Hi folks,
My daughter Melissa (18 next week), has made my day. She has just
started back at college and today they were looking at their
university applications. She is studying double art and textiles A
levels and was planning to do a degree in fashion design at
university. However, she’s now changed her mind and has decided to
do a BA (Hons) in silversmithing and jewellery! She’s looking at
studying at the Glasgow School of Art which has what looks to be a
very good course with the above title. Looking at all the course
it looks as though they do actually teach all the
essential gold and silversmithing techniques and do thoroughly
prepare its students for work in the industry. The thread on Orchid
about such things has been very useful when looking at the
suitability of courses and it looks as though she’s chosen a great
university. My sister lives in Glasgow too, so I’m hoping to be able
to butter her up into letting Melissa live with them for the duration
of her chosen course.
Melissa got an A in “Tech” at school and loved working with
different materials, marking out, sawing, bending, heating, etc and
has realised that that’s where her interests really lie. She really
is great at working with her hands and has a good attention to
detail. Whilst she really enjoys sewing and making her own clothes
(which of course she can still do in her spare time), she’s really
excited about the prospect of making jewellery as a career. She’s
been excited about all the pieces I’ve made and we’ve had the
intention of Melissa having a go at the bench and making a piece of
jewellery with my help and we’re going to have a go next week as
she’s off for a few days. She will have the advantage of having some
experience prior to starting the course, and having access to a
jeweller’s bench with tools in her holidays. Also if she turns up at
uni with some basic level of skill and knowledge, then she will have
an advantage when it comes to trying to find some bench work in a
jeweller’s store, for experience whilst at university. If I teach
Melissa anything, I will make sure she knows that my methods are just
MY methods, and that there are other ways of doing things and that
when she gets to university, their methods may well be different and
better than my methods so that she doesn’t get locked into doing
things “wrongly”. I really do feel that the course she has chosen
will suit her down to the ground. She says that she may want for us
to work together after her degree - how exciting is that?! I feel
that the course will be mutually beneficial to us both in terms of
swapping skills and ideas. By the way, we are so similar to each
other - she is my “mini me” (Austin Powers films) - that’s her
nickname. We have similar tastes, we think in stereo and enjoy
working on projects together.
If there are any jewellers in Glasgow who are reading this post and
could do with an extra pair of hands at the bench starting
September/ October 2009, please let me know, thanks.
Helen Hill
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk