Author: MBMAG

Posted on

MBMAG September Speaker: Sky Paxton- All About Agates, Sept. 21, 2018 from 7-9 pm, Moss Landing

Lapidary and jeweler Sky Paxton will share his love and knowledge of agates with us on Friday, Sept. 21, 7-9 pm at the Moss Landing Harbor Master’s Office.

Sky will share slides with examples of various types of agates, locations where they are found and some factors that affect prices.

He’ll also give us some tips on hardness and cleavage planes of popular stones which affect their use in certain types of settings.

Sky has been working with stones for many years, so bring your questions about working with these varied and beautiful stones.

This meeting is free and open to the public.

The address is 7881 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing.  After you enter the driveway to the Harbor parking lot go to the building all the way to the end of the parking lot on your right, “Harbor Master’s Office”.

Posted on

Call for Entries: “Autumn Selections” Juried Exhibit at Vargas Gallery

Night time view of the lobby to the Vargas Gallery at Mission College in Santa Clara CA

The Board of MBMAG and the Vargas Gallery at Mission College invite current and new members of the Guild to submit work for a juried exhibition. 

Title:  “Autumn Selections”

Exhibit Dates:  Saturday, Sept. 15th through Wednesday, October 31st

Jurors:  Lynda Watson and Albion Smith

Director of the Gallery and Curator of the Exhibit:  Lynne Todaro

Entry Fee $25.00 (non-refundable)

Entry fees due by August 15

Criteria:

  • Up to three pieces may be entered for consideration. Metal should be the primary material.  Copper, silver, gold acceptable.  A maximum of 50 works will be accepted.
  • Jewelry and sculpture will be accepted. For large sculpture pieces please contact Annette Nemes or Toni Danzig
  • Applicants may submit their work for sale or NFS (not for sale)
  • All sales will be between buyer and artist directly.
  • To have work considered for use in advertising, digital photos must be received by Aug. 1st.
  • All work will be collected on Sept. 1st (Santa Cruz area) and Sept. 2nd. (Monterey area) accompanied by records and labels.
  • You will be notified of your acceptance/ non-acceptance by email on September 10.
  • Work will be judged anonymously.
  • Reception at the Gallery will be in the afternoon on Sept. 15th

You are encouraged to visit the website of the Vargas Gallery at Mission College.

To join or renew your MBMAG membership click here.

Click here to Register for Juried Show

Posted on

Curtis Arima Workshop: Design and Composition for Metalsmiths Registration Opens June 2, 2018 at 10 am

Curtis Arima holding a hammer
Award-winning metalsmith and jewelry/metals instructor Curtis Arima presents a one-day workshop on Design and Composition for Metalsmiths.

This workshop is open only to members of MBMAG. To join or renew your membership, click here.

Registration opens June 2 at 10am. Click here to register

During the day, Curtis will guide the students through considerations of:

Aesthetics:Identifying forms, shapes, surfaces, colors, that students have a tendency use or a desire to use.
Concept: Identifying ideas, emotions, and subject matter students want to convey; How do students come up with ideas for work?
Context: Identifying what contexts students want to make work in and how to work with or against that context.
In addition, Curtis will take us through:
Context of showing work: open studios, gallery, exhibition, museum, museum store, craft show, personal pleasure
Context of Art history: what movements are related to the students work/ what movements do they want to be related to (abstract expressionist, conceptual, performance)
Context of Jewelry history: what direction in jewelry is the student’s work related to (production, art jewelry, fine jewelry).
There will be an assignment to be done before the day of the workshop.  Also, students are requested to bring a group of pieces to evaluate during the workshop.

When: July 28, 10am – 5pm with an hour for lunch

Lunch will be a potluck.  Please bring something to share.

Cost: $65.  If the workshop is canceled for any reason, all fees will be refunded. Students can cancel their registration up to 14 days before the workshop. No cancellations are accepted after that point, however, if there is a waitlist we will try to sell your place to a qualified student. If we can sell your place, you will receive a refund less a $25 cancellation fee.

Curtis holds a Master of Fine Arts in Metalsmithing, and is an instructor at California College of Arts and Crafts. He is a working artist who has received numerous awards for his work. Read more at his website, http://www.curtisharima.com
Posted on

Deb Lozier 3-Day Workshop: Keeping It Together: Fabrication Strategies for Enameling

details of Deb Lozier enameling workshop

You must be a current member of MBMAG to participate in this workshop, but everyone is free to join. If you have yet to renew your membership for 2018, click here to renew.

Learn the fundamentals of creating jewelry scale copper forms that hold up to the heat required for vitreous enameling. At 1500 degrees F, it’s not IF the solder will flow, but WHEN and being prepared is the key to success. We will begin by searching for inspiration and creating paper models to problem solve and troubleshoot good fabrication foundations, then proceed on to forming techniques, strategic soldering, welding, and some cold connections. Once students have a few experimental forms to work with, we will move on to enamel applications and firings; bringing the forms to life with the dynamics of color.

Skill levels: A basic understanding of beginning jewelry techniques and some enameling experience are required.

Cost $245. A tools and materials list will be sent to enrolled students.

Workshop dates: June 15 – 17, 2018

About the artist: Deborah Lozier is an internationally known metalsmith, jeweler, enamelist, sculptor, and instructor. She is a Senior Adjunct Professor at California College of the Arts in Oakland, California. She has taught countless workshops at institutions ranging from summer art programs in the English countryside to vocational studies at San Quentin State Prison. Receiving her BFA in Crafts from Arizona State University in 1984, Deb began her personal exploration with enamel soon after graduation, using a torch to fire it in her small apartment studio. although labor intensive by nature, Deb’s approach to enameling evokes a sense of relaxed ease. She coaxes the forms and surfaces to reveal their inner beauty, gathering their potential through a sensitive observation of cause and effect. Whether the work is jewelry intended to be worn, or sculptural objects for contemplation, she brings to each piece a suggestion of ritual and past use.

Posted on

MBMAG Monthly Speaker Series: Paul Kmetko

calipers, pliers, graver and hammer surround the Speaker Series announcement for the Monterey Bay Metal Arts Guild

Friday, May 18, 2018 7-9 PM

MBMAG Speaker Series:

Paul Kmetko: Stenciling on Enamel -Tips and Easy to Make Tool

Stencils are commonly used in enameling and they can be tricky to manipulate. Nothing is worse than carefully applying powder to your design and jostling the stencil whilst trying to remove it… Not only does it waste precious material, it can be very frustrating.

In addition just laying a stencil down on top of the work doesn’t guarantee a snug fit and powder will creep under boundary zones. In order to solve the problem I went back to my roots in screen printing and devised a solution that solves both problems at once. It started as a low tech device with a easily  available clamp fixture that can be modified with minimal effort by almost anybody.

Paul will share this device and how to make a low-tech version of it, as well as giving tips on stenciling on enamel at this month’s MBMAG Speaker Series.

Stenciled Enamel Dish by Paul Kmetko

Paul is  a silver smith, enamel artist and the owner of Seabright Metalworks in Santa Cruz.

Creator Haven LLC is at 41B, Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA

Posted on

Bruce McKay: Ways of Holding, MBMAG Monthly Speaker Series, April 27, 2018

Bruce McKay with torch and optivisors

April 27, 2018

MBMAG Monthly Speaker Series

Making jewelry requires holding onto things that are often funny shaped, too small, too hot, too delicate, and so on . Bruce’s talk is about ways to hold stuff while creating your jewelry. This includes holding items while soldering, creating assemblies of item to be held together while soldering such as clusters of heads, holding onto items while filing and sanding, holding irregular shaped metalwork while setting stones, and much more.

The tools and techniques will all be demonstrated at this talk for MBMAG at Creator Haven on April 27, 2018 from 7-9 pm. Light refreshments will be served.


Bruce McKay is a gold/platinumsmith, jewelry designer, lapidarist and graduate gemologist with 47 years experience who has recently moved to the Santa Cruz area from Portland, Oregon. There he had a custom design studio for 30 years and for the past 6 years has taught advanced jewelry techniques at the Multnomah Arts Center. Now a member of MBMAG, Bruce is past president of the Creative Metal Arts Guild of Oregon. 

Creator Haven is located at 41B Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

Posted on

Pablo Cubangbang Filigree Workshop

This is a previously held event. Visit the Events page of this website for more current events

Filigree Earrings by Pablo Cubangbang

Registration Opens March 3, 2018 at 9 am

Class will be April 14-15, 2018 from 10 am-4pm.

In this Members-Only workshop, the students will learn how to make filigree jewelry. Each student will learn to make their own traditional filigree wires and frame wire using some modern technology. We will construct simple bracelet links with 3 or more techniques incorporated to the design. Each student will also make an earring or pendant. Polishing, finishing and using filigree tools will be covered.

A kit fee of $50 will be collected in class.

The class will be held at Creator Haven, LLC, 41-B Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

You must be a current MBMAG member to participate. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2018, do it now so that you will be ready to register for this exciting workshop!

Click here to renew or join

Pablo Cubangbang was born in a small town in the Philippines. He has acquired many skills in jewelry making from Cabrillo College and other workshops. He was mentored by Dawn Nakanishi. In a workshop by Dr. Yehuda Tassa, he learned the basic filigree process and fell in love with it and has continued to hone his filigree art in his small studio. Pablo received multiple Visual Arts Scholarships for his jewelry and watercolor pieces. Pablo is a member of the Monterey Bay Metal Arts Guild and is the president of the Cabrillo Seahawk Metal Arts Club.

Posted on

Third Friday Speaker Series: Metal Clay Demo with Pat Evans

dragon fly brooch of fine silver with sapphires by Pat Evans

Friday, February 15, 2018 7 – 9pm

Free and open to the public

Have you been curious about metal clay? Do you think it’s just for hobbyists? Or have you never even heard of it? This product, a combination of recycled silver and organic binders, can be worked like clay and, when fired, is (depending on the variety) pure fine silver, sterling silver, copper, bronze or even steel. Pat Evans, Senior Art Clay Instructor, will demonstrate the basics of working with several varieties of metal clay, and explain how it can be a useful addition to your jewelry-making toolkit.

Join us at the Soquel Glenn Mobile Home Park Clubhouse

details of a speaker presentation by Pat Evans on silver metal clay
VenueSoquel Glen Mobil Home Park Clubhouse
Address5470 Soquel Drive
Soquel CA 95073, US
StartsFri Feb 16 2018, 7:00pm PST
EndsFri Feb 16 2018, 9:00pm PST