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Wood | Metal | Clay 2022 Student workshops newsletter

A Makers Journey Comes Full Circle

Jennifer López ’08, Hop Board of Advisors

I remember fumbling through my closet to find the nicest thing I owned, at the time that was a pair of black pants, a white button-up shirt and a colorful handkerchief. This “fancy” outfit was to meet with the Hopkins Center Board to talk about the student art experience. I had graduated from Dartmouth the year before and was working for the Hop in a newly created Student Marketing Coordinator position, aka the Student Whisperer. This was 14 years ago but I remember thinking: “these folks help determine if students like me get to experience the arts in their time at Dartmouth.” The weightiness of that meeting shook me; why would these important folks wanna talk to me, I just make jewelry and convince some students to watch shows at the Hop?

I now work in technology making products and developing tech businesses. A lot of people look at me as a banking executive (which I technically am) but I look at myself as a maker, something I learned in the workshops. My life and career have been indelibly marked by my five years walking the halls of the Hop, most specifically climbing down the stairs to sit in a bench in the Jewelry Studio, aka the J-shop. My training as a maker there allows me to be a maker anywhere, and my new making adventure funnily enough brings me back to the Hop.

I had the great fortune to return this September for my second Board meeting, this time as a new member. It wasn’t lost on me that the 22-year-old version of myself in the nicest scarf I could muster never could have imagined I would be on the other side of the table. And being on the other side, the reverence I have now is for 17-year-old me who walked into the Jewelry Studio for the first time; that person is the courageous and powerful one embarking on a potentially life changing journey with the arts.

I share all this because as a product of the workshops I am excited to be a new voice on the Hop Advisory Board, hopefully helping more students to experience the magic of making we all did during our time at Dartmouth. If you are reading this newsletter, the studios shaped you too into a maker, and, I believe, made you a more courageous person in some way. We all now sit on the other side, no longer students, a bit more brave, forging our way in the world as makers. The support we give to the workshops and the Hop matters. No matter what that support looks like, whether it’s an email, reading this newsletter, speaking the good word or more, I am excited to be with you all on a journey to make more makers. Reach out if you want to connect, excited to play this new role.

Working in Wood

Greg Elder, Woodworking Director

What a full year it has been! It has been so good to be operating at full capability once again. The combination of personal and academic projects was a broad display of ideas, ingenuity and fun. We had quite a few stringed instruments created, such as Tahmina Hasan’s ’22 lyre, made from cherry and cedar, and Grace Qu’s ’22 ukulele, made of cherry, cedar and mahogany. Nina Sloan ’24 has carved a beautiful mancala game board from a 2” piece of walnut. Students are so appreciative of having these hands-on experiences. The experience in making always brings delight to students as they discover the empowerment of making something with one’s own hands. That experience has been enjoyed for 60 years in the Hopkins Center, and before that 21 years in Bissel Hall.

Max McIntosh ’22

With Great Appreciation: Last year, Tom Eldridge ’85 and Jennifer Marron generously gave the woodshop a new laser cutter and a 3D printer. These wonderful gifts are a huge upgrade, allowing for more capability and finer detail as we expand our offerings into the world of digital fabrication.

Pictured: Grace Qu ’22

Tea Wallmark ’25, Ceramics Student Assistant, Major: Religion and Studio Art

“I was first introduced to the ceramic arts by my grandmother, and then throughout high school in Ojai, California. Ceramics provides such a balance to my life, allowing me to work with my hands while feeling inspired by other students. The guidance I receive is excellent and the access to resources is unparalleled. I feel grateful every time I step into the studio.”

Students Love Ceramics

Jenny Swanson, Ceramics Studio Director

Reopening the studio in June 2021 was almost like starting over, with overwhelming student interest in ceramics. We had the busiest year ever, and the energy in the studio has been high. The students have responded to a more structured, focused program with enthusiasm and the staff and I are working hard to help everyone complete their projects.

Deirdre O’Neill ’23

Most of the pieces that students create in the studio are made solely to satisfy their own interests rather than for academic credit. That reinforces the importance of making by hand. Dartmouth students are truly interested in using technologies that have been used for thousands of years and are still relevant today.

Pictured: Jabari Johnson ’26

Chris Sherman ’23, Jewelry Studio Hop Fellow, Major: Engineering modified with Studio Art, with a minor in Spanish

“Stepping into this role gives me the opportunity to synthesize and apply the skills I developed over the past three years. It’s an exciting chance to give back to the community that has supported me since my freshman Fall. I hope to adapt and apply my skill set to the needs of the studio as we anticipate a major transition over the next few months.”

In Praise of the Band Ring

Jeff Georgantes, Jewelry Studio Director

The Donald Claflin Jewelry Studio has a new “viral” jewelry project. It’s the hand-stamped sterling silver band ring. It’s become the go-to project for new and returning students. We estimate that we have helped Dartmouth students make at least 500 of these rings in 2021/22 going into 22/23.

The concept is simple. Decorate and embellish a strip of silver that is wrapped into a ring with textures, words and symbols. Students write pretty much anything—Dartmouth, their class year, geographic coordinates or zip codes of a favorite place, salty language, secret messages hidden on the inside. It’s very fun to let students go for it. We have many steel letter and symbol stamps in a variety of fonts. We even have multiple sets of Greek letter stamps for the Greek houses.

What’s great for us is that this project teaches core jewelry making skills to make other projects, like creating a bezel setting for a cabochon stone.

In the past, we had other projects that were more popular. For now though, sterling silver stamped band rings rule!

Pictured: Janice Kai Chen ’19 with the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge sign she hand carved with frame provided by Put Blodgett ’53, ’61 Tu.

Logan Sankey ’20, Current student, member of US Ski Team

“I love coming to the Ceramics Studio because it’s a place where I get to put all my stresses on the shelf. I don’t have to be perfect, and I don’t have to accomplish anything, I just get to relax in a space that is encouraging, warm and welcoming.”

A Celebration of Making

Left to right: Marilyn da Silva, Diego Romero, Michael Hurwitz

As part of the Montgomery Fellows Program Winter 2022 Series: A Celebration of Making, students were invited to explore the work of three remarkable craftspeople and discover a sense that shaping a world with one’s hands brings value and purpose to all our lives. Indigenous Ceramist Diego Romero, a member of the Cochiti Pueblo tribe, demonstrated how he combines ancient forms of pottery and comic book imagery to tackle contemporary issues in his work. Woodworker Michael Hurwitz shared his expertise of over 40 years in making studio furniture. And metalsmith and sculptor Marilyn da Silva discussed how she tells stories through imagery and representational elements.

Michael Hurwitz, Montgomery Fellow Lecture: Sources of Inspiration

Marilyn da Silva: My Journey with Metal

Diego Romero: Art, Humor & Narrative in Pueblo Pottery

Greetings & Goodbyes

Fall has brought two new instructors to the Student Workshops. Pete Michelinie in the Woodshop and Katie McCabe ’21 in the Jewelry Studio.

Pete has been a furniture designer/maker for the last 16 years and has taught in the Hop Woodshop as a part-time instructor for the last 9 years. Pete did his formal training at North Bennet Street School in Boston.

“Creating something with only raw materials and your imagination is an empowering act. I look forward to sharing my knowledge of woodworking to help foster the love of craft with students.”

Katie was a Hop Fellow in the 2020/21 school year and was instrumental in helping us navigate through the Make It at Home era. After graduation, Katie wanted to keep jewelry making one of her professional ambitions and spent a fifth year working in the studio.

“The Jewelry Studio is a magical space constantly roiling with intense focus, creativity and pride. I’m over the moon to be here helping students channel that energy into projects they believe in.”

With our new arrivals, we say goodbye to Janet Collins and kind of goodbye to Case Hathaway Zepeda ’09 (Case will still work in the Jewelry Studio as a fill-in teacher, so you’ll still see her with us now and again!) Both Janet and Case were invaluable to our programs, and we give huge thanks for all that they contributed.

Left to right: mug by Victoria Quint ’22; ring by Katya Pronichenko ’23; mountain wall by John Molinski G

We would like to thank the donors to the endowment funds that provide steady support to the Workshops in perpetuity.

Charles Wyman Drake ’90 Memorial Fund for the Jewelry Student Workshop | Claire and Michael Bell 1973 Woodworking Endowment | Nathan W. 1932 and Kathleen P. Pearson Fund | Robert H. Manegold 1975 Fund | Stuart L. Bell 1980 Hopkins Center Student Workshop Fund | Tucker Family Fund for Student Workshops | Virginia Rice Kelsey Family Fund in support of the Hopkins Center – Student Workshops | William Hale Ham 1897 Memorial Fund

and all our Friends of the Student Workshops