Metalwork Classes

Shape flowers in metal, create copper fountains, reproduce 18th-century tinware, pursue small-scale forging for jewelry, or make critters and roosters! No experience necessary.

Explore The Studio

D.X. Ross Jewelry & Metals Studio

This rustic building, built of locally-grown pine in the early 1970s and located in Studio Row, is well-equipped for jewelry making. It has been modernized and expanded in recent years, and contains saw frames, mandrels of all sorts, hammers, anvils, burnishers, rockers, pushers, scapers, vice grips, crucible, drill bits, engraver, dapping blocks, clamps, punches, awls, flat rolling mill, hydraulic press, drill press, bench grinder, belt sander and more. Cold glass classes such as stained glass and kaleidoscope making are also held here, as are our metalworking classes. In 2012, the studio was named in memory of D.X. Ross, a wonderful jewelry and enameling instructor, and the addition to the studio was named in honor of Alice Ahlers, who has taken over 200 classes at the Folk School.

News & Stories: What's Happening in Metalwork

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Solace In Steel with Elmer Roush

Renowned blacksmith and bladesmith Elmer Roush regularly teaches at the Folk School. Watch a video featuring Elmer produced by CRKT as part of their Forged by War program featuring veteran. Elmer talks about his time in the service and how he got started in blacksmithing.

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Welcome to Our New Website

Our new website is here!...

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All Hail the Tinsmiths

Tinsmithing. It doesn’t have the…

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Interview with Barbara Joiner, Resident Artist in Jewelry & Metals

Barbara joined Tammy Elwell in the Craft Shop for an afternoon of questions where she shared some wonderful insights into her journey as a maker, artist, and teacher. Barbara is a renowned jewelry artist and our Resident Artist in theJewelry and Metal Studio. Enjoy the interview!

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Sienna’s First Class: Enameling

Read a sweet interview 18-year-old Sienna Bosch from Fort Collins, CO who took the class “Beginning Techniques in Enamel” with Christie Schuster. She was here with her mom, who was in printmaking class, and her dad, who taught woodturning. I sat down with her and talked about her experience. Enjoy our interview!

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What’s a Hobo Nickel?

Unsure of what a hobo nickel is? Look no further! Read an interview with Tom Patterson who teaches a class in Hobo Nickel Engraving at the Folk School. Tom has been a hand engraver and metalsmith for more than 50 years. Enjoy our interview!

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Living a Crafty Life: My Interview with Kay Patterson

Kay Patterson teaches many times throughout the year at the Folk School in a variety of subjects including Jewelry, Metalwork, Felt Making, Enameling, and Shoe Making. I sat down with Kay to learn a little bit more about her life, inspirations, and her crafts. Enjoy our interview!

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Free to Be You: My Interview with David Baker

David Baker lights up any room with creative energy and joy. You may see him in a pink Easter bunny outfit in the spring, dressed as the spirit of fall at Fall Festival, or, on a more casual day, gliding around the Dining Hall in a flouncy, fluorescent tutu. In the spirit of the Folk School, he reminds us to embrace our inner child, to play, to laugh, to create, to experiment and to love each other and ourselves. David has been teaching Kaleidoscope classes at the Folk School for over a decade. He is also our regular massage therapist. Enjoy our interview!

Barbara Joiner headshot

Resident Artist in Jewelry, Metalwork, Stained Glass, and Kaleidoscopes

Barbara Joiner

Barbara has taught clay and jewelry classes for over 25 years. She studied clay at the University of Illinois, silversmithing at Indiana University, and she has an MFA degree from Southern Illinois University. Barbara’s work is in many collections, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and has won numerous awards throughout the U.S. She is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.

Elizabeth Belz headshot

Blacksmithing & Metals Coordinator

Elizabeth Belz

Elizabeth is a blacksmith, educator, and the owner of Black Widow Forge. She was the blacksmithing apprentice at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN for two years where she trained under master smith Jim Masterson. She was a craft education intern at North House Folk School, a resident artist with the Science Museum of MN, and has spent time at craft and folk schools across the country. Elizabeth has shown her work, competed, and taught blacksmithing throughout the United States and internationally and has most recently finished up an artist residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Elizabeth sits on the board of the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths which is an international nonprofit committed to building equity and diversity in the field of blacksmithing.

Interested in Attending?

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