Heart of Gold
用你的心和你的思想设计。在绘制任何设计之前，可视化您想要的珠宝。这只是Goldsmith Mary Anch Scherr提供的一些智慧在工艺中心的夏季金属饰品课程。
The course caps at eight students with a long waiting list – and for good reason.
Scherr，91，是设计世界的传奇。她的客户名单包括温莎，Liz Claiborne和Chelsea克林顿的晚杜克。她的珠宝和艺术作品是主要博物馆的永久集合，包括罗马梵蒂冈艺术博物馆，艺术和设计博物馆以及纽约大都会艺术博物馆。
“She’s amazing,” says Deborah Rodgers, a student and instructor of stained glass. “I can learn so much from her.”
That’s exactly what I set out to do when I sat in on two of her classes recently.
学生学习了什么
八周课程的目标是为学生设计自己的珠宝，从袖套开始。Scherr承诺使这种雄心勃勃的壮举成为可能。“只有你可以教你如何设计。我可以教你伎俩，“她说。
这是我的第一天，最初我感到害怕。谁想在玛丽安希德周围制作糟糕的设计？但随着阶级的进展，信心增长，所有学生都创造了一个手镯。
Scherr guides us through the process with practiced skill and soothing words. First, she advises us to write our initials in block capitals onto tracing paper. Then she has us draw a box around the part we like best.
接下来，我们准备金属。我们的选择是镍，青铜或新金。我们通过牙科工具传输设计并雕刻线条和表格。Scherr设计了这种快速的过程和技术。“通常，设计手镯需要数周，”她说。
The following week we visit Scherr’s Raleigh home studio. That’s where we etch our designs in bubbling baths of nitric acid and explore her work and memories.
Scherr’s walls are lined with awards and photos of her beside royalty, designers and slinky TV broadcasters from the 1960s. Her jewelry is on display, too. It’s elegant and memorable, incorporating white gold, abalone shell and Japanese Netsuke masks.
Designing a bracelet feels fabulous — it’s instant gratification. One student says she’s inspired to design a ring for her fiancé.
A Revamped Crafts Center
The jewelry course is one of several offered at the Crafts Center in Thompson Hall, which underwent an extensive renovation between 2007 and 2009. Director George Thomas says classes range from crochet, teapot making and chessboard making to bicycle repair. “People come here to take their mind off of things,” he says. “We’re proud to offer this to our community.”
Scherr’s been teaching the jewelry-making class for years and says the best thing is the students. “I love seeing students develop an interest in metals and designing something they’ve created themselves,” she says.
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dear Richard,
I wonder if you knew my father Richard Arnesen?
he also worked for Scherr and McDermott in the 1950s and went on to form his own design firm in Chicago, (graphics and packaging- there again that combination of industrial & product design, etc) but in his post-business years he created assemblages from found objects, working with carpentry, paint, old tools, etc., the influence of the Akron aesthetic ! art/design/craftsmanship philosophy. I remember Mary Ann and her jewelry as a kid. jan a.
Debbi, I’m Richard Weckman, Mary Ann’s father was my fathers brother. Mary Ann and Sam Scherr, back in the late 50s took me under their wing, and in that I had no resume or portfollio, got me into the Akron Art Institute, for a four year course in Industrial Design. They just felt I could become a good designer. After graduation, I worked at Smith Scherr McDermott, one of the ten top studios in the nation. Later I began working for Owens Illinois, a fortune 500 company in Toledo Ohio. I became their design director after about four years on the board.
玛丽和萨姆字面上对我的职业生活负责，以及我的导师。他们向所有学生开辟了他们的家，这是一个完全开放的创造力的美好时光。这个故事还有更多的是，包括孩子们，悉尼，兰迪和斯科特，所有人都以自己的方式创造力。以及家庭搬到纽约。
Mary and Sam, for many years were Art Icon’s, and of course Mary Ann continues to be incredibly artistically active, and touching peoples lives as she did, and still does, mine.
Dear Richard,
So great hearing from you. I plan to do a follow-up profile on Mary Ann. She is completely fascinating to me and such a warm, talented and highly creative person. Thanks for writing in. – Debbi
This is a great article Debbi! Man, if I had known about this course sooner I would’ve signed up if I could. This looks amazing!!!
Thanks Angela! Next I am eyeing up the glass bead making course. Oh, and I’d love to learn to knit. There’s so much at the Crafts Center. Join me!