A brief history of my metal life. I first started out in lapidary (stone cutting-opals no less!) and scrimshaw when i was 14 years old sitting in on the seniors (grade 12) jewellery class at redwood highschool. My interest in Goldsmithing grew as I was taught Lost Wax casting, gold lamination and stone setting. My true love at the time, however was painting and super animation on the commadore 64! In '83 I started working for HZH Designs in Sausalito, creating earrings, keychains, and bags. These were extreme 80's kitsch- clear vinyl filled with coloured liquids, plastic bugs, and people, then heat sealed. The earrings we designed were made from HO scale models of people- we would ammend the people in various ways making them more 'San Francisco' friendly and heat up ear posts and stick them on. They sold like hot cakes! After highschool I worked with Tabra Tunoa Designs - silversmithing earring components, anodizing titanium, embossing metals, and soldering the designs together. When I wasn't working for Tabra I was going to school studying graphic design/desktop publishing on the new- Apple computers!!- it was 1984 at the San Francisco Art Academy (now university) and studying jewellery fabrication at The College of Marin. I dropped out of Art School and opened my own design business. When I wasn't creating ad campaigns for various corporate clients, I was putting together jewellery lines for small boutiques throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. One line was created for -the Outback Clothing Company- which eventually became known as Banana Republic in Mill Valley. Several years later I moved to Taos, New Mexico. New Mexico is known as 'The land of enchantment', and for good reason. It is beyond beautiful-surreal there. The desert landscapes, mesas, purple and red earth with sage brush and chamisa growing every where- pinon trees, cotton woods, the Rio Grande, and the Sangre de Christos. In my 13 years of living in New Mexico- I lived in Santa Fe off of Old Santa Fe trail, later in a studio off of 2nd street, near the Cloudcliff, and the last place I lived in Santa Fe was in a beautiful old adobe on Canyon Road. In between my years in Santa Fe attending The Santa Fe Metalsmithing school, I lived in Taos, New Mexico, Dixon and Vadito (9000 feet above sea level). Taos, and Santa Fe are at 7500 feet. The highest peak in New Mexico is in Taos at 13,161 feet/4,012 m. While in Taos I studied Goldsmithing at the Taos Art Institute with Harold O'Connor- this man changed my views of metal, working with it, and what 'jewellery' could be. Back in Santa Fe I apprenticed with and assisted Silversmiths and Goldsmiths, such as Melanie De Luca, Mona Van Riper, Doug Magnus, James Reid, Olin West, etc. Working with and learning from these highly skilled metalsmiths taught me a wealth of tricks and techniques that are usually not covered in most college courses. At the Santa Fe Metalsmithing School I studied with Philip Poirier- who has a vast knowledge of tools and how to use them beyond their 'normal' use, as well as creating Japanese alloys, and making and using dies with the BonnieDoon Hydraulic Press. In Taos and Santa Fe I became known for my 'small sculptures', and was named (for my jewellery) one of Taos' next generation of artists by the Harwood Museum. My work was exhibited and sold throughout the US, I was juried and invited to exhibit in various galleries, as well as the ACC shows- Chicago and Baltimore. All of that happened a long time ago- but I continue to study and learn new techniques to incorporate into my work and instruction. I don't believe in 'keeping secrets' and I strive to pass along as much information as I can to people that sign up for my jewellery courses. I am a strong believer in "..anything is possible.." and that one learns by doing. I feel strongly that the work created by beginning students with little or no previous experience that can be viewed on this website is a testimony of my ability to transfer the knowledge that I have gained. My classes are structured but not hindered by formality or pre-requisite abilities; I provide an environment in which individual creativity is nurtured and small ideas can flourish to great work in an exceptionally short period of time. Tosca Hidalgo y Teran b. 1966, San Francisco, California. Lived in Taos, NM + Santa Fe for approximately 13 years before making Toronto her current home. www.nanopod.tv/, nanopod hybrid studio: 322 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON http://www.nanopod.etsy.com Where there is a work of art, there is no madness; and yet madness is contemporary with the work of art, since it inaugurates the time of its truth. Tosca Hidalgo y Teran has been working with metal and computers for over 20 years. Her work explores this synthesis in retelling stories from memory via her own representational language. Tosca pursues her art and metal work, glass-blowing, flame working, casting and fusing at nanopod, her hybrid studio in Toronto, where she also teaches jewelry-making workshops.; http://www.nanopod.tv nanotopia