Trying to learn silver soldering on my own

Jewelry Discussion
41

Im loving this thread. The difference in peoples opinions seems to
stem from peoples ideas of direction and ideals.

If i were a self taught jeweller i could take any items i make to a
shop hoping to sell them. The shop wouldnt ask me if i had a
jewellery degree, If they like the items and it was a good price
they would buy the items from me. If they sold them they may contact
me to supply them with some more.

If i were a self taught jeweller looking for a job and i approached
a high profile jewellery manufacturers expecting to set their 20k
solitaire then iwould one hell of a good portfolio of work to even
step foot through their door.

Creating one off pieces we may occasionally get a job that needs
skills that have never been required before. This is where the
knowledge of the metal and our backgrounds come in to play. We use
our basic knowledge of design, how metals react and knowledge of
what makes a stone stay in place to accomplish our goal.

These basic skills can be self taught from books with enough
practice and the more savvy of us will pick them up faster than
others. The fastest way is learning from a tutor, primarily because
you cant ask a book questions about things you are unsure of.

Anyone can teach themselves how to file a signet head perfectly flat
or how to layout stones on a cluster. There are many tricks of the
trade that the old masters have always felt the need to keep close
to their chests but in the modern day and the use of internet (even
Orchid) these skills are being bought out in to the open allowing
beginners a headstart to their potential careers.

As Karen pointed out, some people have an amazing natural ability to
understand the processes involved in jewellery making and pick it up
super fast, others dont.

Jon Horton

42 
Here's your job (stone setter....) You have 90 seconds average to
set these 5 pointers in 4 prong settings. They must be straight,
all the same height, with no windows in the bearing cuts, and
finished up ready for polish. In other words, we need this 100
stone tennis bracelet in an hour.

I have less strenuous test.

Anybody, who thinks that he/she mastered the soldering try this: Take
2 pieces of 1 mm wire. It should be perfectly straight. It is your
task to make it perfectly straight. One piece has to be 50 mm in
length, and another one has to be 49 mm in length. Cut 50 mm wire in
half and soldered back together. After soldering it must look exactly
the same as 49 mm piece of wire. It must be straight. Joint must be
invisible. It must not be shorter than 49 mm. Diameter must be even
throughout the length of the file. In another words, it should not be
possible to tell one piece from another without magnification.

This is a basic end of apprenticeship test. Those who trained
themselves should give it a try.

Leonid Surpin

43

I’ve hesitated to get into this discussion, because I haven’t
followed it as closely as I should have, and I hope now to stay
within the spirit of the thread and if I fail, please forgive me. I
like many of you are to some degree a self taught silversmith, and my
work is good if I say so myself. I am an American Indian silversmith,
having learned from my Navajo & Pueblo friends. I make "traditional"
old style 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s style jewelry, using quality
turquoise, some in fact very expensive, I’m not a hobbyist. With all
of this said, I am as good as I will ever be. Oh, I’ll continue to
learn, always seeking newer and better ways of doing things. I’m 72
yrs old having started late in life, at 50… I’m saying all of this
to set the stage for letting you know that I am like many of you
truly… Were I a young man and had the chance to start all over
again, believe me, I would mortgage my home, and everything I possess
and ever hope to have, maybe even my soul (not really) to go to
school. Even those that go to school still learn on their own also.
There is absolutely no way a “self taught only” jeweler can compete
with one who has taken advantage of schooling and training.

If you believe you can, you are only deluding yourself…I’ll give
you a few examples of this. Not many of you will know who I’m talking
about, but ifyou’re truly interested, you can find all kinds of data
on the Internet. In the 1940’& 1950’ there were a handful of American
Indian jewelers that weren’t satisfied with the status quo, namely,
Keneth Begay, Charles Loloma, Preston Monongya. They are called the
early fathers of modern and contemporary American Indian jewelry. In
fact, their jewelry was so modern, they were’nt allowed to show at
the prestigeous Santa Fe Indian Market, as not being Indian enough.
They went on anyway, not giving up their visions. One thing they
remembered from their parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, was the
only hope for American Indians to find their place in the new order
of things, was education. Charles Loloma went on to study in New
York, Belgium, Japan, Germany, though now deceased, it’s not unusual
to find a ring of his selling for $30, 000-40, 00 dollars and
bracelets much more. Harvey Begay, the sonof Kenneth Begay worked
under the tuteledge 0f his father at The White Hogan, earning money
to attend the University if Aizona and obtaining a degree in
Aeronautical Engineering, to become a Navy fighter pilot (two tours
in Vietnam) and a test pilot for McDonald Douglas, before returning
to jewlery (DNA & family roots kicks in) what both of these men have
in common, was they were’nt satisfied to be just another reservation
silversmith, they both went to and were accepted to study under the
world renown jeweler Pierre Touraine, a french jeweler to the British
crown and European aristocrocy… If you care to, you can go to a
large number of web sites on the internet and see all of the top
American Inian jewelers and they will give you a short bio on each of
them, including who they have studied under and which University they
graduated from with degrees in Fine Arts, Metalurgy, design, etc.

Within our own group, Orchid, and I’ve been a member since its
inception, we have some of the finest, John Donivan, Peter Rowe (who
I will not live long enough to repay for all of his help over the
years) John Burgess, Karen Christans, Charles Lewton-Brain just to
name a few…One more thought, ever since the beginning, I have
copied and pasted every posting that could even remotely ever
pertain to me and #1 printed it (now six three ring binders full) and
#2 down loaded on discs all for future reference. My total belief is
not only in Orchid but the scholars of Orchid. Forgive the long post,
I hope someone finds some value in it.

I wish all of you young ones much joy, happiness, and lots of
success.

John Barton

44

Wow, Leonid - you come up with some duzzies. Have you done this?
Don’t know that I can, but will definitely give it a try. While I
didn’t serve an apprenticeship, I had lots of training and lots of
practice and do solder extremely well, so this intrigues me. Of
course getting the wire straight is the first obstacle to overcome.

K

45 
Wow, Leonid - you come up with some duzzies. Have you done this?
Don't know that I can, but will definitely give it a try. While I
didn't serve an apprenticeship, I had lots of training and lots of
practice and do solder extremely well, so this intrigues me. Of
course getting the wire straight is the first obstacle to
overcome.

Yes, this is a standard test. The biggest advantage of going through
structured training is that one does not have to reinvent the wheel.

Jewellery making processes are relatively simple. What is difficult
is to apply them in the right sequence given the particular set of
conditions. Good structured training should help the student to start
thinking in the right way.

Beginner, by definition, does not have an experience. Beginner does
not know what kind of problems can arise. So beginner cannot design
an exercise to prepare he/she for situation not previously known.
And that is the problem with been self-taught.

Leonid Surpin

46 
American Indian jewelers that weren't satisfied with the status
quo, namely, Keneth Begay, Charles Loloma, Preston Monongye.

Yes, John, I was fortunate enough to be working in Albuquerque in the
early 70’s - pretty much the height of their careers - and others. A
huge inspiration for me and everyone, at the time.

This thread has evolved into something else, as threads do. I view
it as a “glass half full” situation. Children make jewelry but we
don’t call them goldsmiths. Children bake cookies but we don’t call
them chefs. Just what does it take to be those things? Perspective
helps…

Karen wrote a very charming and fine posting about making stew for a
crowd.

I can relate to it and understand the feelings. I had thoughts but I
didn’t want to rain on her parade, either. It’s actually a good
example of a lack of perspective… Yes, an amateur cook can make a
fine meal - I do it all the time, as I’m the cook.

I had dealings with an executive chef a while back and we also
talked about food. At one point I said, “Of course, I’m not in your
league - I’ve never had a ‘There’s a hundred pounds of carrots, we
want a fine dice…’ experience” He said, "I did that for two years
at such-and-such restaurant.

" Executive Chef - just rolls off the tongue… Kind of like
“Goldsmith” does.

First you design the menu: I’d suggest 3-4 appetizers and 3-4 salads.
5 or 6 entrees - fish, shellfish, beef, pork, poultry and nowadays
vegetarian. And of course dessert. Obviously everything must be
different - you can’t run a one-trick-pony restaurant where
everything tastes the same.

Beef with red wine and morels, chicken with tarragon and lemon, etc.
It doesn’t matter if you like it because you’re cooking for the
public, not yourself.

Then you cook each dish 25 times to get the details worked out, then
you make recipes so your line chefs can cook it and you get a list
of ingredients… Based on that you price your menu.

THEN you design your restaurant - look-and-feel, china, linens, work
flow, flatwear, glasswear, carpets, lighting, tables and chairs,
flowerpots, bar and barwear, uniforms for staff - on and on. And the
kitchen - stoves, ovens, fryers, mixers, blenders, utensils,
ventilation, food storage, prep space and the proper stations for
turning your menu into food fit to serve.

All of which must pass Health Department inspection not once but all
the time.

THEN you hire staff - sous chef, line chefs, prep cooks, pastry
chef, and all front-of-house.

I have a cruise-ship cookbook somebody gave me that has a shot of
the blanching station. It’s a 500 gallon tank on gymbals with a
drain in the floor. These are things the executive chef needs to
know about - it’s not your house.

No, a goldsmith isn’t just somebody who knows how to stick two
pieces of metal together… It’s earned and it’s damn tough.

47 
I post on Orchid for those who seek excellence. I post on Orchid
for those who desire to be the very best in all things. People who
DO have ambitions and want to realize them.

Then you’re posting to Orchid for the likes of me, as I am striving
for excellence and I won’t be happy until I achieve it. Of course
I’ll never achieve it in my lifetime, but I’ll enjoy the journey.

I may have to bow out of this discussion for now at least, as there
are a few on the forum who firmly believe that you MUST be taught in
order to get anywhere, and (at the moment) I disagree. As I have said
many times, I would dearly love to have lessons, as it would shorten
my learning curve in the areas I would have lessons in, but that
isn’t about to happen, so I must carry on with my (almost) solitary
journey. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel - there’s too much
freely given advice available in places such as Orchid, to need to
reinvent the wheel - I’m just taking a different route. There are so
many people who have had lessons, who are biased. In truth we are all
biased - it’s just that some are more biased than others! :wink:

If I could turn the clock back and study jewellery making instead of
my chemistry degree, then I would do, but obviously I can’t and if I
am ever in the position to take some classes and then subsequently
change my mind on this issue, I’ll eat my words and post
accordingly, but for now, I think it’s possible without classes
although it’ll take longer.

Helen
UK

48

Everybody believes THEIR craft/skill is too complicated to learn on
one’s own… yet everybody also believes that they can learn their
neighbour’s craft just by downloading a few tutorials off the net!

I’d suggest there’s some middle ground. There are advantages to
being taught that make it easier to build up skill. One big one is
that when you’re being taught, you are forced to practice and learn
things that rarely come up when you’re working on your own. Another
one is of course the fact that when you’re self-taught you sometimes
don’t realize when you’ve done it wrong.

But being self taught will also give you other advantages… the
least of which is that doing something wrong a few times can be a
great learning experience.

Just decide where you want to go with your craft, figure out what
your resources are, then see what your options are.

NOBODY is going to hire you to set a million dollar diamond without
a ton of experience… self taught or not. And do you really WANT to
set a million dollar diamond? Probably not.

49 
I may have to bow out of this discussion for now at least, as
there are a few on the forum who firmly believe that you MUST be
taught in order to get anywhere,

Let them believe as they wish. Your path is your path. I mean, what
is the point of Orchid, if formal training is the only way? I’m
sorry, I have a short fuse with the assertion that jewelry making is
rocket science.

50

Everyone here has a beginning, a starting place of working,
inspiration, and listening to that inner voice that say, “hey, pick
up that tool.” When I took my first class at adult ed, and I was
interested in Indian silversmithing and found the perfect class at
Idyllwild School for the Music and Arts in California. They run
summer classes in jewelry.

This is my story. It’s excerpted from a personal note somebody on
the list sent me, but I thought it had relevance for everyone just
starting out, or for those that are top notch professionals to
remember their roots. We all have stories of our successes and
failures, but there is nothing like the beginning. So here’s mine.

My first contact with a real “silversmith” was a Hopi Indian named
Michael Kabotie at ISOMATA in California for a week long workshop on
Hopi Overlay Technique. Michael taught me to pierce metal with grace,
relaxation and ease. When I first began, I was popping blades as fast
as popcorn popping in a popper. Here was his instructions.

  1. Relax
  2. Relax
  3. Relax
  4. Repeat 1 - 3
  5. Talk to a tree. They know everything and they are older than you.

Michael suggested that we each find a tree to discuss our
frustrations. A tree? Come on. Ok, I’ll go with it. I spent a lot of
time walking around my chosen tree at Idyllwild. I spent endless
discussions with my Jeffrey Pine of how to accomplish my goal in
making a cool bolo tie resulted which resulted in a circular ditch
around my tree.

By the end of the week, I was piercing, soldering, setting stones,
rocking and rolling and having a blast. I made a cool pendant which I
still have today and that bolo is up on my wall at my studio. One
student worked with nesting turtles in Mexico and he made a 6" silver
cup with a soldered pierced turtle. This was a beginning class which
taught me as a teacher, never squash somebody’s vision, just help
them get to a reasonable destination and make sure they have fun
doing it.

I was bereft when I returned home to my studio in the city, that no
tree was available for my hourly consultations. In desperation I
purchased a Bonsai which suited nicely, until my husband killed it
while I attended a SNAG conference. Actually it was OK, as it ended
up as part of a sculpture for a class at art school.

In 2010, I’m returning to ISOMATA to teach jewelry to others. The
cycle continues. Charles LoLoma was my hero. I gave a presentation at
art school on his work, his life and how to make a living. I loved
the cool way he vertically set stones, and this guy was a total
marketer. He always had a story to tell and a business card in his
hand.

So thanks for your kind post. I’m kind of blushing here that you
would keep a binder of my ramblings, but the good of Orchid is that I
don’t have to go to far to see what I have said, and whether I would
take any of it back knowing more now than when I first started out.
So thanks for that.

Just keep what doing what you love to do. If I had to do it all over
again, I would put myself through formal training and then art
school. However, I’m not dead yet, so the formal training is not out
of the question.

Karen Christians

51 
Then you're posting to Orchid for the likes of me, as I am
striving for excellence and I won't be happy until I achieve it.

I’d thought of softening this thread today, and a combination of
Helen’s posts is the perfect intro to that.

After around two years of Helen’s explorations into jewelry making,
yesterday she posted about having people fight over buying her work
(sort of…) Count yer blessings, everybody should have it so
good. That’s not to push aside the real issues she raises, either…
Don’t take my (and others) thoughts about becoming something in this
business as being absolute or “there’s only one way”. Helen is a fine
example of that - personally I think she has a real talent for it.

Can one become (our own inimitable) James Miller without training,
mentoring and collaboration? Not a chance… That’s the reason for
the hard reality-check here. But not everyone is capable of that no
matter how hard they work, not everyone wants to be that and it would
be a boring world if we were all the same anyway. That is not to say
that anybody and everybody can’t do whatever they please, and it
doesn’t take a great deal of skill to put out very satisfying work,
as many have discovered. Not everybody even wants to be a Master
Goldsmith… I think those of us who have pounded away in the
trenches for years and done unimaginable quantities and qualities of
work get either riled or amused when someone suggests they might do
the same by reading books. But people are what they are, and if
they’re happy with their place and their progress then good for them.
Just keep a little perspective, too…

52

I just had to add my 2 cents worth of thought on the idea of formal
training vs. self-training.

While formal training can give you knowledge that would be difficult
and sometimes impossible to gain on your own, keep in mind that
really ALL learning is done by you. In schools, you just have some
extra help from the teachers, the lab equipment, and more experienced
students. (No, I wouldn’t want a brain surgeon to be self-taught. But
I wouldn’t mind it if my jeweler were as long as I liked the end
result. Brain surgery, however, was practiced by the self-taught in
previous centuries, albeit with less than stellar results.)

What I learned in college was HOW to learn. It wasn’t so much that I
learned great secret knowledge there but rather how to go about
finding out such knowledge. Sometimes that comes from books, and
sometimes from other people. In any case, it usually takes a fair bit
of work, and that work comes from you - not the school, the teacher,
the books, or the equipment. It’s taking the knowledge that you find
from all those sources and studying it, absorbing it, practicing it,
and asking questions when you don’t understand.

I think that not everyone has the opportunity (money, proximity,
time) to attend school to learn what they want to learn. So, if they
really want to learn it, they can always pursue it anyway. They will
have greater obstacles than if they had gone to school, and may take
much longer to get from here to there in their expertise, but they
can still learn. (My mother learned lapidary, silver casting, gem
faceting all after age 65 without attending school and eventually
even taught those things for 20 years more. She had been a teacher
her whole life and knew HOW to learn.)

That’s one of the reasons I read the posts on Orchid - to learn.
Much as I may want to take classes, it’s just not possible what with
running my shop and working 7 days a week.

As for soldering, I’m also learning - self taught. However, I did
feel I needed help, so I bought the CD from Rio Grande and had my
hubby give me some assistance. I’m still a beginner but have had some
excellent successes soldering jump rings (which is what I wanted to
solder in the first place.) Maybe I’ll take a night class some time
to learn more and improve. There’s always more to learn, no matter
where you are in a field.

So, for those who have attended school - good for you! You took the
shortest way. For the rest of us - go for it. You’ve already got the
biggest part - your own brain. Isn’t it wonderful that there is so
much knowledge available to us outside of formal schools? (Remember
to vote “yes” for funding of your local libraries.)

Susan
Sun Country Gems
http://www.suncountrygems.com

53 
NOBODY is going to hire you to set a million dollar diamond
without a ton of experience... self taught or not. And do you
really WANT to set a million dollar diamond? Probably not.

Self taught setter, boss provided the stones and I made the mounts,
I bought the books and did the needed research. Biggest would
probably be 1/4 million these days, but wax work for a 10 million
stone was fun. Fear when setting is really good but goes away fast
when the metal hits the stone. Critical work is all in the
preparation (providing a 100% good bearing). Pushing,. wracking, or
pounding metal are standard jewellery skills.

jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand

54

To keep to the analogy of chefs: The sous chef is STILL a chef! He
may not be the head chef; he may not even aspire to become a head
chef, but he is still a chef! A pastry chef is also a chef. Those of
us who make "Craft Fair " jewelry are still creating jewelry! I
think some of this work shows as much design skill as anything I have
seen in a "Mall " jewelry store. Just because it isn’t your style,
doesn’t mean it is less valuable, nor does it mean the artists have
less right to be pleased when their skills allow them to make a piece
of jewelry that actually looks like what they had envisioned. Orchid
is about learning. If people were only to learn from classes and
apprenticeships, what would be the point of Orchid, just to compare
shop notes and complain about customers? Not all who subscribe to
Orchid are on the same path to the mountain top. Some are not even
trying to climb the same mountain. It is wonderful that some may
find their skill set is complete. For the rest of us, we are trying
to improve our skill set, and our desire to learn is why we subscribe
to Orchid. I would especially like to thank Helen Hill, who some may
consider a “newbie” for stimulating posts and willingness to help
those with less skills. She may not yet have all the skills of a
jeweler, but she sure has the heart of one.

Theresa Bright

55 
Everybody believes THEIR craft/skill is too complicated to learn
on one's own.... yet everybody also believes that they can learn
their neighbour's craft just by downloading a few tutorials off the
net!

Not really. I’m not quite as naive as that, and I’ve never said it
was easy to learn this craft by reading books, or that it was
preferable. Just that it is possible, given enough time and
practice, ie experience. You may or may not have been responding to
something I said, but possibly, as it’s me who’s been banging on
about it. I look at any profession and appreciate that there are
great depths which none of us outside that profession can really
appreciate.

I do agree with other things you’ve said, however, such as the
following:

But being self taught will also give you other advantages... the
least of which is that doing something wrong a few times can be a
great learning experience.

Especially as learning by yourself, you tend to be learning whilst in
the process of trying to make actual pieces. Whereas, at college, you
may have a week or so doing various saw piercing excercises, none of
which are to actually make a piece (and I’m just using this as an
example), but at home, you’re probably doing a bit of saw piercing on
a particular piece. It’s taken me about two years of doing it on and
off, to be really happy with being able to saw pierce accurately,
whereas had I been at college, I may have had that “mastered” (term
used loosely) in a week to a month. Learning by yourself takes
longer, but you can get there (wherever there may be) in the end, and
I think that to be successful, you have to be doggedly determined, ie
pick-headed and stubborn.

Ha! And this is me bowing out of the conversation! Lol!

Helen
UK

56

Hi John,

After around two years of Helen's explorations into jewelry
making, yesterday she posted about having people fight over buying
her work (sort of.....)

Sorry, I’m confused. Nobody’s fighting over it. People say they love
it and pieces are starting to be snapped up by a few appreciative
customers, but there have been no competitive fisticuffs yet.

Helen is a fine example of that - personally I think she has a real
talent for it.

Sincere thanks John.

Can one become (our own inimitable) James Miller without training,
mentoring and collaboration? Not a chance....

Now, whilst I strive for excellence, I know I’ll never be that good

  • but I was always told to aim for the moon. I can saw pierce
    satisfactorily, but I don’t think I’d ever be able to do work such
    as Jim’s Forget-me-not egg, whether self-taught or formally educated.
    Some people are in a different league. Jim’s enameling is on a
    different scale too. I’ve banged on previously about wanting to try
    enameling, but as of yet, still haven’t taken the plunge, as I’d
    rather save up for a kiln first, but I will try it at some point. I
    doubt I’ll ever be much good at it though, but I might make some
    pleasing enough designs to sell some enameled pieces someday.
I think those of us who have pounded away in the trenches for years
and done unimaginable quantities and qualities of work get either
riled or amused when someone suggests they might do the same by
reading books.

John, John, John. You’ve missed my point again! I never said that the
books would take the place of pounding away in the trenches for years
and doing unimaginable quantities and qualities of work. I said that
books can take the place of classes or a teacher/mentor. There’s NO
substitute for the years and years of experience and I’ve said that a
few times. Even the self-taught need to put the time (years and
years) in, pounding away in the trenches, etc. All I am trying to
say is that you CAN learn the techniques from books and/or the
internet (such as Orchid) and that you then need to put in the years
and years of practice to get the experience. There’s absolutely no
need for you or others who have been taught, to get even remotely
riled by my suggestion. You’re confusing the issue of different
routes with time. I never said it is quicker or easier - it is not.
But, no matter what you say, it IS entirely possible to learn how to
do techniques from books, if you have a talent for it (as you say I
do) - and then you have to put the leg work into it and earn your
stripes with the next couple of decades of practice which is what I’m
just starting to do. I wouldn’t class myself in the same league as
someone such as yourself, until I’d been at it for as long as you
have (by which time of course, you’ll still have about two and a half
to three decades head start on me anyway!). But, take two goldsmiths
with thirty years experience, one self-taught and one who had classes
or served a traditional apprenticeship. One is qualified by formal
education plus experience, and the other by experience alone. Their
work may be just as good quality-wise as each other, and I would just
as happily commission the self-taught, qualified by experience alone
goldsmith to make me a piece of jewellery, as I would the other one.
I just don’t know what the fuss is all about. Now, IF I was saying
that you could just read a couple of books, and instantly be a
goldsmith, setting expensive diamonds, etc, then I could fully
understand you being riled or amused. But I’m not. Both processes
(being taught by someone else and teaching yourself) take time and
lots of it. The point of what I have been trying to say has been
completely missed.

Susan Lucas wrote an excellent post on this very subject today. She
says it all beautifully, and to use her example, I too went to
university to learn how to learn. I got my first class degree -
albeit in chemistry - but it taught me how to learn anything I want
to turn my hand to. And I do exactly that. It mildly irritates my
children and husband, but more amuses them, that no matter what I
want to learn, I will go in search of as much as I can
get my hands on, and will practice and practice whatever it is, and
actually become quite good at it - or certainly achieve passable
results. Jewellery making is just something I happen to be taking
even more seriously than some of the other things I’ve tried. My
books were/are just a starting point. Now to put in the three decades
to become really good. Then, I hope that even you John, will consider
me a goldsmith, and that you may even consider me good enough to buy
a piece from - despite me having had no classes.

Hopefully, you understand where I’m coming from now, even though
I’ve tried to say it as eloquently as I can on more than a few
occasions. And I was going to bow out of the debate! I just can’t
help but reply, when my comments are taken completely wrongly.

Helen
UK

57

Susan, your post on the subject was absolutely spot on! I agree with
everything you said.

The folks who have had lessons need not feel riled or even amused by
those of us who are teaching ourselves. We are just replacing
teachers with books/internet. But we cannot replace the years of
experience those taught by classes go on to do - we must do those
years too, and then there’s absolutely no reason why we cannot be as
good as them, given enough time and experience.

The self-taught jeweller in Gerry’s original example (the one who
chipped three corners out of four on a very expensive princess cut
diamond) obviously just doesn’t have the number of years of
experience under his belt necessary to undertake that job. I don’t
think it had anything whatsoever to do with his learning path - just
that he needs more experience, as do we.

Nice post Susan.

Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://helensgems.ganoksin.com/blogs/

58

I am self taught, However over the years I have taken classes and
workshops.

My own personal belief is that here in America we value the concept
of personal freedom. To me this translates to the belief that “I can
can learn that on my own” attitude. Sometimes this comes across as
smug and arrogant. There is more than technique and knowledge
transmitted in a class. You get to experience how other people
approach how others apply what is being taught and demonstrated and
you get to experience the creativity of others as they apply the

When I have taken workshops, watching how others apply what was
being taught was more exciting to me than the being
taught.

This thread has been entertaining. One post made a point, you do not
have a point of reference as to how to give yourself projects to
increase skills in a progression so your skill increases.

Over the 30 years I have been involved in jewelry, there are some
people who are self taught who have amazed me with the ability they
had to learn on their own. One thing in common was that their design
ability, in my opinion, was exceptional. What this mean to me was
that they had a design or concept and had to learn the technique and
apply it.

What I see with most self taught is they learn a technique and that
is the limit of their ability and there is not much progress. Most
self taught work I see is basic simple skill and sometimes not well
executed.

People mention they don’t have the time or money to take a class.
You might spend far more time to struggle to learn and limit your
ability to become more proficient with the basic skills which limits
your ability be more creative within the same time period if you had
taken some classes. This is not true for all, and probably not you in
your opinion.

Taking classes does not limit you, it expands your ability.

For those that say they do not have the time or money. You have more
opportunity than people in most other countries to rise above your
own personal limitations to find the time and find the money if you
have the desire.

People from all over the world come here to do that. You can walk or
you can fly…

Richard Hart G.G.
Denver, Co.

59 
To keep to the analogy of chefs: The sous chef is STILL a chef! He
may not be the head chef; he may not even aspire to become a head
chef, but he is still a chef! A pastry chef is also a chef. Those
of us who make "Craft Fair " jewelry are still creating jewelry!

I agree wholeheartedly Theresa. It was also mentioned the other day
that you can’t compare the casual cook, ie the amateur to a highly
trained chef, but over here in the UK we have various television
programmes where amateurs compete in the professional chef
environment over a period of a few weeks. Those who reach the highest
levels of the competition are actually very often in the same league
as the top chefs, and even seriously impress the likes of Michelle
Roux Junior, etc. Yes, they need some refining, etc to truly get
there, but get there some of them do. They are self taught, and end
up making it big in the industry. So self-taught folks can make it in
most industries.

I would especially like to thank Helen Hill, who some may consider
a "newbie" for stimulating posts and willingness to help those with
less skills. She may not yet have all the skills of a jeweler, but
she sure has the heart of one.

Thank you very much Theresa. I like to give back to a community that
I have gained much from.

Helen
UK

60

Everybody believes THEIR craft/skill is too complicated to learn on
one’s own… yet everybody also believes that they can learn their
neighbour’s craft just by downloading a few tutorials off the net!

Not really. I'm not quite as naive as that, and I've never said it
was easy to learn this craft by reading books, or that it was
preferable. Just that it is possible, given enough time and
practice, ie experience. You may or may not have been responding
to something I said, but possibly, as it's me who's been banging on
about it. I look at any profession and appreciate that there are
great depths which none of us outside that profession can really

Sorry Helen, I didn’t direct that at you. It was a complete
generalization! Sorry, I need to be more careful about how I word
things.

I have a degree in computer programming. And I will eventually be a
mostly self-taught metalsmith, so I’ve taken both routes to learning
a skill.

As for what you said in another posting about having “learned how to
learn”… I completely agree. Computer science and metalsmithing are
both fields that require both “book learning” and lots and lots of
practice. I see no reason why that “book learning” needs to be a
formal education program.