Taking Your Time Metalsmithing DVD

Learning to work with metal can be a daunting task for aspiring metalsmiths. Many jewelry makers begin their journey through jewelry making with bead stringing for this very reason, and while bead stringing isn’t necessarily as easy as it might appear for those who’ve never tried it, metal work tends to be a larger challenge – one of the most challenging for new jewelry makers. To help guide those interested in tackling the road to metal work, Nena Galloway Potts has created her own instructional DVD called Jewelry Making with Nena: Basic Jewelry Making Techniques. Probably a better title for this DVD would be Metalsmithing 101, but even if the title doesn’t clearly indicate what is on the DVD, Nena’s straightforward, calm approach clearly instructors the viewer through three projects that cover a variety of basic metal jewelry techniques.

The first project is a pair of sterling cat earrings, and as part of the project, you learn how to draw a pattern; saw out the pattern; file and shape the piece; polish it; create wire elements; use a torch; pickle and clean the metal; and finally oxidize parts of the finished earrings along with assembling them. And that’s just one of the three projects! The other projects are a bracelet and a pendant, covering other techniques such as soldering, prong settings, jump rings, bezels, and cab setting. As you can imagine, there’s a lot packed into this 2 hour virtual class.

Though Nena does not give details up front about all the tools and equipment she uses, as she works through each project, she stops to discuss their functions and how to properly use them. So, at first it seems like she’s just jumping into the class, but you’ll realize after awhile that she’s not rushing. In fact, she takes her time and methodically goes over techniques as she creates the jewelry. This makes sense because, really, that’s how you learn this kind of thing – you learn to make jewelry best by making jewelry. My only other small concern in this DVD was the close-ups. There are close-ups throughout, but a little more would have been nice. They aren't one hundred percent necessary to understand what she’s doing; like I said, she’s doesn’t rush, but for someone that is totally new to this, you may want to watch it through a few times before you tackle the first project.

You can view some sample footage from this DVD as well as purchase ($29.95 U.S. + shipping) it at HandyCraft Media Productions.