Jewelry 101

Last night was David Farrer's Show at the Rockflower Studio on Madison Ave in Lakewood. It was an intimate gathering in a great cozy atmosphere. There was food and tons of art to capture the eye. Which is how Christine Beegan, owner of Rockflower Studio, likes to keep the space; entertaining and conversation-worthy. And there was plenty to talk about. The main subject of course was Dave.

Dave handcrafts fabulous jewelry from various recycled metals including; copper, silver, brass and even titanium. His designs offer a variety of styles to appease just about anyone. And as my husband puts it, who was overwhelmingly impressed with the whole body of Dave's work, Farrer has a very refined primitive style in which you can see where his craftsmanship has gone into the pieces. He has his own style; which if anyone was at the Lakewood Arts Festival that happened to be right before Dave's show last night and saw the consistent run of the same work from booth to booth, walking into Rockflower Studio was a welcome breath of fresh air for sure. When you consider that festivals pull in regurgitated jewelry "artists" year after year it's wonderful to know that there is an actual artisan out there with an anvil, a hammer and a torch who approaches a piece of metal with traditional methods in a craft that has been dominated by prefabricated glass beads and charms.

Dave also offers a metal smithing class, passing on his skills in which you not only learn his techniques but also gain a better understanding for the craft and just how difficult or easy it can be. I had the time to take the course myself as I had always wanted to learn metal smithing. Don't worry, I won't be switching gears from doll making to jewelry. But to better understand your fellow artisans sometimes you need to jump into their shoes. I have a better appreciation for artisans who craft their own jewelry from scratch. It's hard work. There are time tested traditional techniques that have been around for centuries and of course new things that have come around in recent years. One thing is always a constant: so many cool tools to play with! Anvils are the best, hands down. I never expected to walk in and have Dave tell us on day one we would hammer out a bracelet on an anvil. But sure enough he taught us how to make a copper bracelet on an anvil. Over the course of six weeks we made two pairs of earrings, a pendant, a silver ring and then our final class was left to whatever we wanted. I made a titanium ring. It needs a little sprucing still. But as I said, I am not a jewelry artisan. I didn't expect to come out of the class with perfect pieces, just knowledge of someone else's craft. And that is what I gained.

Dave has a faceboook page. He does custom orders and will be offering beginners classes again shortly. https://www.facebook.com/davidfarrersr?fref=ts 

Dave Farrer (pictured above) at the show at Rockflower Studio in Lakewood, Ohio. 

Below: Titanium ring