Miller Mania

One of the most fun things I do is take classes. I do it to upgrade my skill set and enjoy the company of other artists and crafts people. One of my favorite teachers is Sharilyn Miller.

She learned her trade from the great (and that should be underlined/bolded/and have neon lights attached) Lynn Merchant. I consider Lynn the mother of all that is wire. If you are tracing back an Earthquake to the epicenter I think somewhere you are going to find this artist at the beginning of some great careers. Including the likes (shameless name dropping here) of Louise Duhamel, Connie Fox, Sharilyn Miller, and a plethora of others.

I’ve been lucky enough to have taken from Sharilyn more than once. She is a west coast girl with a wonderful studio in Idlewild, California. If I could afford the class and the airline ticket I’d fly out there and spend a week. Alas, until that big lottery in the sky hits me with a bolt of lightening I’m SOL. In the meantime she does come out east once in a blue moon. She has been at Portia and Lee Mandrels Gathering Place several times. This time she was at the Bead Weasel, courtesy of its’ great owner Ann Sturdevant.

If you can take a class from Sharilyn, I HIGHLY recommend it. You will never look at wire the same way. She is a master at the twist and turn, using your hands correctly, and the subtle nuisances that make a masterful wire art piece.

If you can’t get to a class then get the next best thing – her books, Bead On a Wire and Contemporary Copper Jewelry, plus you can get on the list for the new one coming up. I know I will be.

Above you can check out a few photos from class. Sharilyn is busy teaching and, of course, that’s me and Sharilyn, and there is one of the bracelets (Sharilyn’s bracelets) we were working to replicate. As soon as I get my clasps on mine I’ll take a photo and share them too.

Thanks Sharilyn for another great class! And to Anne for having the courage to have her stop here on her way to Europe.