Our Instructors
At TMAC we are always looking for great instructors. If you have an idea for a class and would like to teach please send an e-mail to info@tacomametalarts.com
| Amy Reeves (Owner and founder of Tacoma Metal Arts Center) has been making metal jewelry since 1992. After receiving a BFA in Metal Design from the University of Washington, she began working as a full-time professional goldsmith. Her work and technical articles have been featured in publications like Art Jewelry and 500 Bracelets. She has taught metals at Puget Sound area schools like Pratt Fine Arts Center, North Seattle Community College, Tacoma Community College and Evergreen State College and others. Wanting a facility closer to home Amy Reeves opened Tacoma Metal Arts Center in December 2009. http://www.amyreeves.com/ |
William "Bill" Ayers works and teaches classes from beginning to advance out of his Renton studio. His work and class offerings can be seen at www.rattarart.com/ |
Saign Charlestein is a propmaker, who is has worked in the film and entertainment industry since 2002. He specializes in intricate metal work, including armor and weapon fabrication. He also has an immense skill set in carpentry, welding, machining, fabrication, model building, mold making and many other skills. Unhappy with products available on the market, Saign developed his own formula for chasing pitch, California Red Pitch, and he now manufactures pitch and chasing tools for Allcraft, Rio Grande, FDJ tools, Otto-Frei and other supply houses. http://www.saignc.com |
Matthew Coté graduated from Central Washington University with a BFA in Studio Art where he studied jewelry making under Keith Lewis. He actively exhibits his work locally and curates shows featuring artists from the Northwest. He is a yearly competitor in the Bellingham Technical College Welding Rodeo and teaches childrens art and art history at the Tacoma Art Museum. |
Bill Dawson came to art metals by way of blacksmithing at the University of Oregon. Since then he has been making a living with metalsmithing, both teaching and creating custom pieces for all manner of patrons. A close examination of metalwork of ancient cultures of Ireland has given Bill a deeper understanding of the character of the metal itself, as well as the aesthetics of the past. You can see Bill’s work at www.billdawsonmetalsmith.com. |
| Jeanne Ferraro holds a BFA from Kent State University in Ohio and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology, School of American Craft. She activiely exhibits her works nationally and internationally. Jeanne has worked with such notable glass artsts as Dale Chihuly, Boyd Sguiki, Jenny Pohlman & Sabrina Knowles, among others. http://www.jeanneferraro.com/ |
Peggy Foy is a Seattle-based metalsmith. She was born in Baltimore and educated in Georgia, earning a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from the University of Georgia in 2004. She specializes in small-scale sculptural pieces - mostly jewelry and hollowware - in silver, copper, and brass. She is on the Board of Directors for the Seattle Metals Guild, and has lectured with both the Seattle Metals Guild and the Northwest Art Alliance. Peggy’s studio is in the historic Pioneer Square gallery district of Seattle, and she shows at regional fine craft fairs and art jewelry galleries. http://www.peggyfoy.com/ |
| Sarah Gascoigne learned chasing and repousse when at art college in London. Sarah enjoys working on Church pieces and private commissions and steam punk sculptures in precious metals and stones. Notable examples are a pin recently completed for Lady Jane Hanham, a piece that was commissioned as a gift for HM the Queen Mother,and a sculptural piece installed in the Pokrov Church Seattle. She also participated in Steam Punk Artist Gallery which ran during the Society of North American Goldsmiths annual conference in Seattle and the Omahu Steam Punk Show in New Zealand. http://www.creativecopy.us/sarah.html |
| Ruth Greening Named Senior Instructor for the Northwestern United States, she received instruction from Meredith Arnold of Bellevue Wa, Kansas Senior Instructor Sondra Busch, and Director of Education for PMC Connection, Mary Ann Devos, at the William Holland School of Art in Georgia. Other valuable sources of her knowledge come from her own penchant for trying new things in her studio as well as what she gleans in the process of her teaching. http://www.ruthgreeningdesigns.com/ |
| Julia Harrison has shown her hand carved wooden jewelry and sculpture on galleries throughout the US and in the UK. She has taught workshop around the Seattle area, at the 92nd St Y in NY and at Penland in NC. Her work can be seen at: www.juliaharrison.net and on her blog: http://julia-harrison.blogspot.com/ |
| Joan Joachims is a local jewelry artist and goldsmith who now runs her own studio. She has worked for LeRoy Jewelers creating beautiful jewelry by carving pieces from wax and casting them into precious metals. Joan is a full time artist and teacher living in Tacoma who specializes in jewelry design, painting and murals. She participates annually in the YWCA 'RAGS' benefit where her pieces won 'Best in Show' in 2011 and 2012. Her award winning designs can be seen at Proctor Gallery and the TMAC gallery. http://joanjoachims.com/ |
| Micki Lippe is an internationally known artist who has exhibited her works throughout Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her works can be found in the collections of the Racine Art Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum. Lippe has a studio in Seattle and has served the Pratt Fine Arts Center as a trustee and an instructor. Her work can be seem at www.looselyhinged.com |
| Julia Lowther "Growing up, my hands were always busy with embroidery, crocheting, weaving, and other fiber arts. I received professional instruction in painting and drawing as well, but only discovered metal work and jewelry when I moved to Seattle, Washington in 1996. Early in my experiments with metal I gravitated to chains. I find chains appealing as the unruly stiffness of wire is transformed into flexible, portable, and comfortable structures of satisfying weight. The manual dexterity gained from decades of handwork and needlework served me well, and translated nicely to linking and knitting with wire." http://www.julialowther.com/ |
| Jennifer Stenhouse received her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from the University of New Mexico and MFA from the university of Wisconsin. A native of Atlanta Georgia, Jennifer Stenhouse currently makes her home and studio in Seattle, Washington. She has been teaching art and jewelry classes, workshops, lectured and exhibited throughout U.S. and Mexico for over 15 years. "I have been making art for as long as I can remember. When I'm not making it, I'm teaching it. These are my two passions." http://www.jenniferstenhouse.com/ |
Barbara Knuth received a BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from San Diego State University. |
| Susan Zeiss works out of her studio in the Pacific Northwest. She earned her Master's Degree in metal arts from the UNiversity of wisconsin. Susan has always been involved in art education and design, including: elementary art curriculum coordinator, community playground chair, college faculty, and product development color consultant. Her work is shown in juried exhibitions and selected galleries. |
