This past friday I finally started my internship at Michael's Jewelry Studio, working behind the bench. I have never been so nervous waking up that morning getting prepared to go in for my first day because I feel like I know absolutely nothing about being a bench jeweler. Jan said in class the other day to start preparing for the real world outside of college. That being nervous about starting and/or encountering new things is always going to be nerve wracking, but that we should quickly learn to embrace that feeling because it is something that you can never escape, and unless you want to stay stagnant for the rest of your life, then you must push through the fear and continue moving forward.
As soon as I walked in, my heartbeat quickly slowed down. Everyone was just wonderful. Michael immediately put me to work. He had me roll some silver down from 18 gauge to 20 gauge then hammer out small discs. He then asked me to cut the discs in half and when he saw that I wasn't sawing correctly, he showed me the proper way which made things so much easier! Then he had me file the edges flat, then file 45 degree angles so the discs could be soldered together at those angles to ultimately make a pair of earrings. When he saw that my filing was wobbly and all over the place, he showed me the correct way to file which was very exciting. It was so nice to have one on one attention which is something that is very difficult to get at school when you're in a class with 20 people for only an 4 hours a week! I was so embarrassed that I wasn't doing things correctly and felt so out of place, but he reassured me that it is going to take hours and hours and hours of practice to get it right. Good thing I have 120 hours with him! :)
There are 4 bench jewelers (one kid, 2 older men and Michael) and a woman who watches the gallery and actually graduated from Towson in the jewelry and metals program with John Fix. Everyone is funny and warm and extremely talented. I felt right at home. At the end of the day I didn't even want to leave! I am just so happy and excited to have started this internship. I think it really going to help build my self confidence.
After working at the bench for a little while, I watched some of the bench jewelers and they talked me through what they were doing as they did it. It was so cool to watch. I learned a lot.
They day just kept getting better. That evening after work, I went to meet Joseph Hyde to have some of my jewelry photographed. He was absolutely wonderful, and extremely talented. I have never been proud of my work and was very embarrassed to show it to him, considering he's been photographing many great artists, for example jeweler Janet Huddie. It was so interesting to see the whole process and collaborate with him on ideas for the photographs. It was very cool that he actually wanted my input! The photographs, untouched, came out amazing. I am so happy about them. He helped me to look at my work in a new light and actually feel proud of it.
So all in all, it was a very very exciting and productive day!
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