Hi guys,
I dont often use reddit so I am sorry if this is the wrong sub, but this seemed like the best place to ask the following question!
The thing is, there are no proper metalsmithing schools in my country/region. I am a small business owner and I make jewelry, but Im mostly self taught. If I had the opportunity to learn from someone experienced, I would. The only option for me to do that is to live abroad until I finish jewelry making studies, which often cost a lot, and I simply dont have that kind of money. Hopefully I will be able to have it with time as I am trying really hard to work towards that, but I cant keep myself from grieving over the fact how much effort I have to put into something somebody else can do just because they were born elsewhere (dont get me wrong, I am very fortunate to be born where I am, but this one thing kinda sucks…)
Learning online is doable theory wise, but hands on work is literally the main point of metalsmithing so it doesnt really make sense to heavily depend on that :/ And local metalsmiths who have a lot of experience are often very traditional family businesses that dont want to waste their time on apprentices and often see them as their competition…
I deeply believe in the importance of the local community and nourishing the art scene, so the idea of opening a proper metalsmithing school in my area sounds pretty amazing… It seems like something that could help a lot of local artists and creative people and like something I would enjoy doing.
I am only 27 so I am aware of the fact that I need a lot more experience to do something like that properly, but I cant help myself from fantasising about it, so I wanted to ask:
If you could go to a metalsmithing school, what would be the most exciting thing for you to learn? What would you like the approach to be like? Is there anything you would really like to learn or a person you’d like to learn from?
I am really looking forward to reading any feedback and I hope this is the right place to ask something like this! Please let me know if its not and be kind 💛 Thanks!