To make the most of our time together we've decided to focus on three areas for our gatherings; instructional demos, maker challenges and open-discussion Q & A sessions. 

Demos: Throughout the year we will be presenting brief (10-20 min.) talks focused on sharing techniques. These might include photos and even video but don't have to. So far, we have the following demo ideas in the works, we'll add dates as soon as they're firmed up:

1. Woven Chain by Dale Hansen (Feb 20th)
2. Hido Japanese Patina by Anne Wolf (TBA - maybe March)
3. Sand Casting by Chapin Dimond (TBA - ​March)
4. Annodizing Titanium by Marianne Pickett (April)
5. Design Elements by Annette Campbell (TBA)
6. Etsy for Beginners by Ame Stanko (July or Aug)
7. Hydraulic Press 101 by Jean Franchesciello (TBA)
8. Keum Boo by Charlotte Ewalt (TBA)
9. Stone Carving by Ryan Gardner (TBA)
10. Torch-fired Enamels by Charlotte Ewalt (TBA)
11. Torch-fired Metal Clay by Marianne Pickett (TBA)

Get in touch with Ame if you have something you would like to present. 

None of these are set in stone so if you have an idea for a fun challenge, tell Ame so she can add it to the list. ​

Q & A: our Sawing Circle is a great place to ask questions about tools and materials, solicit help for tricky design or fabrication jobs, share info about classes and instructors and much more. We do this ever session in our Q & A segment, feel free to pipe up and ask anything you like. ​

December 20th, 2022 - Grab a hot cup of something yummy, get comfy in front of the warm glow of your computer and join us for a festive Zoom holiday party! We'll open our Gift Exchange packages together, talk upcoming classes and news and generally have a fun time to close out our year of Sawing Circle camaraderie. Special prizes go out to everyone who decorates their Zoom background, with a grand prize going out to the Most Festive. ​All are also welcome to simply attend for inspiration and general discussion.

When: Monthly on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 5:30pm-7pm Pacific Time.
Where: Online via Zoom
Cost: FREE
Our Sawing Circle is like a book club but instead of reading, we work on cool stuff, help each other with problems, share ideas and provide accountability for ongoing work. If you've been looking for support for moving forward on your projects then this is the online gathering for you. Join us from your studio to work in the good conversation and company of like-minded friends. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply make yourself a snack, settle at your bench and click the button to join in. For more details see our Sawing Circle page. 

When we started in March of 2020, MAA was just a way to stay connected as the pandemic pushed us into isolation. We thought we'd do the show a few times, never imagining it would take on a life of its own for over a year. Together we've virtually traveled the world, learned tips & tricks, celebrated holidays, found solace and shared inspiration. As the world reopens, it's time to pursue exciting new endeavors. In July’s show, master metalsmith Earl Bushey will share top-notch mokume gane tips and Bette Barnett will introduce us to the fascinating world of powdered metals. As always, Metal Arts Adventures is all about you so please join us for our Grand Finale episode on July 15th.

Metal Arts Adventures #27: Emerge Online Opening
Put on a swanky outfit, pour yourself a glass of something sophisticated and imagine yourself making a grand entrance into an artsy gallery space populated with interesting people and jazz .... it's our online opening reception for "Emerge" our juried exhibition! Wander around nibbling cheese (make yourself a small plate of cheese beforehand to get the full effect) and see the jewelry metal art works while listening to celebrity judges Anne Wolf of Anneville Studio and Bette Barnett of Studio Migoto discuss the technical prowess and design merits of each piece. Guess the winners and stick around til the end to see if you're right as we unveil the Best of Show, Best Mokume, Best Steel Piece and Most Creative Piece and award each artist their fabulous prizes. We want to hear from you - leave a comment below. Do you know of a jewelry metal arts work space reopening? Have you heard about a fair that's going to be live again this year? Do you know what's up with Idyllwild Arts, the San Diego Gem & Mineral Society or a cool place in your area? We're looking for signs of things getting back to normal and we'd love to hear from you so jot down a few notes and raise your hand or type them into the chat window during the show. Step into the gallery to view the online show "Emerge" and see who won!

Put on a swanky outfit, pour yourself a glass of something sophisticated and imagine yourself making a grand entrance into an artsy gallery space populated with interesting people and music .... it's our online opening reception for "Emerge" our juried exhibition! Wander around nibbling cheese (make yourself a small plate of cheese beforehand to get the full effect) and see the jewelry metal art works while listening to celebrity judges Anne Wolf of Anneville Studio and Bette Barnett of Studio Migoto discuss the technical prowess and design merits of each piece. Guess the winners and stick around til the end to see if you're right as we unveil the Best of Show, Best Mokume, Best Steel Piece and Most Creative Piece and award each artist their fabulous prizes. Hope to see you there!

Nine artists participated by donating jewelry pieces to the Fandango Under the Stars Online Auction with funds going to support Guadalupe Home, an organization that helps women and families experiencing homelessness. This year, due to COVID, the event went virtual so bids were submitted online. Here's the update from Sky:

"Greetings everyone, I'm happy to see [our] donations being looked at and bid upon. The pictures do not do the pieces justice but you can see them at the Online auction: one.bidpal.net/fandango2021/browse/all, on Facebook: facebook.com/CatholicCharitiesSA/, or on Instagram: instagram.com/catholiccharitiessanantonio/. Thank you all for the great support for this event. ~ Sky".

Let's give a big hand to Sky for providing such a great community opportunity and a round of applause to our participating artists! For photos and descriptions of each piece see our previous post: Guadalupe Home Jewelry Team Update.

Due to popular demand and a lot of whining and silly excuses like "I have to work" and "I've been homeschooling my children" we've extended the Emerge deadline! Yay, more time! Here are just a few of the cool prizes up for grabs:

Click images to view larger.
All jewelry/metals arts artists to enter their work in Emerge - San Diego Jewelry Lab’s Juried Spring Exhibition. Pieces will be juried by Anne, Bette Barnett and Ame on craftsmanship, creativity and use of the theme and our panel of instructor judges will award prizes for the best submissions. Exhibition is open to metalsmiths worldwide. Work can be any size; wearable, functional, or sculptural; made within the last year. Get details and enter.

May 20th from 5-6pm Pacific Daylight Time
Meet & Greet starts at 4:45pm.
Online via Zoom
Join us for an exploration of Qing Dynasty jewelry lead by San Diego metal artist Marianne Pickett. She'll share items from her collection along with interesting stories about them. Dating from 1644 to 1912, the Qing period was China's last imperial dynasty. We will also be sharing some work that wowed us from recent classes and a few best-of-the-best student tips & tricks. As always, stick around till the end for our lively Q&A discussion of all things metal arts. MAAA is a FREE weekly online metal arts live show. In this fun, interactive gathering we offer demos, share tips & tricks, feature work by artists and students from around the world, go on virtual studio tours, discuss historical metal arts traditions and share resources. You're invited to join in! Need help with a tricky soldering job? Wondering if a tip you saw really works? Want to give us a tour of your studio or recommend an instructor? Submit a question or segment idea and we'll follow up. Send it in! ​

San Diego Jewelry Lab invites all jewelry/metals arts artists to enter their work in our upcoming online exhibit "Emerge". Pieces will be juried by San Diego Jewelry Lab co-owners Anne Wolf and Ame Stanko on craftsmanship, creativity and use of the theme and our panel of instructor judges will award prizes for the best submissions. Exhibition is open to metalsmiths worldwide. Work can be any size; wearable, functional, or sculptural; made within the last year. Get details on our Emerge event page.

We still have spots available for Anne's Stamped Mokume Gane Pendant live online workshop in March but March 5th is the deadline to order your kit for U.S. shipping (March 12th for local pick ups). This is a great opportunity to create - from start to finish - a beautiful mokume gane pendant to wear or give as a special gift. It's also a rare chance to get your hands on one of Anne's exclusive mokume blanks in a color combo she usually reserves for her own works - silver/copper/brass. These photos are from her previous class last year. Keep in mind that you also get a handsome Certificate of Completion and a ticket for our famous end-of-class raffle where we give away gift certificates and sometimes...mokume goodies! All details and registration at annevillestudio.com/classes-and-workshops.html.

One of our Metal Arts Adventures presenters has brought us a really cool opportunity. Metalsmith and lapidarist Sky Paxton donates jewelry to Guadelupe Home, a transitional shelter for pregnant and parenting mothers who find themselves homeless. This year, he's inviting us to join him in providing pieces to their fundraiser auction. Finished, boxed pieces valued between $150-$500 need to be mailed to Sky by April 25th and he will submit them to the auction folks. So far we have two spots filled - Sky and Anne Wolf - so we're looking for just 6 more people.

If you would like to join in just let us know in the comments  below and we will follow up. Thank you!!

Next Sawing Circle is Tuesday, February 9th, 5-7pm
Thursdays were just too packed with cool metal arts stuff so we've moved our Sawing Circle to Tuesdays starting this month. Our Sawing Circle is like a book club but instead of reading, we work on cool stuff, help each other with problems, share ideas and provide accountability for ongoing work. If you've been looking for support for moving forward on your projects during quarantine then this is the online gathering for you. Join us from your studio to work in the good conversation and company of like-minded friends. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply make yourself a nice snack, settle down at your bench and click the link to join in via Zoom. We're also looking for volunteers to fill in one night a month to help take our Sawing Circle weekly. Interested? Fill out our Volunteer Form.

Thursday, January 14th 5-7pm PST
​Meet & Greet starts at 4:45pm
This week, guest instructor Anne Wolf shares a guide (from the forum on Ganoksin.com) for making a scoring tool. Scoring tools are useful for all sorts of things, from box making to adding texture to sheet. We'll discuss how to go about making the tool. Anne will also show how to create texture using a scorer she made while taking an online class from Ford Hallam.
Our monthly Sawing Circle is like a book club but instead of reading, we work on cool stuff, help each other with problems, share ideas and provide accountability for ongoing work. If you've been looking for some support for moving forward on your projects during quarantine then this is the place. Join us from your studio to work in the good conversation and company of like-minded friends. Totally free, no need to RSVP, simply make yourself a nice snack, settle down at your bench and click the link to join in via Zoom.

From November 2018 to March 2020, San Diego Jewelry Lab was known as Anneville Jewelry Lab because it was a brick & mortar jewelry metal arts school and co-work space located next to Anne Wolf's studio in Liberty Station - a part of the NTC Arts District. We offered multi-week classes, independent study and 1-5 day workshops. Topics covered a wide range of the jewelry/metals field, from absolute beginner basics taught by Jessica Andersen and Julie Monroe to advanced specialty techniques such as Japanese metalsmithing taught by Ford Hallam, stone setting by Alexandra Hart, keum boo taught by Bette Barnett and mokume gane taught by Anne Wolf. Many of our students took classes multiple times to perfect their techniques and gain inspiration from each other. Our workshops drew students from around the U.S. and internationally. In addition to classes we had Open Lab time where jewelry metal arts makers worked together, enjoyed our little "Broken Sawblade Cafe" (which became the Peg and Pickle Pub after hours) and shopped for tools and supplies in our small General Store. We also hosted a monthly First Friday Open Studio where makers and the public nibbled tasty snacks, watched live demos and shopped our Gallery Case featuring work by our teachers and students. All of that changed on March 19th, 2020.

As we ended the year and the news of the new and more contagious covid variant came out, we really started to feel like we were in a crazy video game so, here we share with you our 2020 Game Recap.

Congratulations, it looks like you’ve made it with us to Level 12 of this awful Game of 2020. We’d give it no stars if possible; at this point all we can do is hold on to a sense of humor and keep going. Level 1 began well, we had a year of trips planned and classes scheduled for our Jewelry Lab business. The worst demon in our land, Orange Windbag, was slashed with the Sword of Impeachment and things were looking good! But then the Land of Koalas caught fire and rumors surfaced of a mysterious new foe in a distant land. Nevertheless, by Level 2 Ame had saved up enough Coin for a trip to visit her father, Vance of La Playa, in the Land of Mariachis and Anne made a foray to the nearby Land of Saguaro to learn patina alchemy.