Shape flowers in metal, create copper fountains, reproduce 18th-century tinware, pursue small-scale forging for jewelry, or make critters and roosters! No experience necessary.
Metalwork 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 Metalwork
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December 10, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
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November 26, 2024
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November 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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March 5, 2024
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February 29, 2024
Renowned blacksmith and bladesmith Elmer Roush regularly teaches at the Folk School. Watch a video featuring Elmer produced by CRKT as part of their Forged by War program featuring veteran. Elmer talks about his time in the service and how he got started in blacksmithing.
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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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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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October 28, 2021
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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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July 11, 2017
Read a sweet interview 18-year-old Sienna Bosch from Fort Collins, CO who took the class “Beginning Techniques in Enamel” with Christie Schuster. She was here with her mom, who was in printmaking class, and her dad, who taught woodturning. I sat down with her and talked about her experience. Enjoy our 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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July 27, 2015
David Baker lights up any room with creative energy and joy. You may see him in a pink Easter bunny outfit in the spring, dressed as the spirit of fall at Fall Festival, or, on a more casual day, gliding around the Dining Hall in a flouncy, fluorescent tutu. In the spirit of the Folk School, he reminds us to embrace our inner child, to play, to laugh, to create, to experiment and to love each other and ourselves. David has been teaching Kaleidoscope classes at the Folk School for over a decade. He is also our regular massage therapist. Enjoy our interview!
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February 4, 2015
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March 23, 2012
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.
Blacksmithing & Metals Coordinator
Elizabeth Belz
Elizabeth is a blacksmith, educator, and the owner of Black Widow Forge. She was the blacksmithing apprentice at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN for two years where she trained under master smith Jim Masterson. She was a craft education intern at North House Folk School, a resident artist with the Science Museum of MN, and has spent time at craft and folk schools across the country. Elizabeth has shown her work, competed, and taught blacksmithing throughout the United States and internationally and has most recently finished up an artist residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Elizabeth sits on the board of the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths which is an international nonprofit committed to building equity and diversity in the field of blacksmithing.
Images from the Studio
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Housing & Meals
There’s nothing like staying on campus to fully immerse yourself in the Folk’s School experience.
A Typical Week or Weekend
A quick glance of what you can expect when you take a class as the Folk School.
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