Do yourself and favor and spend some time learning from Brigette and Ivan.
Your master craftsmen are Brigitte Huet and Ivan Campant who started Kand-Art jewelry creations in 1993. Their extraordinary designs are imagined from the pre-Hispanic world. In fact, the lost-wax technique has been used in Mexico since the 10th Century. Many of the gold, bronze and silver pieces excavated from archeological sites were made using this technique.
Sue Baldassano from New York says … I spent two lovely days learning to make jewelry with Brigitte and Ivan in Oaxaca, Mexico. It felt great to be in a working studio with artists. They were both passionate about their work and seemed to enjoy sharing their knowledge. They were patient, kind and open to my personal artistic style. The surroundings were comfortable and I never felt rushed in any way. I came home with not only a beautiful necklace but an appreciation for the art of jewelry making.
About the Lost-Wax Process. In many cultures in South America, as well as Africa and India, gold and silversmiths used the technique of lost-wax casting to create complex and delicate shapes. The item to be cast is first modeled in wax and a clay mold is built around it with a small hole piercing the mold. The mold is baked until the wax melts and runs out of the mold through the hole. The molten material is then poured through the same hole into the empty cavity. After it cools and hardens the mold is broken open and the casting is removed and cleaned.
Lost Wax Workshop Photos: The Process and the Product
Lost Wax Process: Carving and Sling Casting. You will learn the lost wax jewelry-making process from start to finish with 13 hours of hands-on instruction. When you return home, you will be able to produce your own work without having to invest in expensive tools and materials. We will show you how to carve the wax and cast a complete pendant or ring.
During the first two days, you will learn how to:
- Choose and reproduce a design based on ancient Mixtec, Aztec, Mayan and Zapotec symbols
- Carve, build-up and sculpt a 3-dimensional Kand-art design in wax for a pendant or a ring
- Prepare the casting flask with plaster for your piece
- Attend to the oven with the flask in the charcoal
- Participate with supervised instruction to cast the silver in the mold
- Learn how to use the sling to cast your own work in the future
- Hand-finish, buff and polish your piece so it is ready-to-wear
All materials, tools, instruction and your sterling silver piece are included in the course fee.
Carol Egan from New Jersey says … I absolutely loved the three-day workshop for making Mexican sterling silver! I learned how to carve in wax and cast a sterling silver pendant/ring. I also made earings and a carved ring. I found the casting in the ancient sling facinating! Absolutely everything is done from scratch as it has been done through the history of silver jewelry making. I worked with three master jewelers. You will love the work of Brigitte, Ivan and Ricardo! I learned to saw metal and solder using the torch, and then polish my piece. If you really want to learn how to make silver jewelry this is the class. The teachers are very kind and professional. They are also patient guiding you through each step. If you wish to make some of your own designs this must be organized a head of time. They have this down to a science. If you are serious about making silver jewelry this is the class for you!
Workshop Schedule:
- Day One: 9 a.m. to late afternoon, with a lunch break (bring your own lunch). We may end at 5 or 6 p.m., depending on group size.
- Day Two: 10 a.m. to late afternoon, with a lunch break (bring your own lunch). We may end at 5 or 6 p.m., depending on group size.
- Day Three: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with one hour lunch break (bring your own lunch).
Day 3, Introduction to Classical Jewelry Making Workshop. You will learn to use classical jewelers’ tools: the laminator, pliers, saws, electric motor, solder torch, and do finish work using different grades of sandpaper to clean, polish and buff. In this session you will learn how to melt the quantity of metal you will need, laminate it, stretch it, cut it, and solder the different elements of a design together. Using the techniques you learn, you will build up a small silver pendant or a pair of earrings ready to wear, choosing a design among the ones we offer you.
All materials, tools, instruction and your sterling silver piece are included in the course fee.
Photos of Classical Jewelry Making Process and Product
Who Should Attend: You do not have to be an experienced jeweler or artist to participate! Beginners are welcome.
- Artists
- Hobbyists
- Jewelry designers
- Aspiring jewelers
- Anyone who wants to have fun and make something special
About Your Workshop Leaders—Brigitte Huet and Ivan Campant, Kand-Art Jewelry Workshop
Kand-Art creations are inspired by pre-Hispanic symbols and carved in high relief. The jewelry has been exhibited and sold in galleries throughout the United States and in Oaxaca, and many have collected their work over time whenever they return to Oaxaca, or when Brigitte and Ivan travel to the U.S. for private shows. Kand-Art Jewelry designs are in private collections throughout the world.
Brigitte Huet. Brigitte Huet attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts and majored in art history at university in France. She was the first young woman apprentice accepted into the studio of a Lorraine, France, master jeweler where she learned to work in silver before emigrating to Oaxaca in 1993. Brigitte is an experienced classroom teacher as well as a talented jewelry designer. Her designs are fluid, interpretive and elegant.
Ivan Campant. Fascinated by the Mayan culture, Ivan is an accomplished self-taught artist and musician. His jewelry designs are detailed, intricate, textural and complex and incorporate many of the Mayan symbols that intrigue him. He began carving wax designs for the jewelry soon after he and Brigitte arrived in Oaxaca from France. An older Zapotec jeweler – a master craftsman – taught Ivan how to use the traditional sling for casting the silver in the ancient technique.
Workshop Location. The workshop will be held in the Oaxaca, Mexico home studio of Brigitte and Ivan, in a neighborhood about 10-15 minutes from the historic center of Oaxaca. Transportation at your own expense. You can take a taxi (40-50 pesos [$4-5 USD] one-way) or a local bus. We’ll give you more details and directions after you register. Brigitte and Ivan will call a taxi to return you to the historic center at the end of the workshop day.
Meals. All meals are on your own and at your own expense. Most of our participants bring their own lunch. There is a lovely local market, Mercado de Santa Rosa, two blocks from the studio, where you can shop and bring your food back to the studio.
Lodging. All lodging is on your own/at your own expense. This gives you the flexibility to choose the level of accommodation that best suits your travel preferences. You make and pay for your own hotel reservations. We can offer suggestions and contact information for places to stay. There is room for two people to stay overnight with Brigitte and Ivan for a nominal cost per night. Preference will be given to those attending the 3-day option. If you are interested, let me know and I will give you the email address to make arrangements when you register for the workshop.
Reservations and Cancellations. Full payment is required to guarantee your spot. We prefer Payment with PayPal. I will send you an invoice.
If cancellation is necessary, please notify us in writing by email 45 days before the start of the workshop and we will refund 50% of your course fee. After that, no refunds are possible.
We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.
To register or for questions, contact us by email or Skype: oaxacaculture
This workshop is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC.
Cultural and Social Tourism Focus for Guanajuato Delegation to Oaxaca
Tourism and economic development officials from Guanajuato, Mexico, came to Oaxaca to meet and talk with artisans, artists, microfinanciers, arts educators, and entrepreneurs. I helped them arrange their itinerary and hosted them during their stay. The group plans to develop social/cultural tourism educational projects for their state with hopes to reduce the talent drain due to out-migration and keep people employed locally in sustainable work that can ensure cultural continuity. What we do at Oaxaca Cultural Navigator is one model for possible program development.
Because Guanajuato is a silver mining area, I took the group to meet with silversmiths Brigitte Huet and Ivan Campant who work in the lost wax casting technique — a process used by the ancient Mixtecs and Mayans. We spent the day in the studio learning about the intricacies and complexities of this jewelry making technique.
Brigitte and Ivan translate their bold designs into carved into wax. They then make molds, melt the 925 sterling silver, pour the molten silver into the molds, and disperse the metal into the cast design using the ancient sling method. Believe me, this is not easy. You need to know chemistry and have a steady hand!
The results are stunning earrings, necklaces, pendants, rings and bracelets using designs adapted from Mexican codices and temple carvings. We gained a greater appreciation for this type of work, since it is detailed, technical, and requires many steps and a lot of patience.
The multi-step process includes putting your design onto the wax, carving the wax, making a master, making a mold, injecting it with wax, using the wax design to fit into the plaster encased in the container, pouring the molten silver into the plaster, using the sling to disperse the silver, cooling the piece, removing it, cleaning it, oxidizing it, polishing it, and then using classical jewelry making techniques (like using the laminator) to make a finished piece of jewelry.
Brigitte and Ivan teach 3-day jewelry making workshops here in Oaxaca. You can contact Norma Hawthorne to schedule your own personal workshop — two person minimum!
→ 2 Comments
Posted in Cultural Commentary, Jewelry, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Photography, Travel & Tourism
Tagged blogsherpa, class, course, jewelry, Mexico, Oaxaca, silver