The Jewelry Lab can be used to produce fine Jewelry or costume jewelry.
Basic small castings using either the Steam casting or centrifugal casting methods. Maximum casting mass 500 grams, less is better…
There is a basic setup to fabricate Jewelry.
As of now most of the hand tools that were originally part of the Jewelry Lab have gone walkabout. As of now be prepared to supply your own hand tools.
Jewelry construction is a specialized, field. those members that are experienced in jewelry making please help others. The capitol and other equipment has been damaged by misuse.
I would add, wash your hands after working in the Jewelry Lab, it would be best if you do not eat or drink while in the area.
I doubt we could do this in the current facility because we would probably need ventilation, but I think we should have a set up for lamp working. That is the capability to create beads and other small glass items such as marbles, vessels, small creatures etc by maneuvering string glass over an open flame. Usually propane, but there are other gasses.
There used to be classes all year round at City Arts and Mark Arts (then Art Association) for at least 10 years up until the early 2000’s. There was a retail store in the Old Town Theater area downtown until a few years ago. It was a viable business with a great set up studio you could rent time in the lab to do your own or take classes.
There are probably 2000 to 3000 people in Wichita that were active lamp workers. All of whom are wanting to have a decent place to do this incredible art form.
Wichita is an area that LOVES glass work. We at one time had 5 active studios that actually were blowing glass. That is an incredible amount for a city the size of Wichita.
Could we please keep that under consideration as we plan for our future?
Thanks
Gail
As long as it is on a small scale, we should be able to do lampwork once we have the vent hood connected to the vent over the small bathroom. We have the exhaust hood and fan, but need someone who can volunteer to run the duct from the hood to above the bathroom. We have our small oxy-propane torch, which is much hotter than propane alone, and lampwork was one of the goals we had in mind when we purchased it, so stay tuned!
