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Arts & Entertainment

Jewelry Making a 'Constant Muse' for Artists

Crystal Lake artists have joined forces to bring the art of jewelry-making to beginners and experienced jewelers alike.

Four artistic friends have come together to offer jewelry-making classes to beginners and experienced students alike at The Constant Muse, located at the Creative Artistry School of Fine Art in Crystal Lake. 

“We’re bringing in all of our expertise from classes we’ve taken,” said instructor Leanne Emery.  

Everything from beadwork to stone setting, metal enameling and metal working is offered at The Constant Muse, which held its first official open studio class Feb. 7.  

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There’s a class to suit every interest and fit just about every schedule–from one-project sessions to weekly classes up to four weeks for more complex projects. 

“A lot of bead shops have closed in the area and they were the ones offering a lot of the classes that we will start to offer now but with the bonus being that there's going to be metal smithing and enameling, which you couldn’t get in a lot of the bead shop classes,” Emery said. 

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In addition to learning from experts in the field, students will be able to purchase supplies needed for class projects directly from the instructors at a savings over local retail outlets. 

“If I had a lot of people who were new to beadwork it would be a lot more cost effective for me to provide a kit for them of what they’ll need,” said instructor  Diane Raymond.

Student and artist Stacy Shelley said she had been interested in the enameling process and jumped at the chance to study it at The Constant Muse. 

“She’s a great teacher,” Shelley said of instructor Pat Eagle. “She is very helpful and patient. She has a gift to teach.” 

Eagle had been offering metalworking and enameling workshops in her home for several years when she decided to contact Amber Larson, owner of Creative Artistry School, about running classes there. 

Larson said the agreement to hold the classes on the second floor of her school is a win-win situation. 

The Constant Muse pays Larson rent for the studio space and handles the payments to instructors and collecting tuition from students. 

“They just guarantee me a certain amount and that’s their space,” she said. 

Eagle invited fellow artists and friends Emery, Raymond, and Monica Sargeant to join her in the venture. Eagle, Raymond and Emery had known each other through various art shows and jewelry classes they had taken together at . Sargeant met Eagle when working in a Woodstock bead store and they struck up a friendship. 

All four have extensive backgrounds in jewelry making with their own specialties being featured. Eagle teaches metal working, stone setting and enameling; Raymond teaches bead working and bead embroidery; Emery teaches wire working, chainmaille and precious metal clay; and Sargeant teaches wire working and precious metal clay. All the instructors have been working their craft for many years; most have been artists throughout their lives. 

“You get the experience of people who have been doing it for a good number of years,” Raymond said. 

Raymond and Eagle handle the administrative end of the business; collecting fees, organizing classes, paying rent and buying supplies. 

Eagle outfitted the studio with most of her personal equipment—kilns, tools, soldering and shaping equipment. Students buy the supplies needed for their class which may include beads, stones and metals. Students have the option of bringing their own tools and supplies to classes. 

This is a great way for people to explore the art of jewelry making without the expense to supply their own studio, Eagle said. Jeweler’s equipment such as rolling mills, soldering equipment, forms and hammers can run into hundreds of dollars to set up a basic studio. With everything at their fingertips, students can explore a medium and use the tools at hand and see if they like it before committing to a cash outlay for their own use. 

“It’s not intimidating,” Eagle said. “If you don’t have any experience you can come; if you’re experienced you can come. It’s casual.” 

Response to the classes has been positive, she said. A class she held in January at the school but apart from The Constant Muse had 10 participants. Several of them are now registering for upcoming classes. 

“We’re hoping to give people a broad range of background, and then they can choose what they want to do,” she said. 

Working in a group environment has other benefits besides just learning a craft. Students and instructors can learn from one another and build networking bonds that will carry beyond the classroom experience. 

“I love that you can bounce things off of each other,” Shelley said. “When you’re doing this sitting in your basement by yourself it’s boring.” 

The Constant Muse’s website and brochures describe available classes and the experience level of each with prices and costs of supplies.

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