The Pearl LAB wintersession course, 'Only with Agitation, Comes Growth', will focus on the pearl as a subject of inquiry and material experimentation. Students will be divided into research groups to explore and exploit the material potential and properties of the pearl as well as to challenge its convention and agency as a cultured object and precious jewel. Through a significant pearl donation to the J+M department, students will be provided a selection of pearls for both experimentation and the final conception of their work. Guest experts and artists in the field will provide lectures to facilitate and contextualize the complex environmental, social, and cultural history (and future sustainability) of the pearl as a cultivated and renewable gemstone revered for its beauty, value, and wealth. Only with Agitation, Comes Growth aims to disrupt and innovate around such histories and shared material expectations. A selection of student work produced in the course will be featured in the J+M Department Triennial Exhibition at the Woods Gerry Gallery, Jan 31ST – Feb 18TH, 2025

In conjunction with the course, alumni of the program, who’s research and practice are centric to the course content will be invited back as a fellows-in-residence to work in the department alongside J+M faculty and majors.

Elective

Water casting is a historic approach to metalsmithing through an organic process, allowing metal to behave in its nature rather than the will of its maker. Heated until molten and glowing, metal flows like mercury into a vessel filled with heated water to softly catch its liquid form. This course will focus on exploring organic casting methods, metal forging, forming, and interpreting outputs through chance operations. Through the winter session, we will reconnect with some of the more ancient methods of metalsmithing to create innovative new work examining methods of relinquishing control in order to embrace freedom in dialogue with materiality. This winter session intensive will develop students proficiency in various casting and forging techniques through articulate self-directed projects that examine metal in its various states. Discover the possibilities of allowing chance in process, technique and material.

Winter session is delivered as an intensive program, allowing a meaningful inquiry into material practice. We will meet 3 days a week where growth will be consistently assessed through daily exercises and short seminars highlighting the history of metalsmithing and its contemporary future. This class will be evaluated through letter grades given to 4 main categories; Participation + Engagement, Exercises, Project 1 and Project 2.

ZBrush is a digital sculpting software that mimics the qualities of sculpting clay in a digital space. This course teaches students the fundamentals of digital sculpting as an approach to jewelry design in the digital realm and physical production from digital assets. Through a series of digital and physical modeling exercises, 3D printing, physical samples and resolved projects, students will produce wearable pieces of art. Through physical observations of forms from living beings observed in the RISD Nature Lab, historical and contemporary jewelry pieces from the RISD Museum, and designed objects, students will establish methods of recreating ideas in a digital space for approaching "sculpting" as a new way of thinking and making.

This J+M elective offering is an intensive technical course that focuses on the subject and material investigation of Stones + Gold. The course will be divided into two segments: the first half focuses on the working with gold as material and the second on intermediate and advanced stone setting. Technical demonstrations will discuss and outline material properties, preparation and proper handling, alloying, soldering/fabrication, finishing, etc. Lectures and discussion will address the history of the materials, their mining and sourcing, environmental impacts and concerns, and methods for establishing an ethical practice. The course aims to address and prepare students with the practical knowledge, experience, and the necessary specialized skills to launch professionally into industry, produce independent commission work, and/or advance their personal creative practices.

Please contact the instructor for permission to register. Preference is given to Junior, Senior or Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Elective

This course is an in-depth exploration of color as surface and substance in the realm of jewelry design. Students will learn traditional, modern, and experimental techniques while engaged in a dialog centered on the conceptual impact of color in cultural contexts. Our investigations will utilize surface in support and opposition to the materiality of the objects. Works created in response to assignments are expected to meet technical guidelines while representing students' personal interest and demonstrating an experimental mindset.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This course emphasizes the refinement of technical and design skills acquired in sophomore level. A variety of new techniques are introduced. The nature of the assignments encourages the development of a personal aesthetic and asks for greater independence in the design process. The structure of the assignments is designed to present formal and conceptual challenges, promote innovative problem solving and individual exploration. Research and ongoing discussions are part of this course.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This studio course will continue to advance students' metalsmithing techniques. Chasing and repousse, along with lost wax casting, will be introduced and developed throughout the semester. Skills and material knowledge learned in the sophomore year will also be used to fulfill assignments. Overlap between all skills is encouraged in most assignments. Inquiry into the finer points of fabricating and inventing innovative findings for jewelry will be an ongoing consideration. Research, drawing, and sample making are expected to precede each class assignment to facilitate students design process.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This class is an intensive investigation of the processes of electroplating and electroforming copper metal by covering objects of various modeling materials to create new metal objects. All aspects of this technical application are discussed. Students are required to maintain an accurate logbook of their investigation while developing a body of work.

Please contact the instructor for permission to register.

Elective

An advanced studio course, students propose and develop individual research projects surrounding their interests in jewelry and metalsmithing. In preparation for the Degree Project, conceptual development and critical thinking are highly emphasized, and students are encouraged to explore materials and processes that best serve their ideas. Digital process documentation, display/presentation and participation in-group critiques/discussions are required and highly evaluated.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Senior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

An advanced studio course, students propose and develop individual research surrounding their interests in jewelry and metalsmithing. In support of the Degree Project year, conceptual development and critical thinking are highly emphasized, and students are encouraged to explore materials and processes that best serve their ideas. As the structure of this term allows for more individual freedom, it is necessary that students maintain a high level of self-initiative, curiosity, work ethic, and time management to be successful in their independent degree project.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Senior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

In this seminar we will investigate and promote the role of writing in an artistic practice via reading, discussion, exercises, and written assignments. A directed effort to source text from both within and outside the field will be implemented as we move beyond curiosity and take residence in the realm of responsible thinking. Paramount in our objective is the engendering of personal expressions of criticality while fostering the confidence to implement them in writing, conversation, and presentation.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Junior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

Sophomore Jewelry I is the first of two introductory studio classes which will familiarize students with the creative jewelry studio environment. Fundamental tools and techniques integral to working with metal are introduced during class demonstrations over the semester. Class projects are structured to blend the use of tools with techniques and are introduced in order of complexity. The course begins with designing and constructing structurally sound 3D objects from 2D metal sheet stock. By the conclusion of the semester students are equipped with technical skills to make jewelry informed with an awareness of the body as site. This is the first of a two-semester course.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This course is designed to challenge first year graduates to rethink their previous assumptions about their work, prior training, working methodologies and approaches to their practice. Through a series of rigorous and innovative start-up exercises, graduates are encouraged to expand their subjects, abandon their comforts zones, fail, edit, and (re) direct their work. Equal emphasis is placed on critical thinking and critical making. Faculty, meet weekly, individually with each student to provide constructive feedback and necessary structure. In small group discussions and in-class reviews, first years are required to actively participate in discourse and take responsibility for the collective dialogue. The resulting insight and shared knowledge between students, along with their own personal gain, sets the tone and direction for their work at RISD over the next two years.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This introductory metalsmithing course blends technical instruction with an investigation of design and concept as it relates to ornament and function. Students develop confidence and proficiency with the basic skills of forming non-ferrous metal. Specific techniques that will be covered are raising, forging, finishing non-ferrous metals, sawing, filing, drilling, sanding, polishing, annealing, surface embellishment, planishing and patination. We will also cover safety in the studio, proper hand-tool care, and the physical properties of metal. It is the goal of this course for students to gain an understanding of metal as a material and a broad understanding of the field of Jewelry and Metalsmithing. Assignments will build on each other and become more challenging throughout the semester. Each project given will rely on technical, formal and conceptual development. Classroom discussions, demonstrations and visual presentations will focus attention on traditional technical skills, design considerations, and the breadth of this exciting field.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

In the second sequence of Graduate Studio, first-year graduates continue to take risks and think independently; identify and gain insight into their creative influences; and successfully direct and shape their ideas. Class exercises are given with clear, open-ended themes. Course content focuses on clarity of intention, artistic authorship, the presentation and framing of ones work, and an awareness of the contemporary context. Faculty and students consider individual approaches for the execution of work, from the initial concept to the finished piece. In an effort to arrive at original, personally authentic work, it is essential that students are open to discussion and willing to investigate (and question) the motivating forces of their work.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

The emphasis of this course is on the intricacy and sophistication of metal construction. An introduction to stone settings, gem stones, and an awareness of gemology will be included. Technical information is presented in a clear, logical manner facilitating mastery of these essential skills. The class requires effort, patience, accuracy and sensitivity to the material. Each project pairs a technical skill with a search of creative design solutions that are based on individual sources of interests. This increases the challenge of the projects, and encourages growth in students' design awareness and ability, along with furthering technical capabilities. Drawings and models precede all projects. Students are required to maintain an active sketchbook, as well as a notebook with class handouts.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

While continuing to perfect and refine skills introduced in J&M-4424 Sophomore Metalsmithing, students will be directed toward identifying innovative and meaningful solutions for the creation of jewelry and small 3-dimensional objects that take advantage of the malleability of metal as an expressive and effective means to render articulate line quality and form. As new forming techniques are introduced they are paired with specific design challenges meant to encourage the development of their individual artistic interests. In a collaborative project paired with a writing workshop students will investigate scale, function and jewelry's inherent relationship to the body. Cultivating meaningful class discussion and critique of both research and design result is an important part of this course.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This course is an interactive lecture class. A series of distinctly varied individuals active in the field of jewelry will be invited to make presentation about their professional development. These diverging presentations are intended to offer a catalyst to stimulate questions, and encourage group discussion. Among the subjects to be presented are: individual studio practice, designing for industry, gallery connections, non-profit opportunities, partnerships, global opportunities, curatorial and journalistic prospects, wide world of the web, post graduation educational options, support systems for RISD alumni, residency prospects, and technology as resource for design and production. Students will be asked to keep an active journal of weekly observations and fulfill 3 class assignments connected with their ambitions and career interests.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Senior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

With a focus on digital technologies, this class will explore new material processes related to digital fabrication methodologies. The goal is to form a set of skills which build a designer's creative potential through 3D modeling, 3D printing, 3D scanning, laser cutting and possibly CNC cutting. This course actively applies programing learned in prerequisite CAD class Digital 3D Modeling and Rendering to explore various manufacturing process specifically applicable to jewelry. Research, models and innovative approaches are in direct response to questions of inquiry brought forward through design problems in the class. Students are encouraged to utilize CAD and CAD/CAM to explore designs in other classes.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

This course provides students with fundamental skills required to use Rhinoceros based 3D modeling CAD software. Rhino 3D facilitates the exploration of materials, and offers opportunities to push traditional fabricating techniques and enhance drawing skills. Research, models and innovative approaches are in direct response to questions of inquiry brought forward through design problems in the class. This class much like other software driven courses tend to be front end heavy with technical information. This information is obtained by completing assignments in an ordered fashion to ensure that the software covered in order for students to have a strong foundation moving into the JUNIOR JEWELRY: FROM CAD TO CAM course.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Junior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing