JCCFS: Tell us more about your upcoming class, “A Taste of the Folk School” from July 28 to August 2. It’s for all levels, correct?

BJ: Yes, all levels are welcome. Beginners, intermediate and advanced students should enjoy this class. During this week you will get a literal taste of Folk School magic as you make four projects in four studios! Get great photos on the school’s magical campus and learn to edit them using your cellphone. Try basic jewelry making skills including sawing, filing, and soldering making a finished sterling silver ring. Use natural wood veneers of different types and textures to create decorative images. Experience the wonder of marbling and create your own supply of beautiful papers, along with ideas for how to use them.

JCCFS: Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background in  your medium? How did you get started?

BJ: Art classes were offered when I was in high school and that’s where my passion began. It continued when I took a year of classes in college and then grew from there. For several years I was a clay artist in Florida making and selling my pots. Clay can be physically stressful on the body and from there I made the switch over to jewelry. I have been working at the Folk School as the Jewelry Creative Program Advisor since 1987.

JCCFS: Tell us more about your class’s specific technique or process

BJ: I will be teaching the Jewelry portion of the Taste of the Folk School which is a class concept that I came up with. A Taste of the Folk School allows students who aren’t sure yet what medium they want to focus on for a week or its perfect for students that love making all different artforms. It’s a great way to experiment as beginners as well. This round will feature the Jewelry Studio, Woodworking Studio, Book Arts Studio and Photography Studio. In my portion students will learn the basics of making a beautiful sterling silver ring. Cutting metal, soldering, inlay and so on.

JCCFS: What can students expect to leave your class with?

BJ: Students can expect to leave each class with a finished object. In Jewelry they will leave with a sterling silver ring with a stone setting. There will be different stones to choose from in a range of colors. These same students will also go home with marbled art papers, landscape photos taken on their cellphones and wood veneer landscape to hang on the wall.

JCCFS: What is your favorite aspect or part of the Folk School? What do you most look forward to when coming back to teach on our campus?

BJ: I love the people and the classes. I have a wonderful group of instructors that I work with that teach time and time again the Jewelry Studio and have developed great friendships with each of these individuals. As well, we see many new and returning students every week here at the Folk School and I’ve had the pleasure of making many long-lasting friendships with those students as well.

JCCFS: Where do you draw inspiration from for your work?

BJ: Inspiration for my work comes from two different sources. One is from nature. In Florida I was surrounded by the beaches and took inspiration from the beautiful seaforms. Now I live in an entirely different and equally beautiful environment in the mountains. The second place that I draw inspiration from is the material itself. I enjoy playing with the scraps and shapes and see how they work together to create a finished piece. This allows spontaneity in my work and keeps it from being contrived.

JCCFS: What’s one piece or craft object you’ve made recently that you are proud of, and why?

BJ: In 1981 my ceramic work was accepted into the collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA. I still have the sister piece to that work which is a large-scale raku piece that lives in my home. I am proud of both of those pieces.

JCCFS: What tips would you give a student or aspiring craftsperson? Anything you wish you had known earlier in your career?

BJ: Pursue what you love. I recognized that early in life and I stuck with it.

JCCFS: Anything else we should know about The Taste of the Folk School and your Jewelry portion of the class?

BJ: A Taste of the Folk School is being held in 4 of the great studios that we have on the campus. This is a rare opportunity for students to get to work in more than just one well-equipped studio for the week.

The Woodworking Studio – Built in 1945, this beautiful old stone building features a large room full of saws, drills, planers, routers, sanding belts, finishing tables, and many other helpful tools and supplies. Students can spread out in an adjoining room containing numerous spacious workstations.

The Photography Studio – Harvest Room in the Orchard House, originally constructed in the 1950s as a residence. The Photography & Writing Studio offers students a quiet classroom space equipped with high-speed internet along with Mac and PC computers. The studio’s large central table is ideal for coming together to review images or discuss your latest draft.

The Book Arts Studio – A state-of-the-art facility completed in 2017, this spacious, well-lit building is the home of all Book & Paper Arts, Calligraphy, Marbling, and Printmaking classes. In addition to 2,800 square feet of indoor workspace, it includes a large open deck and covered porch that can be used as work areas in the warmer months. We have recently been given a donation of 10 new, handmade marbling tanks.

The Jewelry Studio – D.X. Ross Jewelry & Metals Studio: This rustic building, built of locally-grown pine in the early 1970s is well-equipped for jewelry making. It has been modernized and expanded in recent years, and contains saw frames, mandrels of all sorts, hammers, anvils, burnishers, rockers, pushers, scapers, vice grips, crucible, drill bits, engraver, dapping blocks, clamps, punches, awls, flat rolling mill, hydraulic press, drill press, bench grinder, belt sander and more. In 2012, the studio was named in memory of D.X. Ross, a wonderful jewelry and enameling instructor, and the addition to the studio was named in honor of Alice Ahlers, who has taken over 200 classes at the Folk School.