Turn brilliantly colored stones, vibrant enamels, fabrics, and metal into distinctive jewelry pieces.
Jewelry Classes
Explore The Studio
D.X. Ross Jewelry & Metals Studio
This rustic building, built of locally-grown pine in the early 1970s and located in Studio Row, 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. Cold glass classes such as stained glass and kaleidoscope making are also held here, as are our metalworking classes. 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.
News & Stories: What's Happening in Jewelry
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August 21, 2024
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July 23, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
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June 28, 2024
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May 27, 2024
If you have been thinking...
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March 5, 2024
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January 4, 2024
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November 9, 2023
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July 24, 2023
Browse our August 2023–June 2024...
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February 14, 2023
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February 14, 2023
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August 29, 2022
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July 25, 2022
Building on your feedback, we're...
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July 22, 2022
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August 16, 2021
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February 17, 2021
Barbara joined Tammy Elwell in the Craft Shop for an afternoon of questions where she shared some wonderful insights into her journey as a maker, artist, and teacher. Barbara is a renowned jewelry artist and our Resident Artist in theJewelry and Metal Studio. Enjoy the interview!
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January 13, 2017
Unsure of what a hobo nickel is? Look no further! Read an interview with Tom Patterson who teaches a class in Hobo Nickel Engraving at the Folk School. Tom has been a hand engraver and metalsmith for more than 50 years. Enjoy our interview!
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October 11, 2016
Kay Patterson teaches many times throughout the year at the Folk School in a variety of subjects including Jewelry, Metalwork, Felt Making, Enameling, and Shoe Making. I sat down with Kay to learn a little bit more about her life, inspirations, and her crafts. Enjoy our interview!
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February 4, 2015
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March 23, 2012
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March 30, 2011
It started in 1999. Four long-time friends decided to take a class together at the Folk School. Based on the time they had off, and their similar interests, they chose a jewelry class taught by our Resident Artist in jewelry, Barbara Joiner. They probably didn’t suspect that their week long class would turn into a 12 year (and running) tradition that reunites a special, tight-knit group of friends, while giving them the opportunity to hone their jewelry and metalsmithing skills. The original group of four expanded throughout the years, and now about 8 people are considered “regulars” each year in Barbara’s class. Students come from Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, and beyond to take advantage of Barbara’s expertise to work independently on their own projects. (This year’s class was called “Unfinished Business.”)
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Resident Artist in Jewelry, Metalwork, Stained Glass, and Kaleidoscopes
Barbara Joiner
Barbara has taught clay and jewelry classes for over 25 years. She studied clay at the University of Illinois, silversmithing at Indiana University, and she has an MFA degree from Southern Illinois University. Barbara’s work is in many collections, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and has won numerous awards throughout the U.S. She is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.
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