So I have been in Nashville, TN for the last eight weeks at the New Approach School for Jewelers and the whole thing has been a great experience. I got used to the long days after the first week and a half.
I usually get up at 7, eat a good breakfast and am on the road by quarter of 8. We get two breaks, 10am and 3pm and an hour lunch at noon. In between the hours of 8:30am and 5pm, however, is when the magic happens. I have learned to set so many types of stones, cz's for now, that it has made my head spin.
We made a three stone ring out of sterling silver during week five and that changed everything. All the detail and precision that had to be done for that ring to work out started to arrive for me, skill wise. I did manage to overcut one of the side stone seats so its a little crooked. Still, making that ring out of sheet stock and wire was one of the best things I have ever done. Blaine called it "old school craftsmanship" and it sure felt like it.
There are so many tips and tricks that Blaine has either come up with or adapted to the skills of a jeweler that it boggles the mind. We all just smile when he shows us a new one, and so does Blaine, his eyes light up and a toothy upper grin comes out. You can really tell he loves what he does.
Besides a graver stick here or the burn John had when the hot tweezer caught his hand, there have been no major injuries. Even Blaine said the burn was the worst he has ever had in a class. Trust me when I say they can be a lot worse. No one has missed a day. Its all about being careful in everything you do.
More recently we have been doing some difficult advanced stone setting. Well at least it looks difficult, but then so does the Great Wall of China before you realize it was built brick by brick. These new skills take time, and so does the process to make something intricate anyways but with the right guidance you can make anything. We have Blaine to thank for that.
As for the social side of things I have been doing fine. I typically hang out with the guys and we play poker on Saturdays and sometimes go to breakfast at a nice play Sunday morning. My brain has not really gotten as tired as I thought it would be mainky because we are at our own benches working, even though they are side by side with no separation. If it was a continual interaction then I would probably need more of a break than lunch could give me. There are times when I do feel the mental tiring but they are less than before and can typically be held off until the ride home. I don't go home depressed because this is something I love doing. I finally something I love doing and will get paid for it. As the saying goes, I probably won't ever work a day in my life.
Last week my Mom and Aunt & Uncle came to visit and we had a great few days. We went out to eat every meal and talked about how things we going in all our lives. I thank my mom for coming down as I know how much she hates flying. Auntie and uncle drove four hours and that was appreciated as well. The only concession I made was sleeping on the pullout and not hanging with the guys Saturday night. Big whoop, we went to the Grande Ole Opry instead and had a great time.
After eight weeks the Jewelry Technician program ends and the final four weeks can be taken seperately, by anyone, but if continued after the current class they become part of the Graduate Bench Jeweler program. Next week is ornamental hand engraving with Jason Marchiafava touted by Blaine as being in the top 5% of jewelers in the world, period. If you look at his work then you can see why (go to j.fava.com). This should be a fun week as we take a break from the current MO. Blaine keeps saying that this week makes us unbeatable with a graver due to the progression of cuts and building of detailed skills. After all, the graver is used to augment seat for stone setting and detailing in all types of jewelry; pieces look cleaner and much more professional. As a matter of fact Blaine has showed us ads out of major jewelry magaiznes that show clear problems on pieces that any of us could easily clean up with a graver using current skills. If you had the ability to make something look better and really stand out, would you? That is the mentality you have to take, and then you need to take the time to do so.
Things are really nice down here and I like it. Only four more weeks until really hits and I have to go back home and find a job. A promising place in Providence, RI looks like it has a spot for me ( the guy always calls Blaine first and he hasn't done so for three years). That it a good sign overall. Blaine is also getting more calls from other people as well and business is picking up again. This is also due to the aging of many in the jewelry trade and people retiring and their children not having an interest in th family business. That means we are going to have be shorthanded in the trade and people are going to have to come out of nowhere to fill the void. Until they do it should be a fun time for myself and other like me. The next few years are going to be great, I can feel it.
Until next time....
The bottom pics are of stones that I set into pre-cast rings and the top of the three stone ring that I made out of sterling silver. That ring was really hard to set the stones into as silver is not easy to cut accurate seats into an if you slip with a bur then it eats the sides of the prong. I will put some more in later posts.
