Whatever your favorite tipple, stir it in style with a hand-forged cocktail spoon. In this workshop you'll learn to work with both rod and sheet as you shape a unique and useful long-handled spoon. You'll start by practicing key techniques in copper, then make your masterpiece in solid sterling silver, a beautiful, sturdy and food-safe choice that doesn't impart any unwanted flavor to your ingredients. A great gift for yourself or the bartender in your life! Prerequisite: none.

Large but comfortable, beginner-friendly but attention-grabbing, chandelier earrings may just become your earring of choice for the holiday season. As  you create your earrings you will gain experience with a wide variety of jewelry skills and tools, including sawing, forming, drilling, fusing, and polishing. We'll practice in brass but complete your final design entirely in stunning sterling silver. Prerequisite: none. 

Learn the techniques behind an historic style of Mexican jewelry in one of Mexico’s most beautiful cities. A seam of silver runs through Guanajuato’s bedrock, history, and culture. Rich mineral deposits led to the city’s founding in the 16th century and a massive silver vein discovered in 1750 funded many of the stunning Baroque buildings that have earned it recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

That opulence is also reflected in Guanajuato’s personal adornments. Our class will focus on a distinctively baroque style developed during Guanajuato’s colonial period. For joyería pajarito or “little bird jewelry,” “ …brooches and earrings are built up on several planes…the surfaces all naturalistically tooled and all held together with wire tendrils. On this flowery mass a small bird perches, its wings incrusted with turquoise and its eye a ruby-red stone…The floral design is then riveted to an architectural framework of scrolls and broken curves with tear shaped drops” (Mary L. Davis, Mexican Jewelry).

Our instructor Francisco García-Guevara is a master jeweler who learned the style from his own father. Students will work in silver to creative a pendant with several layers and elements, experiencing sandcasting, die-stamping, chasing, engraving, patination, and soldering.

We’ll attend class each weekday until 2pm, then break for lunch and sightseeing, including a group tour one afternoon after class. Our hotel for the week is a restored 18th-century house just minutes from the studio. From this central location it’s easy to enjoy Guanajuato’s renowned music, theater, restaurants, and winding cobblestone streets. Prerequisite: Some silver soldering experience.

Please note: Guanajuato is extremely hilly. This trip is not appropriate for travelers who have difficulty climbing stairs or walking distances over uneven terrain.

OPTIONAL: For an additional fee, students may add on a tool making workshop on Sunday, February 2; details will be sent upon registration for Study Abroad: Pajarito Jewelry.

CLASS FEE: $1750

INCLUDED IN CLASS FEE

REGISTRATION DEADLINE

PAYMENT DATES

Amber is the fossilized sap of ancient trees, transformed over time into a uniquely beautiful gemstone. Lightweight and workable, amber been shaped into jewelry, sculpture, and practical objects for thousands of years. We’ll delve into the world of amber in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state and prominent amber-producing region. In addition to learning how to carve and polish raw amber, we’ll learn how to distinguish real from fake and come to appreciate amber’s importance to the local culture and economy.

Our class will take place in San Cristóbal de las Casas, a beautiful 16th century colonial city regarded as the cultural capital of Chiapas. We’ll stay a short walk from our studio at the famous Casa Na Bolom, a cultural center, museum, and hotel dedicated to the preservation of indigenous arts and knowledge. Na Bolom is on the edge of San Cristóbal’s walkable downtown, where you can enjoy museums, churches, markets, marimba music, and a wide range of delicious restaurants.

We will work with locally-sourced amber and study with Antonio Ramírez Jardines, a nationally known master carver and amber ambassador. You may carve complete objects such as pendants or beads, or create items that you will wish to set in metal after you return home. Class will take place Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. We’ll study each day until 2pm, then break for lunch and sightseeing. Our free day on Sunday is an opportunity to visit the weekly markets in several nearby villages noted for their indigenous traditions and textile arts.

Prerequisite: none.

CLASS FEE: $1750

INCLUDED

7 nights hotel in a private room

5 days of instruction (25 hours) and tools

approx. 100g of amber

1 field trip

7 hotel breakfasts

Snacks and coffee during class

2 group dinners

AIRFARE NOT INCLUDED

REGISTRATION DEADLINE If the trip has not reached minimum enrollment by December 6, it will be canceled. Should Pratt cancel the trip due to under-enrollment, registration fees will be refunded in full. We will notify students when the class reaches minimum enrollment and suggest making no non-refundable travel plans until that time, or until notified that the class has filled.

PAYMENT DATES $875 deposit due upon registration $875 final payment due by November 22, 2019

REFUND POLICY

25% of the trip fee is non-refundable for withdrawal until December 19, 2019

50% is non-refundable for withdrawal between December 20, 2019 – January 22, 2020

100% is non-refundable for withdrawal after January 22, 2020