Morgan’s article is among a series of feature stories that were recently completed in Ms. MacMillan’s journalism class.
From the hallway, C104 looks like any other art classroom full of students creating art. But step inside and you’re greeted with the screeching of blades against metal, the spark of fire, loud hammering and the never-ending hum from the polisher. The strong smells of gas, spray paint, and sulfur linger in the air while filling the jewelry room with a weird combination of scents.
The Jewelry I class at Fishers introduces the basic concepts and techniques of building jewelry. Throughout the semester students complete three projects to showcase their skills. One of the projects is their end of semester final project which they had close to 10 class periods to complete. Sophomore Olivia Hatton explains her thoughts on the final.
“The final project is sort of combining all previously learned skills, and it’s more of a free-for-all,” Hatton said. “We get to pick what we want to make, and we can still have Mrs. Goodwin for help, but she mainly just checks in as we do our own thing.”
Art teacher Danielle Goodwin has taught this class for 12 years, as she studied jewelry at a higher level in college. Although jewelry only has two class sections, Goodwin explains why she wanted to take over this specialty course.
“I love seeing students learn a totally new set of skills. Jewelry is its own beast, it’s fun, challenging and incredibly rewarding,” Goodwin said. “Students take real pride in creating wearable art because they know the time, effort and craftsmanship that goes into each piece.”
Students can choose to make anything from a necklace to a keychain and can express themselves while doing so. They are also able to use three different types of metal – silver, brass and copper. Students often experience a lot of trial-and-error while creating their pieces.
“I’m most proud of the rings I made for the final project,” sophomore Veronica Gomez said. “They are the first project where nothing has went wrong and it turned out just as I envisioned in my head.”
Fishers also offers a Jewelry II class where students can focus on more advanced types of jewelry. They get to learn new techniques such as stone setting and bezeling. Goodwin explains what she hopes her students walk away with after taking Jewelry 1.
“I hope they gain an appreciation for the craft and the profession. Many leave hooked and eager for Jewelry II,” Goodwin sad. “The skills-soldering, stone setting, filing, polishing, etching and working with fire and chemicals translate into fields like welding, dentistry, carpentry, machining, sculpture and restoration.”
