Upcoming Workshops

Metal Forming Instruction

Saturdays 10 to 5 with an hour for lunch. $125.00 per day. My studio in Springtown is open now Saturdays for instruction in Metal Forming. I teach Silversmithing, the making of objects by sinking, raising, chasing and forging. The first exercise will be a forged copper bangle. This will be your introduction to the tools, their use, where they are in the workshop, how to use them safely, the ventilation equipment, and the protocols for using the pickling cleaning equipment, solutions and how to rinse environmentally. Your subsequent projects will be designed for the specific area of learning you desire. You may also bring your ideas or anything you have begun and we can discuss if and how it could be completed in the studio. For further information please contact me at david@davidivens.ca

'Silversmith', a clarification.

I am a silversmith, that does not mean that I only work with silver, nor does it make me a jeweller, in fact I am not a jeweller, although I may make jewellery.

I work with hammers and other tools, to transform (mostly) sheet metal, into things like teapots, trays, vases, sculptures… A Silversmith works with non-ferrous metals, but this does not mean I do not work with ferrous metals because I need to make my tools out of ferrous metals. I normally use silver solders to join pieces together, but common welding and brazing are also used. I sometimes work with bar stock rather than sheet metal; we call this forging. I forge solid items like spoons, knives, forks, handles, bangles, bracelets, beads (whoops slipped into making jewellery…) I make castings, I cast ingots, I forge ingots, and those ingots can be forged into sheets. It is easiercheaper to buy prepared sheet metals. Sometimes I take different kinds of sheet metal, heat them together until they join into a solid block, then I hammer it back out until it is the thickness of one of the original sheets. I take parts of it away so you can see all the different metals. I can then hammer it into a hollow form so it will hold liquid, or join it with other fabricated sections to make a vessel with a purpose. I then sand, polish and patina it to take all those hammer marks away so you cannot discern how it was made. Some of pieces might need to have a hinge, or some need extra material for support, some need insulation, or ventilation, or they are designed for some practical use.

I think that’s fun, and I would love for you to come and be a part of the fun in my studio workshop.

explorerivens@gmail.com