Talisman Bracelet

My second class at Bead & Button was with Susan Lenart Kazmer.

Away went all the metal clay tools; out came the metal-working tools. I happily snipped and sawed, pounded and riveted. What a free for all! Susan has boundless energy, needed for her freeform class. She started us out with a few demonstrations, then turned everyone loose. As students hit issues or asked questions, she would offer more demos. The class got far afield from the basic cold connections of the Talisman Bracelet and ventured into the land of forming vessels with a forming block and stakes, which was the previous day's class.

I thoroughly enjoyed the spontaneity of the class, but wished for more time to really develop the piece. Many students took the view of making samples of each technique, with no aim of coherency. That might have been a better approach. I tried to follow a vision of creating a planetary talisman bracelet, using all the imagery I collected when I made the planetary talisman quilts. I love the concept; I have tons of ideas for elements to make. There just was not nearly enough time.

My favorite elements were the book and the conical vessel. The book was my own concept. I would need to seal the paper next time to make it more durable. The vessel was fun because I learned how to use a forming block, and got over my fear of repeatedly annealing the copper to soften it enough to shape. Notice the green fiber tucked into bullet casings, a common element that Susan uses. Joren will be amused!

I did learn lots that I will use in the future. And I will have to think about a longer class to really get the most from this gifted artist. I did buy resin, bezels, and eyelets to work with at home. Experiments, yum!