The metalsmithing and jewelry design area at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design focuses on the development of technical skills in traditional and experimental metalworking and jewelry, as well as personal and creative direction. With one-on-one professional guidance, students refine their skills in formal design, craftsmanship, and creative concepts. Our graduates are prepared to teach at the university level or to practice as a professional artist, metalsmith, or jeweler.
Shape yourself into an artisan + artist
Choose from three dynamic degree paths
Bountiful tools and spaces for any creation
Metalsmithing and jewelry design students have access to a range of traditional materials and innovative technologies—from smithing stakes and hammers to 3D modeling software and various computer aided machining equipment in our Fine Arts Fabrication Labs.
Housed in the Fine Arts Building, the metalsmithing and jewelry design facilities consist of two recently renovated undergraduate classrooms, a newly renovated graduate studio with individual Otto Frei workbenches and flexible shaft machines, a graduate tool room, a sound-proofed smithing room, an enameling room, and chemical room.
B.F.A. + M.F.A. studios
The metalsmithing and jewelry design B.F.A. studio has 10 professional jeweler’s workbenches with Fordoms, along with a dedicated soldering area with ventilation hood and center worktable.
The M.F.A. studio has six private cubicles that are equipped with professional jeweler’s workbenches with torches and individual ventilation snorkels, along with larger vented soldering area. M.F.A.s have access to a dedicated Office and Resource room that has a desktop (with Adobe Suite and 3D modeling software) and scanners, a library, and hundreds of teaching samples. The graduate room also has a separate tool room with over 200 stakes and hammers, hundereds of specialized hand tools and supplies, and a kitchenette. In addition, M.F.A.'s and B.F.A.'s have access to a digital camera and professional lighting setup.
Tools + equipment
Main classrooms
- Two rows of long workbenches to seat 19 students
- Large demonstration/critique table and a common soldering area along one wall with stainless steel top accommodating four large rose bud torches and five acetylene torch tanks for soldering and annealing
- Two wall-mounted large monitors for presentations and demos with an Ultra 8 Hover Cam for projecting close up techniques
- Kerr Injectomatic II wax injector/vulcanizer
- Casting burnout kilns (2)
- Vacuum machine and centrifuge for casting
- Lapidary equipment including a diamond saw and various grades of polishing wheels
- Individual work bench Foredom (2)
- Dumore drill presses (3)
- Non-ferrous buffing machine with various sizes, shapes and types of buffing wheels
- Ferrous buffing machine with various sizes, shapes and types of buffing wheels
- Jet stand-up drill press, wood and metal band saw
- Scroll Saw
- Belt/disc sanding machines (2) and oscillating sander
- Cavallin drawbench with assorted drawplates
- Rolling mills (2)
- Boonie Doon hydraulic press
- Large-capacity sandblaster
- Large stomp sheet metal sheer
- Large-capacity powder coating system with access to over 50 colors
- 2 Sunstone micro welders
- Portable 80" monitor and dedicated laptop
Chemical room
- Chemistry lab ventilation hood
- Chemistry grade worktable
- Technic electroforming setup
- Gold and silver plating setup
- Industrial grade cabinets for corrosive and flammable chemical (2)
- Stainless steel workspace with various equipment for mixing chemicals
- Exhaust system for spray applications
- Tumbling machines for ceramic and stainless-steel shot (2)
- Storage for expired chemicals and disposal
Main hammer room
- Workspace measuring 13' x 18' with soundproofing in the floor and in the walls
- Large stumps (12) with vices and stake holders
- Over 200 stakes, hammers, forming tools
Enameling room
- Vcella Kilns—2 model 9, 1 model 6 kilns for jewelry and 1 model SPL for hollowware
- Various enameling supplies—trivets, shelves, sifters
- Various enamels—over 70 transparent and 90 opaque powder, China paints, liquid, crayons and watercolor
- Dedicated ventilated area for Anycubic 3D wax printer
Melt + make
We nurture a quality of mind and system of values that will enable you to develop ideas that are worthy of expression. Experiment with a wide range of metals and materials to hone technical skills and discover innovative processes.
Visiting artists
Through the McKinney Visiting Artist Series and Metalsmithing Guild, the metalsmithing and jewelry design program hosts nationally and internationally recognized artists to meet with students, present their work, and give workshops and individual critiques.
Some of our past visiting artists include:
- Arline Fisch
- Simon Cottrell
- Linda Darty
- Sondra Sherman
- Yosuke Inoue
- Masako Hamaguchi
- Kirsten Haydon
- Marlene True
- Cappy Counard
- Susie Ganch
- Curtis Hidemasa Arima
- Tom Madden
- Barbara Minor
- Sarah Perkins
- Jim Bove
Alumni making their mark
Shannon Carney
Shannon Carney is a contemporary jeweler who began her work in Italian fashion after studying at Indiana University. Since then, her jewelry has been featured in Vogue, Elle, and The Wall Street Journal. All of Carney’s jewelry is hand made from 18 karat gold, precious stones, and semi-precious stones.
Learn about careersDistinguished alumni
Tom Muir
Marilyn Da Silva
Jack Da Silva
Andrew Kuebeck
Sim Lüttin
Arthur Hash
Billie Jean Theide
Sue Amendolara
Robly Glover
Yosuke Inoue
Komelia Okim
Nancy Slagle
Lin Stanionis
Gina Westergard
Cynthia Eid
Zach Mellman-Carsey
Darlys Ewoldt
Susan Ewing
Brooke Marks Swanson
Kathy Buszkiewicz
Katie Kameen
Nathalie Maiello
Heather Nuber