The Lady Sharpshooters group can be summed up pretty easily. They are a group of gun
engravers who are hungry for knowledge, dedicated, and have made a commitment to push themselves to new heights.
They provided a list of techniques they wanted to focus on, and I did my best to deliver a challenging project and get them out of their comfort zones. They exceeded my expectations. Many showed up Monday morning with the design already cut onto practice plates, so they had some familiarity with the design beforehand. This paid off well and I was blown away by the sculpting and deep relief engraving they brought to show me. I threw caution to the wind and learned with them as I demonstrated techniques of undercutting and inlay that I’d heard of but had not done before. They received it enthusiastically and several went on to use the techniques on their class gun project. One of my goals was to give them enough to go by, but to also encourage them to make their own design decisions as to how to handle certain areas, and I was thrilled that they took it and ran with it. Some of their results were much different than mine, and I’m happy to say some were better! I was the instructor and they were the students, but in reality it’s more family than teacher-students. Many I’ve known for years and the class chemistry is wonderful! It was one of my most rewarding experiences in 25+ years of teaching. Sam Alfano
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ISSUE NO. 10
@GRSTOOLS
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