Sometimes, you just luck out. Glassact251 managed to contract with Ivy Solomon, of Ivy Woodrose, to teach a pmc workshop, just as she was breaking into the big time, with a first place win in the pmc category of the 2004 Rio Grande's Saul Bell awards; she also appeared on the premier(?) cover of Art Jewelry Magazine.

We evidently were the first class she'd taught, and she went all out for us, making each student a set of copper-foil cutters (ie. cutting and brazing) not to mention a number of other very useful objects as part of the elegantly packaged kit, presented in a nice striped black box (as opposed to the ziploc if that you're normally lucky to get your kit in...)

Beads made in the pmc workshop. Largest is perhaps 14mm across. Fine silver pmc, patinaed with liver of sulphur.

Anyway. We had a choice of making either a necklace or bracelet (I chose the former because of the longer piece of chain included, knowing I'd never assemble the project) with pearls and assorted pmc beads—domed, flat round built on a wire, half-dome ‘clappers’, capped cylinders, and rounds built on wax or corn pops cereal.

Capped cylinders, initially my favorite pattern. These happened to be made with my stamps. Largest is roughly 22mm long.

I didn't like the way my admittedly not-very rounds came out, so I never made many more of them. Nevertheless, it was this workshop that sparked the formation of the pmc sig I've been attending twice a month for the last year or so; and Ivy's construction techniques have proven so satisfactory that I'm just now starting to think of ways to branch out from them. She also introduced me to the magnetic pin polisher I now use to help clean my beads (it polishes pmc very nicely as well;) and told us a cool way to have stamps made.

An excellent teacher and a delightful person, I recommend her workshop to anyone.

My thanks also to the aunt who gave me the stamps, and Anne Sheppard, who graciously hosted the event.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.