When it comes to making my own jewelry, I'm strictly minor leagues. Actually, looking at the skill levels of the jewelry makers that I've had the privilege to know and work with, "minor leagues" isn't even fair. I'm the Little League (fitting, for someone who was born about 30 minutes away from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League Hall of Fame). I've taken a few classes, and enjoyed them immensely — I discovered a surprising-to-me love of melting things when I took my first metalsmithing class. But in terms of the skill level I've achieved, I'm more a dabbler than anything else. Putting a magazine together takes a lot of time, and strangely enough, all that time I promised myself that I'd have to play in our jewelry-making studio just never materialized.

Which is why I jumped on the chance to take a class at the 2008 Bead & Button Show. The show is going to be held in Milwaukee in early June, and the arrival of the class catalog certainly was a source of excitement. Despite the fact that Art Jewelry doesn't cover beads or buttons, there are plenty of classes in metalsmithing, wire working, and metal and polymer clay that will be of interest to Art Jewelry readers. Me, I'm going to be taking a forging class, and will be spending a whole day hammering things under the watchful eye of Michael David Sturlin. It's another technique that I discovered a surprising love of in previous classes — there's something wonderfully cathartic about hammering stuff. But forging is more about making your mark and releasing your frustrations; it's about making metal move the way you want it to, and that takes a delicacy of touch. I'm looking forward to learning more!

We're in the middle of making plans for Art Jewelry's contributions to the 2008 show; we'll be planning some demonstration sessions which you'll be able to see on the show floor. If you're coming to the show, and there's something you'd like to see, let us know — there are some things that we can't do (such as lost-wax casting or anything requiring a hydraulic press), but we'll do our best to fulfill any requests.