Kate Wolf Designs :: Workshops

Wax Carving with Kate Wolf 5 days - All skill levels welcome.
January 9-13, Mon-Fri, Jewelry Studies International, Austin, Texas
May 7-11, Mon-Fri, , Portland, Maine
June 23-27, Sat-Wed, Portland, Maine
July 9-13, Mon-Fri, Portland, Maine
July 23-27, Mon-Fri, New Approach, Franklin, Tennessee
August 20-24, Mon-Fri, Portland, Maine
September 10-14, Mon-Fri, Portland, Maine
Oct 22-26, Mon-Fri, Portland, Maine
Wax is an amazing material. In this hands on workshop we will explore innovative approaches to wax carving with an emphasis on encouraging confidence and creativity. We will explore how to transform scribbles into resolved designs; layout; carving rings, bezels and partial bezels for cabochons and facetted stones; contour fit shadow bands; hollow forms and mirror images; flame techniques; textures; faux granulation; pierced out work; hollowing; finishing, repairing; toolmaking and more. Learn how to rapidly and accurately remove excess material using the flex shaft for affordable lathe and milling processes. We will be working with Wolf Milling Wax™. There will be live, highly magnified demos of many wax techniques.

Figurative Carving - 4 days
June 12-15, Tues-Fri , Portland, Maine
All skill levels welcome. We'll focus on design development– turning rough sketches into working drawings: layout; carving floral, faces and animals; mirror images and hollow forms. Learn how to rapidly and accurately remove excess material using the flex shaft for affordable milling processes.

Open Studio* with Kate Wolf 1-3 days - All skill levels welcome.
May 21,22, Mon, Tue; Portland, Maine.
August 8,9,10 Wed, Thur, Fri; Portland, Maine.
Oct 8, 9, 10 Mon, Tue, Wed; Portland, Maine.
Kate spends one-on-one time with each student, doing demonstrations on wax carving, finishing, design, production and more. Emphasis is placed on helping each student take their skills to a higher level, get fired up and have some fun. Bring ongoing projects or get a good start on something new. *For those who have taken a class with Kate.
Kate's Bio

Mitsuro Wax with Kate Wolf 2 days hands on workshop.
Aug 6-7, Mon-Tue, Portland, Maine
Oct 6-7, Sat-Sun, Portland, Maine
Explore the ancient Japanese technique of Mitsuro, a soft wax that is stretched, folded and twisted creating striated ribbons called Hikime. We'll cook a batch of Mitsuro and make Hikime to create leaves, petals and ribbons for rings, pendants, earrings and more. This fun process creates beautiful forms that would be impossible to carve.

Technical Drawing with Kate Wolf.
July 17-18, Tue-Wed, Portland, Maine
Sept 6-7, Thu-Fri, Portland, Maine
All skill levels welcome! In this hands on workshop, we will create 3-View Technical Drawings in pencil, transforming scribbles into designs that can be easily interpreted. Three View Drawings are essential for communicating with customers, sales staff, designers, CAD specialists and jewelers. Drawing before working at the bench can help save time and aid in estimating cost of materials and troubleshooting potential problems. Learning to do these drawings is surprisingly easy–it's a bit like connecting the dots. It's time to get over your fear of drawing. Kate will show you lots of tips and tricks that will make your design process enjoyable.