What do you want students to take away from your classes? When a private student comes to me for, say 5 days, I tell and warn them the first morning we’re not going to make any ‘masterpiece’ in the relatively short time we have together. There is so much to learn but in my opinion there are some important, foundational techniques, with which, after getting the basics in, the student can work and practice on their own afterwards to hone their skills further. What looks so easy on a video, cutting a nice circle for example, can be pretty challenging when you’ve never done it before. This takes hours of deliberate practice, with properly sharpened gravers. So I tell them I want them to become good enough with this step (to stay with the circle example) so we can continue with their circle with the absolute minimum touch up from my end, so it stays their work in the end. The main techniques I hope and strive for that every student is able to do at the end of the course, is the ability to sharpen a variety of gravers and to be able to do basic castle, filet, and imitation pavé. Another thing I really hope for and like my students to take away from the classes is a motivation to push themselves to get to the next level and continue their practice and training on their own. When they have seen the possibilities and how much there is to learn, I see it as my job to push them as far as possible in the days we have together without going too far, so they stay motivated and not discouraged by how difficult it can be at some points. When they walk away with a fire to get after it, it totally makes my day!
You traveled all over the world, learning, teaching, and working. How have these travels inspired your own work? In my own daily work I very rarely have to design jewelry pieces. Many times I discuss in depth with the goldsmith what the possibilities are regarding techniques we can use and just the plain physics of what is possible. What the travels did do is open my eyes on the difference between how people work in different countries, and on the other side the similarities in the drive of dedicated craftspeople to grow and do their best work, no matter which country they’re from. To see how they incorporate different gemstones and materials in their designs, and how they tackle a project from start to finish is very interesting and inspiring to see for me. store in Tahiti and asked if he could fly me in for a private training. Definitely not the smoothest travels back and forth I’ve had in my life (thanks to Covid rules) but one of the best experiences for sure! This year I’ve done a similar awesome trip to Brazil and Guatemala to teach privately as well. Crazy to think that back in 2012, I was the one who flew to the other side of the world for courses and quality training and 10 years later people fly me in for that! What inspired you to teach? I love to learn and gain new skills and truly appreciate good teachers who are enthusiastic about the subject they teach. There is so much to learn and in my opinion life is too short to reinvent the wheel on your own all the time. In this day and age there is so much knowledge available through books, online, in schools, and through all those channels I gained many new skills and knowledge myself. When the opportunity came up for me to teach, and be on the other side of the spectrum and share the things I’ve had learned over the years I grabbed it with both hands.
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