A Week of Wolf and Her Wax

I have just returned from learning from the most amazing and patient teacher I've experienced to date, Ms. Kate Wolf. That says a lot, considering the last 6 months of my life have been a whirlwind of education and total immersion!

This last week was total bliss, 8 hours per day of laughing, smiling and learning... and not to mention carving wax and working it on the lathe and on the bench pin. My instructor, or should I say, Role Model, did not disappoint and showed me what is possible in the realm of mixing beauty with personality. Not only does she have one of the most desirable skill sets in the industry, along with incredible business sense and reach, she has a potty mouth and sense of humor to match. She enthusiastically relayed her mantra that you learn better when you're laughing. I can't wait to visit her at her Portland, Maine, studio again soon.

Among the items I learned to carve from wax (later to be cast into whichever metal I desire) were bezels - fancy and round - vessels with matching lids, hollow forms, mirror images for earrings and the like, and a shadow band...

Stay tuned for the new techniques to arrive on the website, in their finished form, very soon! The only question is, which project to begin first!

Here are some highlights of the past week ~


The entryway to Kate's studio...


Tibetan prayer flags just outside...


The beautiful studio...


Kate being Kate, with her huge crab claw...


She could carve better than the rest with one hand reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands...


My bench for the week... Missing it already!


The beginning stages of a lid to a vessel I later created...


This little guy later became a bezel for an onyx cabachon...


Seat is cut, trying to get it as flat as possible before putting the stone in to check for fit...


Now that it fits, it's time to mill off the extra height...


Sunset at Ferry Beach with my wonderful hosts...


A Thursday walk through Kettle Cove State Park...


Taking it all in...


Sunset at Kettle Cove, thankful for the experience...

...And looking forward to the next Open Studio where I can go back to work with Kate again. There is still SO much to learn, and the desire to take it all in couldn't be stronger.

Let's hear it for boundless creativity and curiosity!