Last December I booked a masterclass Titanium at "Studio Chispazo" in Kerkrade, together with Shirley de Jong of "Aware Jewels" from Nieuw-Vennep. Frank van Zwicht from Diepenheim is there to explain the sanding, polishing and coloring of titanium. He himself makes beautiful jewelry with it and we hope to eventually be able to combine this technique with silver clay.
 
After booking, Edith van Leeuwen of "ArtiChic" from Hillegom and Arnolda de Nooij of "Silverclay Art" from Leiden also appeared to participate. Well-known names of dear talented colleagues with whom we also shared a Middelkerke weekend in March.

​Again we can ride with Edith. And this time Arnolda also drives along, fun. In this masterclass we meet Charlotte Specken of "JoseFineArt" from Rotterdam and Barbera Ploeg of "Atelier015" from Delft. Both come to Kerkrade on their own. Barbera, accompanied by her family, immediately turns this trip into a fun holiday getaway. For what is the area say beautiful! You can walk here wonderfully.

Our quartet agrees to drive from Nieuw-Vennep punctually at 19.00. I’ve been invited by Shirley to eat at her place and make sure to be with her by 18.00. It's holiday time and not too busy on the road, so I’ve plenty of time. Together with her husband Justin and rascal Jason we enjoy risotto and salad. Delicious, tasty all fresh and organic.
 
Whether Edith is also on time, absolutely! Punctuality she arives in the big Volvo of her husband Leo. Nice and spacious we drive to Kerkrade where we arrive at Hotel Kasteel Erenstein without traffic jams or other delays at 21.30. Check in and have a drink, Charlotte is already there.

We have all opted for an extra night, so we will not be on the road early in the morning. In retrospect, our way of thinking was superfluous, the masterclass appears to start daily at 11 am. More than enough time. The hotel was already booked and cancel proved insufficiently profitable. Now - read: Shirley, Arnolda and myself - use this extra time to take a wonderful morning walk through the forest after breakfast. Beautiful sunlight, babbling brooks, ponds and according to colors the various shades of green and brown into a serene whole.

After this relaxation it is time for effort and we drive to Chispazo on the edge of the forest. It turns out that Barbera is already there and we are all welcomed by our hostess. There is also a participant, Lisette, a regular student of the hostess. A total of 8 people.
 
This first day we work with silver clay, with the aim of later adding colored titanium to the design. We turn out to be quite productive, even though we cannot yet imagine the collaboration between the two metals.
 
Our hostess has provided enough food and drinks. Chocolate profiteroles, cake, bread, spreads, soups, coffee/tea, milk/buttermilk and juice. And if that's not enough, we'll have a nice dinner at Jules, a great grand café in Kerkrade. The ladies have put their sights on fresh mussels. Charlotte is particularly fond of it. When the staff serves the pans after about 1,5 hours, the ladies quickly forget the long wait. The choice is great! Another nice dessert, after which we walk back to the hotel. Too tired to have a drink, we decide to go to bed on time. The real work starts tomorrow 😉.

The next morning after breakfast, Shirley and I walk to Chispazo. The other ladies go that way by car and are so kind to take our luggage with them. Today our Belgian colleague Tine Demol of "Actino" from Brugge joins the group as 9th student. Frank was already there yesterday and has installed all tools and materials for today. He has also brought wonderful examples. What a work of art! He explains to us what the working method and sequence is to achieve similar results. I confess that I haven’t made the most of the opportunities on this day. A number of colleagues have taken a smarter approach. They have already pre-colored additional titanium to be able to make a number of designs at home. I take with me what I have been working on these days with the aim of eventually completing this at Edith’s place. In Spain, then! With her anodizing equipment, hahaha.
 
We are going home. And also tonight it is not busy on the road. At Nederweert we make a stop at La Place to have a bite. Then with a full stomach continue to arrive in Nieuw-Vennep around 9 p.m. So Shirley is at home, I drive to Harderwijk, Edith lives 5 minutes away in Hillegom and Arnolda drives from Hillegom to Leiden.

It was fun again. Learned a lot and laughed. Thanks to Edith for driving on the outward and return journey. Shirley for sharing the hotel room. Atelier Chispazo for her hospitality, Frank for sharing his skills and everyone in general for the pleasant presence.

In the Netherlands, many people currently enjoy the summer holidays. Exceptions prove the rule and André van Rijswijk from “Phoenix Arts” in Arnhem has explicitly reserved these summer weeks for an Art Clay Silver Instructor training.
 
Last year I met André for the first time. He then followed the Level 1 curriculum on 3 Mondays during the summer holidays. Cheryl Daunt accompanied him those days. Afterwards, she suggested planning dates together again for the follow-up, Level 2. But André was determined and already knew that he wanted to make reservations for that training in 2019 and again during summer holidays. Fortunately I was also allowed to indicate whether it suited me, hihi 😉
 
So today I can proudly say in this blog that he has earned another Art Clay Silver certificate. He has made beautiful pieces. 3 days of private lessons does offer the opportunity to work on the 4 required designs in peace and with undivided attention.

In between, regularly back your back, interspersed with consuming snacks such as tea, cake, fruit, nuts and of course lunch with a vega baguette and a healthy green smoothie. Yes, then a wonderfully relaxed course leads to good results.

Well André, it's over again.
The next level is based on self-study and therefore comes entirely to yourself.
You have learned a lot these days, you can apply the techniques to them all.
Thank you for your presence and commitment.
​Success with any Higher Level !

And there she is again! Today, Ingrid completes her provisionally last reserved supplement training: Gold. It's pretty hot today, but luckily we have air conditioning. We are going to enjoy ourselves though 😉
 
As always, Ingrid is on time. We can start immediately, because she has prepared well. Different ideas are reviewed and together we discuss what is feasible.

She has already made the semicircular ring at home, in peace and quiet, without prying eyes. She eventually opts for a leaf and a flower and designs these from the gold clay. She keeps the flower for a later design, the leaf is placed on the ring. They are both fired during lunch.
 
Gold clay requires a higher firing temperature than the silver clay, so the leaf is attached to the ring after the clay stage has been exchanged for metal.
 
And of course we also made a photo of this design. Nicely finished and hand polished. Wonderful Ingrid!
 
It's over again, we say goodbye. But probably not for long. Now that she lives in the Netherlands again, it becomes easier to meet. Ingrid, thanks for another super nice day and see you soon!