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a grand experiment...
and a work in progress.
This will be our first venture into live online tutoring, so be prepared for some surprises. We are committed to emulating our in studio tutoring experience as both an educational and social vehicle as best we can. And we are so looking forward to connecting and reconnecting with new students and old friends!
Since you will be learning from home, you must have a workspace set up along with the tools and materials needed for your specific project or technique. If you have done tutoring in our studio, you will know what you need. If you are completely new to jewelry making, we will want to consult with you about your mission and what you will need to have available.
Our remote tutoring is interactive, so it will be essential for you to have a live camera to show us your work as well as a decent size screen to view the demos with. You will not be required to have your face on camera unless you want to; but we will have to see your project and your hands to be able to assist you properly.
Are you a current student with available sessions from a tutoring package?
If you are one of our regulars and know that you have all of your tools and materials at the ready, you can sign up for a session without payment. For the moment, we require a 7 day lead time to communicate with you and prepare for your specific projects. Please keep in mind that your registration is not complete until you receive and return the Project Outline Form that you will receive after you request to reserve your class online. We will verify your available sessions in your package and get back to you with further instructions.
Are you a new student?
You can sign request a reservation for a single tutoring session by paying a $195.00 deposit to online. Your registration is not complete until you receive a follow-up email and complete the new student survey and Project Outline Form. Once we have the necessary information, we will contact you to go over the tools and materials you will need to start your project, and schedule your first tutoring date. Please allow at least two weeks between payment and your first session for us to help make sure we are both prepared.
The Fine Print
Because of the unique level of interaction required for individual instruction, participation in our Zoom tutoring is currently limited to 4 people per session. To ensure that all spaces are utilized, we have a strict 7 day cancellation policy. You must contact us 7 days before your scheduled class in order to receive a refund or to have your session rescheduled or added back to your tutoring package. Any cancellation or schedule change made with less than 7 days notice will forfeit the payment or the package session.
You probably have questions...
What can I learn?
Well, the sky's the limit on this one. It really depends on the space, tools, and equipment you have available. If you are new to our tutoring process, we are happy to consult with you about your specific goals, or just to go over the techniques we teach that are most appropriate for beginners and require the least investment in stuff to get started.
What is a "Project Outline Form"?
Since you will not be in our studio with access to all of our tools and materials, we need to know that we are both prepared to tackle the projects you want to learn. Once you have requested your reservation through the online system, we will email you a form to help outline what it is you are planning to work on. After you complete and return the form, we will go over the tools and materials needed for the project and confirm your session date. This is an essential step to make sure that you get the best possible outcome from your experience. And even though many of our regular students have home workshops, we still need to prep the demos for what each person wants to work on that day
How does the actual online tutoring session work?
That's a work in progress. For now, we will start with a 30 minute check-in, so everyone can say hello, test their camera and monitor setup, and get settled in. Peter will then go from student to student, providing live demos and guidance as needed. (If you've been to studio tutoring, you already know how that goes.) Once you have had your "one on one" to get you started, you will work on your own for a bit as he focuses on the next student. Then Peter will circle back to see how each student is doing. The Zoom interface allows for you to ask questions and indicate when you need special assistance at any particular step, which will be addressed the order received.
What if I don't have the right tool or material?
Just like in the studio, we ask all of our students to have more than one project or technique to work on, in case we hit a roadblock. We will also have pre-session consultations with everyone who signs up, to help make sure that you will have plenty to do. If you are new to this process, we may recommend one of our beginner kits to get you started, assuring that you will have everything you need for your first session.
I'm new. Can I start with metalsmithing?
Well, theoretically yes. We do teach metal techniques to absolute beginners in the studio setting, where we have all the tools and equipment available at the benches (and a fire extinguisher close by!) Basic techniques like piercing, texturing, polishing, and riveting are pretty straight forward. But most often working in metal involves soldering, which is challenging unless you have at least a moderately sophisticated set up. We encourage those new to jewelry making to start with one of our more "user friendly" techniques like soft wax. But if metal is your chosen path, we are happy to explore your options.
Where do I get materials and tools?
For beginners, we have basic starter materials kits for almost everything we teach at a cost of $50.00 per kit. We also have most tools available for sale. You can get set up with everything to start wax model making for about $150.00! Before your first session, we will go over what you will need, and you can place an order with us. Of course, there are literally hundreds of resources online, so we can provide you with a list of materials and tools if you prefer to shop around.